Action Comics #279 for Sale - First Appearance of Fred Danvers - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: Action Comics (DC, 1938 series)
Issue: #279
Publication date: August 1961
Key date: 1961-08-00
On-sale date: 1961-06-29
Indicia publisher: National Comics Publications Inc.
Price: $0.10
Pages: 36
Rating: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance of Fred Danvers - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Lesla-Lar - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Edna Danvers - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	The Super-Rivals!	cover	1	pencils: Curt Swan; inks: Stan Kaye; letters: Ira Schnapp	Hercules, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Samson, Superman
2	The Super-Rivals!	comic story	12.67	script: Robert Bernstein; pencils: John Forte; inks: John Forte	Hercules, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Samson, Superman, Perry White
4	-	letters page	1	script: Mort Weisinger; pencils: Curt Swan; inks: Stan Kaye
5	See the Many Fantastic Faces of Superman...	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.5	pencils: Curt Swan; inks: Stan Kaye; letters: Ira Schnapp	Clark Kent, Superman
6	At Last!	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.5	letters: Ira Schnapp	Barry Allen, Batman, Rocky Davis, The Flash, Dick Grayson, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Prof Haley, Roy Harper, J'Onn J'Onzz, Hal Jordan, Clark Kent, Martian Manhunter, Ace Morgan
7	-	comic story	0.67	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Tricksy
8	Coming... Super-Attractions!	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.33		Lois Lane
9	-	comic story	0.67	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Casey the Cop
11	Supergirl's Secret Enemy!	comic story	11.67	script: Jerry Siegel; pencils: Jim Mooney; inks: Jim Mooney	Brainiac, Edna Danvers First, Fred Danvers First, Kara Zor-El, Jor-El, Jerro, Clark Kent, Lesla-Lar First, Lori Lemaris, Lex Luthor, Streaky, Supergirl, Superman
13	The Inside Stories of Batman and Robin's Top Secrets	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.5	pencils: Curt Swan, Sheldon Moldoff, Dick Sprang; inks: Charles Paris; letters: Ira Schnapp	Batman, Dick Grayson, Robin, Bruce Wayne

Plus 6.49 pages of advertisements and other matter across 9 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Action Comics #360	1968	On eBay ›
Supergirl Archives #2 ISBN 1-4012-0000-1	2004	On eBay ›
Showcase Presents: Superman #3 ISBN 978-1-4012-1271-1	2007	On eBay ›
Showcase Presents: Supergirl #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-1717-4	2008	On eBay ›
Superman in Action Comics #1 ISBN 1-55859-595-3	1993	On eBay ›
Supergirl: The Silver Age Omnibus #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-6246-4	2016	On eBay ›
Supergirl: The Silver Age #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-7292-0	2017	On eBay ›
The Silver Age of Superman The Greatest Covers of Action Comics from the '50s to the '70s #[nn] ISBN 0-89660-055-6	1995	On eBay ›
DC Finest: Supergirl: The Girl of Steel #[nn] ISBN 978-1-77952-990-9	2025	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Check spine ticks and cover gloss in the photos; silver-age Marvels chip at the edges easily.
Look for tanning at the page edges and transfer stains on the inside covers.
Confirm the cover price against the plate; higher prices can mean a later or foreign printing.

Series context

‹ #278279 of 866#280 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com