JIMMY OLSEN 149 (1972)
by John Albano & Jose Delbo
cover by Bob Oksner
Now that the Jack Kirby run is over, will the title find its identity?
Writer John Albano is mostly known as the creator of Jonah Hex.
We begin with Jimmy on an airplane that is about to crash, and we’re quickly introduced to a new supporting character: rival journalist Meg Tempest.
I don’t mind Meg. She’s basically Lois Lane Junior but not, you know, completely insane.
After Superman helps land the plane but lets Jimmy get all the glory, we discover that the same thing that happened to the pilot of Jimmy’s flight is happening to a lot of pilots all over the country.
And it’s not happening just to pilots: people everywhere are suddenly falling asleep.
Jeez, I knew replacing Kirby had the potential for boring stories, but I never thought it would be this bad!
Meg might not be a crazy stalker like Lois but… she has issues. For example, when she’s catcalled by a couple of sleazeballs, she fakes being assaulted!
Jimmy beats up the two guys (!!!), but he’s then interrupted by a cop named Corrigan.
For some reason the letters page of following issues floats the idea that this is the return of the Spectre, only because his secret identity was also named Corrigan!!!
Guys, I know this is the series that SOMEHOW introduced Darkseid, but come on!
Back to Meg Tempest: she might not be crazy, but she’s still an a##hole.
I can’t believe she has managed to make me root for Jimmy Olsen!!!
She investigates on a lead (some guy was seen laughing next to the people who fell asleep… no seriously, that’s it) and she definitely has the Lois Lane tropes locked down, because she gets immediately kidnapped.
We interrupt this comic about silly journalist hijinks to bring you LITERALLY THE THANOS PLOT:
Discount Thanos plans to test his death ray on Meg (!!!) but SUDDEN JIMMY!!!
And then Discount Thanos dies on his own!
Then Jimmy finds a picture of the son of Discount Thanos. Who has not yet appeared and has been barely mentioned at the last second.
“Discount Thanos was right”.
But how are they going to find Discount Thanos’ son if they have absolutely no clue? Well, lucky for them there’s exactly ONE place in Metropolis where people care about the environment!
(WTF!?!?)
Not only the hunch is correct… but the suspect is actually Superman!!!
WHAT IN THE NAME OF PROFESSOR POTTER IS GOING ON!?
This makes NO sense, even for a Jimmy Olsen comic!!!
The son of the mad scientist thinks he’s Superman? Then why is he helping Discount Thanos with the death ray? If he thinks he’s actually Superman, shouldn’t he think he has his powers too!?
And so we end with Meg showing why she can be more successful than Lois Lane: unlike Lois, her main journalistic rival is an idiot.
Historical significance: 4/10
Meg Tempest becomes a supporting character. Unfortunately they never do much with her outside of this series.
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
The walking stereotype of Discount Thanos.
Does it stand the test of time? 4/10
We were SO close to a good story! Meg is a good character, even if she’s extremely derivative of Lois. The mystery was being written competently, even if the villain was a bit over the top… and then the story takes an absolutely random detour with the stuff about the son. Who, again, is BARELY mentioned before apparently becoming the main subject!
Stupid Jimmy Olsen moment
Jimmy is noticeably less stupid than the pre-Kirby incarnation… but he still manages to be tricked by Meg at every single point. At first I can get behind it, but it gets really ridiculous in the ending: after she’s ditched him multiple times to get the scoop, he STILL falls for the distraction!