After a month of spotlighting the strange (if endearingly strange) history of comic books (and especially the Silver Age), I think it is worthwhile to show the comic books of the Silver Age that are simply great stories period. Here is an archive of all the Silver Age comics features so far!

Today we look at the 1959 introduction of Superman's cousin, Supergirl, in Action Comics #252, by Otto Binder and Al Plastino!

Enjoy!

Action Comics #252 is particularly interesting because the first Superman story in the issue is a tale by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino that introduces the long-standing Superman villain, Metallo.

But the real standout story in the issue is the second story, the first appearance of Supergirl, in a nifty tale by Otto Binder and Al Plastino...

First off, look at the beautiful facial expressions by Plastino!

And then, check out the clever origin story Binder came up for Kara to explain exactly how you could have another survivor of Krypton who was YOUNGER than Superman and yet dressed just like him!

Then the next big twist - she's RELATED to Superman!!

Remember what I said about Plastino and facial expressions? Check out Superman's mug! Priceless!

Then Binder sets up a strong backdrop for future Supergirl stories (as well as a cute secret identity for her)...

What a wonderful job by Binder and Plastino to both introduce an interesting new character AND set her up for future stories. All in less than a dozen pages!!