Jimmy’s seeing little people everywhere! Could it be elves? Leprechauns? What is the secret of The Superman Emergency Squad? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #48 awaits!

SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #48

Writer: Otto Binder
Penciler: Curt Swan
Inker: John Forte
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Ira Schnapp
Editor: Mort Weisinger
Publisher: National Comics Publications (DC Comics)
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $200.00
Release Date: August 16, 1960

Previously in Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen: The huge Superman supporting cast of the Silver Age was assembled slowly, over multiple titles, including solo books for Lois Lane, a series of Supergirl features, the recurring adventures of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and more. Still, one of the unifying forces of that world was Jimmy Olsen, the cub reporter who had Superman on speed dial, but also casually dated aliens and Legionnaires, routinely visited alien planets, and went through more changes than a Durlan in a microwave. Jimmy’s solo book, like Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane, was born out of the Adventures of Superman TV show of the early-1950s, and like hers, often featured Jimmy getting powers of his own. This time, though, neither his own rotating powers nor the Man of Steel are available to save him when the Daily Planet’s flying news copter drops out of the sky on the way back from a visit with his fan club.

But young Master Olsen’s number isn’t up just yet.

Landing safely at the Daily Planet, Jimmy tells his editor, Perry White, about his tiny saviors, only for The Chief to laugh him out of his office. After all, in a world with Superman, Supergirl, Krypto the Super-Dog, Brainiac, and a hundred other absolutely bonkers, unbelievable things every way you turn, why would you believe in little flying super-leprechauns?

Oh, wait. Maybe Perry IS being a jerk?

This issue’s art is the work of classic Superman artist Curt Swan, with the inks of John Forte, whom I remember mostly from his work on the Legion in Adventure Comics. The synthesis of their styles is incredibly attractive, especially in the renditions of the tiny little men coming to save Jimmy’s bacon. Swan’s soft edges combine with the strong linework of Forte’s stiffer style, creating a fun middle ground.

After his near-death experience, he falls asleep at his desk (which some might attribute to shock trauma), awakening to find that his saviors have typed up the piece he was assigned to write. This frees Jimmy to return to the clubhouse of his fan club and show another souvenir of his adventures with the Man of Tomorrow. That’s when the tiny Supermen arrive again, swarming into his office to steal the souvenir right from his hand!

Unbeknownst to young Jimmy, his tiny friends are in fact citizens of the bottle city of Kandor, which was shrunken by Brainiac years before the explosion of Krypton. The missing Superman asked them to keep watch over Metropolis, Jimmy, and Supergirl, who is still his secret weapon as of this story. Since Jimmy has been showing his various souvenirs to his fan club, they’ve been taking great care to monitor which treasures he’s sharing and stole this particular ray gun for a very good reason.

On the one hand, it’s great that the Superman Emergency Squad caught Supergirl’s “boo-boo” before anyone could use it against the Super-fam, but on the other, I find their attitude pretty condescending to Kara. Then again, since they’re pranking poor Jimmy with their every appearance, maybe they’re jerks? Or maybe there’s just something about wearing that uniform in the Silver Age that inspires Superdickery? Either way, a little heat vision from the Girl of Steel fixes the fingerprint problem, and they rush back to return Jimmy’s souvenir.

Given the Silver Age propensity for reprinting, it’s hard to tell precisely, but the Superman Emergency Squad (known as the Superman Squad here in their first appearance) made about two dozen appearances before disappearing in 1970 (although they’ve made some modern appearances in the pages of All-Star Superman and The Coming of the Supermen.) This debut features all the hallmarks of a Weisinger-edited Super-book, meaning that Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #48 features crisp art, a premise that skirts the line between ingenious and ridiculous, and an ending that reminds us that Jimmy is just the kid partner, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. Maybe it’s just me, but this art team is perfectly in sync, giving us peak Superman comics, even more than the legendary pairing of Swan and Anderson.

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