Adventure Comics #419 is an issue of the series Adventure Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 1972.
Synopsis for Supergirl: "The Thief Who Loved Supergirl"
Supergirl takes down an assassin but upon apprehending him he vanishes completely. That same evening she sees a tsunami rushing towards the city and builds a seawall around San Francisco to take care of the nonexistent tidal wave. The public and even Supergirl herself begins questioning her sanity.
In another part of the city, Mike Merrick, a crook who escaped from Supergirl in the past,[1] has an argument with his lover, Lorelei. Suffering from a serious disease, he takes his frustrations out on Lorelei. He isn't happy when he finds out she has been using her powers to drive Supergirl crazy. Since Merrick is still in love with Supergirl as well, and knows her double identity, he fears that Lorelei will destroy Supergirl with her magic out of jealousy.
Thus, he phones Supergirl and confesses everything. Afterwards, to save her, he crashes his car head-on into a cliff with himself and Lorelei inside, killing them both.
Appearing in Supergirl: "The Thief Who Loved Supergirl"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Lorelei (Single appearance; dies)
- Mike Merrick (Final appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for Black Canary: "Circle of Doom Part Two"
Bertha elects to use Black Canary as a hostage, instead of killing her, and has her bound and placed inside a van they are driving to a point where they intend to intercept and free their leader - a prisoner being taken from one prison to another. Black Canary revives and learns Bertha's plan, finally breaking loose and defeating Bertha and their gang. Later, she learns that the prisoner Bertha hoped to free is Catwoman.
Appearing in Black Canary: "Circle of Doom Part Two"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Bertha Kane (Final appearance)
- Marcy (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Green Arrow (Flashback only)
- Officer Hill (Single appearance)
- Catwoman (Cameo)
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for Zatanna: "A Nightmare Called Gorgonus!"
Zatanna practices her magic tricks under her manager, Jeff Sloane's supervision. After she ends her rehearsal, Jeff complains about Zatanna's reluctance to use real magic in her act, but despite the difference of opinions, they decide to grab some food together.
As they make their way out of the Edison Theater, they hear a strange noise coming from the backstage and they go to investigate. It is then that Jeff is grabbed from behind and knocked unconscious by Gorgonus, the Gorgon giant from the strange dimension that Jeff and Zatana recently escaped. Gorgonus had also been taken to Earth from the dimensional gateway that Zatanna and Jeff used to return to Earth and now, the monster is stuck without a way back home.
Gorgonus attacks Zatanna, demanding her to find a way to take him back to the Tower of the Death, but Zatanna cannot help the monster. This infuriates Gorgonus, causing him to strike Zatanna with all his might. Zatanna uses his magic to avoid Gorgonus' attacks, but eventually, she is cornered with no escape. Zatanna then turns herself invisible and Gorgonus is turned to stone when he stares at himself in the mirror behind Zatanna. With Gorgonus turned into a statue, Zatanna and Jeff return to their normal activities.
Appearing in Zatanna: "A Nightmare Called Gorgonus!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Gorgonus (Final appearance)
Locations:
- Edison Theater
Synopsis for Phantom Stranger: "Dead Man's Hand!"
This story is reprinted from The Phantom Stranger #3.
Hank Wheeler, rodeo rider is entertaining fans with stories about the old West. He recants the story of legendary gunfighter Wild Bill Hickock and how he was gunned down in a card game while holding a pair of aces and eights. This becomes known as the dead mans hand. As he heads back to his hotel room, Wheeler hears two gunshots and finds that the bullets have hit a nearby deck of cards. He also finds a pair of looped pieces of rope that resemble the number 8. Wheeler finds these events to be unnerving but he decides to proceed with his plans to participate in his rodeo event. As he climbs the bull for his competition, he notices that that it has the number 8 on its side. The bull throws him off but Wheeler is rescued by the Phantom Stranger before he is trampled. Hank relays the events of the past few hours to the Stranger and admits that he feels jinxed. The Stranger assures him that he is not jinxed and that he will prove it before the night is over and then disappears. Wheeler walks back to a locker room where he finds the rest of his fellow competitors. All of a sudden the Phantom Stranger appears and asks if everyone would like to play a game of cards. A competitor by the name of Jim Pomeroy picks up his cards and finds that he has two aces and two eights, the deadman's hand. He panics and takes out a gun. The Stranger quickly subdues him and Pomeroy confesses that he was the one who made Wheeler believe that he was jinxed. He did this to make Wheeler nervous and improve his own chances of winning the rodeo championship. The stranger is asked how he knew that Pomeroy was guilty. He admits that he had no idea until he dealt the same dead mans hand to everyone in the group to see who would panic. The Phantom Stranger disappears and Hank Wheeler goes on to win the championship.
Appearing in Phantom Stranger: "Dead Man's Hand!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Hank Wheeler (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Jim Pomeroy (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Wild Bill Hickok (Flashback only)
Synopsis for Enchantress: "Beauty vs. the Beast"
This story is reprinted from Strange Adventures #191.
The Enchantress flies to Cape Kennedy to investigate the case of a monster that crawled out of the ground and is rampaging through the town. Enchantress engages the creature, but her magic seems ineffectual.
The monster trudges through the city, following the sun. When its path is blocked by a dam, he blasts the wall open. Enchantress quickly casts a spell to change the course of the flood away the town. Then she uses her spells to lure the monster into a rocket about to take off. The monster goes into the rocket and is blasted off into space.
Appearing in Enchantress: "Beauty vs. the Beast"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Underground monster (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Bert (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- "Circle of Doom Part Two" is reprinted in Adventure Comics #492 and The Black Canary Archives Vol. 1.
- "A Nightmare Called Gorgonus!" is reprinted in Adventure Comics #493.
- This story takes place after the events of Adventure Comics #415.
- "Dead Man's Hand!" is reprinted from The Phantom Stranger #3.
- "Beauty vs. the Beast" reprinted from Strange Adventures #191.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Main article: Supergirl Recommended Reading
- Zatanna Recommended Reading
- JLA: Zatanna's Search
- Justice League of America (Volume 1)
- Adventure Comics (Volume 1)
- Supergirl (Volume 1)
- Zatanna Special #1
- Zatanna (Volume 1)
- Day of Judgment (Volume 1)
- Reign in Hell (Volume 1)
- Zatanna: Everyday Magic
- Seven Soldiers: Zatanna (Volume 1)
- Zatanna (Volume 2)
- Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell
- Mystik U (Volume 1)
- Phantom Stranger Recommended Reading