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DC · Silver Age · 1958
Action Comics #242
DC · 1958
Noted for: Brainiac and the Bottle City of Kandor
KEY ISSUEShop this issue
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Before you buy
Verify the issue and printing, check the grader certification, review restoration notes, and compare recent sold examples in the same grade.
The Action Comics #242 in context
Why collectors care
The first appearance of Brainiac and of the bottled city of Kandor, cover-dated July 1958, by Otto Binder and Al Plastino. Brainiac became one of Superman's two definitive antagonists, and Kandor a permanent fixture of the mythos.
How to identify it
Action Comics #242, 1958. Two significant firsts in one issue, which is part of why it outperforms its neighbours in the run.
Common mistakes
Confusing it with Action Comics #252 (first Supergirl), also in this catalog and only ten issues later.
Grade considerations
A late-1950s book where high grade is genuinely scarce. Cover gloss, spine ticks and tanning limit most copies.
Part of these hubs
Action Comics #252
DC · 1959
1st: Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Action Comics #1
DC · 1938
1st: Superman
Detective Comics #359
DC · 1967
1st: Barbara Gordon as Batgirl
Adventure Comics #247
DC · 1958
1st: Legion of Super-Heroes