Editing Action Comics (section)

===The Silver Age===
Under editor [[Mort Weisinger]],<ref name="GCD-Weisinger">{{cite web|url= http://www.comics.org/search/advanced/process/?ind_pub_notes=&reprint_notes=&letters=&series=Action+Comics&series_notes=&issue_notes=&synopsis=&colors=&keywords=&isbn=&tracking_notes=&job_number=&issues=&issue_date=&issue_reprinted=None&title=&variant_name=&brand=&feature=&indicia_publisher=&pub_name=&is_indexed=None&start_date=&pub_notes=&inks=&issue_title=&end_date=&format=&brand_notes=&price=&barcode=&volume=&pages=&characters=&genre=&issue_pages=&order2=date&order3=&order1=series&pencils=&target=issue&story_editing=Mort+Weisinger&notes=&is_surrogate=None&issue_count=&issue_editing=Mort+Weisinger&method=icontains&script=&logic=True&indicia_frequency=&story_reprinted=None&page=1|title= Mort Weisinger's run on ''Action Comics''|publisher= Grand Comics Database}}</ref> the ''Action Comics'' title saw a further expansion of the Superman mythology. Writer Jerry Coleman and Wayne Boring created the [[Fortress of Solitude]] in issue #241 (June 1958)<ref>[[Alexander C. Irvine|Irvine, Alex]] "1950s" in Dolan, p. 91: "Superman's Fortress of Solitude was seen for the first time. The story 'The Super-Key to Fort Superman', by writer Jerry Coleman and artist Wayne Boring, revealed the secrets of the Fortress."</ref> and [[Otto Binder]] and [[Al Plastino]] debuted the villain [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]] and the Bottle City of [[Kandor (comics)|Kandor]] in the next issue the following month.<ref>Irvine "1950s" in Dolan, p. 90: "The mythology of Krypton expanded dramatically with the introduction of the evil Brainiac and the Bottle City of Kandor in the ''Action Comics'' #242 story 'The Super-Duel in Space', written by Otto Binder and [drawn by] artist Al Plastino"</ref>

Gradually, the size of the issues was decreased. The publisher was reluctant to raise the cover price from the original 10 cents and reduced the number of stories. For a while, [[Congo Bill]] and [[Tommy Tomorrow]] were the two features in addition to Superman. Writer [[Robert Bernstein (comics)|Robert Bernstein]] and artist Howard Sherman revamped the "Congo Bill" backup feature in issue #248 (January 1959) in a story wherein the character gained the ability to swap bodies with a gorilla and his strip was renamed [[Congorilla]].<ref>Irvine "1950s" in Dolan, p. 92: "Writer Robert Bernstein and artist Howard Sherman gave Congo Bill a new direction in ''Action Comics'' #248."</ref> The introduction of [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Supergirl]] by Otto Binder and Al Plastino occurred in issue #252 (May 1959).<ref>Irvine "1950s" in Dolan, p. 94: "''Action Comics'' #252 revealed there was another survivor [of Krypton]—Supergirl.  Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) crashed to Earth, having been sent there by her parents."</ref>  Following this debut appearance, Supergirl adopted the secret identity of an orphan "Linda Lee" and made Midvale Orphanage her base of operations. In ''Action Comics'' #261 (February 1960), her pet cat [[Streaky the Supercat|Streaky]] was introduced<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Jerry Siegel|Siegel, Jerry]]| penciller= [[Jim Mooney|Mooney, Jim]]| inker= Mooney, Jim| story=Supergirl's Super Pet!| title= Action Comics| issue= 261| date= February 1960}}</ref> by Jerry Siegel and [[Jim Mooney]].<ref>{{cite book|last = Eury|first = Michael|author-link = Michael Eury|chapter= Jim Mooney Interview|title = The Krypton Companion|publisher = [[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|date= 2006|location= Raleigh, North Carolina|page = 44| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Fcm4JrX-F54C&q=streaky+the+supercat&pg=PA44| isbn = 1-893905-61-6 |quote= Streaky the Supercat was my design. I think the writer came up with the initial idea, but I designed him so he looked a little bit more like an animated cat.}}</ref>  Supergirl joined the [[Legion of Super-Heroes]] in issue #276.<ref>{{cite comic| Writer = Siegel, Jerry| Penciller = Mooney, Jim| Inker = Mooney, Jim| Story = Supergirl's Three Super Girl-Friends!| Title = Action Comics | Issue = 276 | date = May 1961}}</ref> She acted for three years as Superman's "secret weapon", until her existence was revealed in ''Action Comics'' #285 (January 1962).<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 105: "In January's ''Action Comics'' #285 written by Jerry Siegel, with art by Jim Mooney, Superman's Kryptonian cousin Kara Zor-El was finally revealed as Supergirl to a very receptive Earth."</ref> In the view of comics historian [[Les Daniels]], artist [[Curt Swan]] became the definitive artist of Superman in the early 1960s with a "new look" to the character that replaced Wayne Boring's version.<ref>Daniels "The Superman Family Strength in Numbers", p. 118: "By 1961, Swan's new look would replace Wayne Boring's patriarchal version. Swan's Superman became definitive, and ultimately he would draw, as he says, 'more Superman stories than anybody else.'"</ref> [[Bizarro World]] first appeared in the story "The World of Bizarros!" in issue #262 (April 1960).<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 100: "When Superman visited the dead planet inhabited by Bizarro...writer Otto Binder and artist Wayne Boring introduced an entire world filled with the backward beings."</ref>  Writer [[Jim Shooter]] created the villain the [[Parasite (comics)|Parasite]] in ''Action Comics'' #340 (Aug. 1966).<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 118: "With a story written by Jim Shooter and drawn by Al Plastino, the Parasite entered Superman's life."</ref>