Friday, June 19, 2009

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #122

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #122 (On Sale: June 19, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Neal Adams.

We begin with "A Date with Miss Metropolis" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #27 by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Ray Burnley. Jimmy Olsen agrees to interview the winner of the Miss Metropolis contest. He thinks it was a beauty contest, so he tries to impress her. When he arrives though he finds out that she is ugly. He doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, but he tries to get out of dating her. However, everything Jimmy tries backfires. Finally, he disguises himself as an Englishman to romance Gloria. She jilts Jimmy, freeing him from her attention.

Next is "Jimmy Olsen, Freak" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #59 by Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan and George Klein. An alien girl comes to Earth and meets Jimmy. She wants to marry him and gives him a belt, which allows him to gain super-powers. Jimmy agrees to the marriage, but when he learns that Ilona has four other husbands, he wants to back out. Superman arranges to make Ilona believe Jimmy has two other wives, causing her to leave without him. Lucy Lane now wants to date Jimmy since he was seen with a beautiful woman.

That is followed by "The Girl Who Was Lucy Lane's Double" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #60 and by Robert Bernstein, Curt Swan and George Klein. Jimmy Olsen spots Streaky and sees the super-cat travel back in time. Jimmy uses the Sunevian Magic Belt given to him by Princess Ilona to follow Streaky back to colonial Salem. He meets a girl there named Lucinda Lawrence who resembles Lucy Lane. Jimmy’s actions using the magic belt get him branded a witch. Lucinda, who is a real witch, saves Jimmy from being killed and sends him back to his own time.

Our next story is "Jimmy Olsen, Wolf-Man" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #52 and by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan and Stan Kaye. Mxyzptlk returns to Earth and becomes infatuated with Lucy Lane. When he approaches her however she claims to have a boyfriend already, Jimmy Olsen. The imp decides to eliminate Jimmy by once again using the wolfman potion to transform him into a Wolf-Man.

Superman arranges for Supergirl, whom Jimmy knows only as Miss X, to kiss Jimmy. This time however it does not revert Jimmy back to normal because of Mxyzptlk’s magic. Jimmy also receives kisses from Lois Lane, Lucy, Lori Lemaris and Lana Lang, but none are effective.

Miss Gzptlsnz, Mxyzptlk’s girlfriend, arrives, kisses Jimmy, and cures him. She then tricks the imp back to his own dimension and explains that her magic allowed Jimmy to return to normal.

Next is "Jimmy the Soda Jerk" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #58 by Robert Bernstein Curt Swan and George Klein. Jimmy Olsen goes undercover as a soda jerk to discover how ex-con drugstore owner, Legs Halleck is passing messages to his gang. Jimmy fumbles through his job trying to locate the hidden messages until he gets an idea. He asks a fat woman, Elsie, who has a crush on him to step on the scales of a weight machine. The machine dispenses a card with directions for the gang on it if the person is over 300 lbs. This helps Jimmy get proof against Halleck and his fat partner, Willie Paxton, who was receiving the messages.

That is followed by "The Human Porcupine" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #65 by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan and George Klein. Miss Gzptlsnz from Mr. Mxyzptlk’s 5th dimension visits Earth seeking a husband. Jimmy tells her that he is not interested, then makes a cruel comment to Superman about her. Miss Gzptlsnz gets revenge by changing Jimmy into a human porcupine. She forces him to remain that way until he agrees to marry her. Jimmy tries and finally manages to get the imp girl to say her name backwards, returning her to the 5th dimension, reversing the spell, and returning Jimmy to normal.

We end with "Jimmy Olsen's Viking Sweetheart" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #69 and by Leo Dorfman and John Forte. Jimmy and his fan club visit a ski resort where Jimmy is once again jilted by Lucy Lane. The fan club uses a female robot to make Lucy jealous. Jimmy is unaware that his new girlfriend is a robot, but Lucy finds out and makes the robot dump Jimmy. When she is about to gloat, Lucy discovers that Jimmy was about to dump the robot himself because of his love for Lucy. Finally she decides to give Jimmy another chance.
Edited by Mort Weisinger.

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