Adventure Comics #491 for Sale - First Appearance of Tula - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: Adventure Comics (DC, 1938 series)
Issue: #491
Publication date: September 1982
Key date: 1982-09-00
On-sale date: 1982-05-11
Indicia publisher: DC Comics Inc.
Price: $0.95
Pages: 100

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

Why this issue matters

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

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

First appearance of Zeus - 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	-	cover	1	pencils: Keith Giffen; inks: Romeo Tanghal; colors: Anthony Tollin; letters: Gaspar Saladino	Imra Ardeen, Billy Batson, Mary Batson, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Cosmic Boy, Freddy Freeman, Ibac, Clark Kent, Rokk Krinn, Lightning Lad, Mary Marvel, Stanley Printwhistle, Garth Ranzz
1	Announcing the Triumphant Return of Adventure Comics	table of contents	1	script: Carl Gafford
2	The Confederation of Hell	comic story	9	script: E. Nelson Bridwell; pencils: Don Newton; inks: Frank Chiaramonte; colors: Adrienne Roy; letters: Philip Felix; editing: Dave Manak	Billy Batson, Mary Batson, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Christopher "Kit" Freeman, Freddy Freeman, Ibac, Timothy Karnes, Kid Eternity, Mary Marvel, Master Man, Mr. Keeper, Stanley Printwhistle, Sabbac
3	The Legion of Super-Heroes	comic story	12	script: Otto Binder; pencils: Al Plastino; inks: Al Plastino; colors: Jerry Serpe	Imra Ardeen, Cosmic Boy, Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent, Rokk Krinn, Lightning Lad, Garth Ranzz, Saturn Girl, Superboy
4	Sorcerers of the Sea	comic story	23	script: Steve Skeates; pencils: Jim Aparo; inks: Jim Aparo; colors: Bob LeRose; letters: Jim Aparo; editing: Dick Giordano	Aquababy, Aquagirl First, Aqualad, Aquaman, Arthur Curry, Arthur Curry Jr., Garth, Mera, Tula First, Nuidis Vulko
5	The Canary and the Cat! Part One	comic story	8	script: Denny O'Neil; pencils: Alex Toth; inks: Alex Toth; colors: Tom Ziuko; letters: Alex Toth	Black Canary, Green Arrow, Dinah Lance, Oliver Queen
6	The Man Who Couldn't Sleep!	comic story	10	script: Jack Kirby; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Joe Simon; colors: Nansi Hoolahan; letters: Howard Ferguson	Wesley Dodds, Sandy Hawkins, The Sandman, Sandy the Golden Boy
7	Prisoner of the Super-Heroes!	comic story	11	script: Jerry Siegel; pencils: George Papp; inks: George Papp; colors: Jerry Serpe; letters: Joe Letterese	Imra Ardeen, Cosmic Boy, Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Rokk Krinn, Krypto, Lightning Lad, Garth Ranzz, Saturn Girl, Superboy
8	War That Shook the Universe!	comic story	23	script: Gardner Fox; pencils: Murphy Anderson; inks: Murphy Anderson; colors: Anthony Tollin; letters: Gaspar Saladino; editing: Julius Schwartz	Azmodus, Jim Corrigan, The Spectre
9	The Story Behind the Stories	text article	1	script: Paul Levitz
10	100 Pages of Non-Stop Action and Suspense!	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	script: Carl Gafford; pencils: Keith Giffen; inks: Romeo Tanghal; letters: Gaspar Saladino	Aquaman, Imra Ardeen, Black Canary, Jim Corrigan, Cosmic Boy, Arthur Curry, Wesley Dodds, Clark Kent, Rokk Krinn, Dinah Lance, Lightning Lad, Garth Ranzz, The Sandman, Saturn Girl

Printings and variants

Edition	How to tell
Newsstand	barcode 0709893170909

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Shazam!: The World's Mightiest Mortal #3 ISBN 978-1-77950-946-8	2021	On eBay ›

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

Before you buy

Check the price box: Marvel ran 30-cent and 35-cent test-market price variants in 1976-77.
Canadian and Whitman editions exist for many bronze books; match the barcode area to the plate.
Look for Mark Jewelers inserts and date stamps - they affect collector preference, not authenticity.

Series context

‹ #490460 of 472#492 ›

Sources

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

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