Signal your fleet to destroy itself, or I'll destroy YOU! 
- — Superman
Action Comics #30 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1940.
Synopsis for Superman: "A Summer Snow"
A freak midsummer snowstorm strikes Metropolis. A voice breaks into a commercial radio broadcast, claiming to be Laura Vogel and calling for Superman to meet her at Park Ferry; she has important information about the crazy weather. Superman shows up, just slightly too late to prevent an unidentified young woman from getting killed with some advanced radium weapons wielded by helmeted Arab agents.
- Months earlier, Carlton Vogel, an archaeologist in the Sahara, approaches the lost city of Ulonda with his expedition. Helmeted Arabs attack, using globe-like weapons, killing Carlton and his men.
In the present, Carlton Vogel's sister Laura Vogel nobly refuses to remain silent, after her brother sent her a letter about Zolar's plans (which are to invade Ulonda and obtain a vast supply of radium). Zolar's Arab agents have traveled to the United States and pressured Laura to be silent. She contacted Superman, and Zolar's Arab agents killed her, then they "kidnapped" an impersonator, their own female agent, pretending to be Laura Vogel. This person met with Superman (who had already been contacted by the late Laura). These Arab agents were armed with some globe-like gun-like devices, which disintegrated people and objects, "leaving only their shadows behind." Superman finally catches up to the group that took fake-Laura, but is knocked out by their weapon. He is captured and loaded onto one of the villains' strato-ships, but learns that the man behind everything is a would-be world despot called Zolar. Superman frees himself and fake-Laura, (having quietly regained his full strength), then goes into super action to disrupt Zolar's invasion of Ulonda. He attacks Zolar's fleet of strato-ships and is making quite a bit of headway against them, when Zolar orders his fleet to "Release the meteor death!" They drop a cascade of the blazing globes, engulfing Ulonda in awful destruction. Superman carrying Laura is able to catch his foe's skyship and board it in mid-flight. He gives Zolar an ultimatum, and doesn't seem to be kidding: Zolar must order his fleet to destroy itself; he does and they do. "Obeying Zolar's weird hypnotic powers, hordes of his planes deliberately crash!" But Laura turns out to be an agent of Zolar, as the real Laura was killed some time earlier. Laura uses the globe weapon on Superman, but it backfires, bouncing right off Superman's invulnerable chest, killing her and Zolar, leaving only their shadows behind, and of course crashing the aircraft. The surviving Ulondians are now safe from their deadly nemesis.
Appearing in Superman: "A Summer Snow"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Zolar (Dies) (See Notes.)
- Zolar's agent (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Laura Vogel (Single appearance; dies)
- Carlton Vogel (Single appearance; dies)
- Bob Calvert (Single appearance)
- Ulondan populace (many die)
Locations:
- Metropolis
- Sahara Desert
- Lost City of Ulonda
Items:
- Zolar's agents' globe-shaped disintegrator rifles
- the "meteor death"
- Zolar's weather-adjusting apparatus (Behind the scenes)
- Radium
Vehicles:
- Zolar's Strato-Ships
Synopsis for Pep Morgan: "The "Fred Norman" Jinx"
Fred Norman has won every race he's ever run against Pep Morgan. Pep feels like he's been jinxed ever since his high school track run, when he tripped during the last leg, allowing Norman to beat him. To win the conference championship, Pep's going to need to break the mental jinx he placed on himself. He trains and trains, but Fred beats him in two different races. But a chance encounter with a runaway horse, pulling a buggy that contains Fred's little sister Molly, snaps Pep out of his funk, as he chases down the horse and gains control of it, then notices that Fred also was chasing the buggy, and that he had passed Fred. Finally his "jinx" is broken!
At their next race, Pep wins handily, setting a new conference record.
Appearing in Pep Morgan: "The "Fred Norman" Jinx"
Featured Characters:
- Pep Morgan (Flashback and main story)
Other Characters:
- The Hill-and-Dalers, Midtown College's cross-country team
- cross-country coach
- Fred Norman, of State University (Flashback and main story)
- Molly Norman
Locations:
- Midtown College (See Notes.)
Synopsis for Black Pirate: "The Attack"
Jon Valor and his crew have taken over the Red Raiders' stockade, but the cutthroats are swarming over the walls like ants, trying to reconquer it. Cutlasses and rapiers take their toll on both sides, and it goes on for hours, until the desperate Raiders set fire to their own stockade, scattering the surviving fighters. Jon Valor is one of these and he wanders on the island, exhausted, until at last he falls down.
Morning comes, and Valor finds his way to the beach, and spots the Sea Queen, now crewless, anchored just offshore. He swims to the ship, boards it, and loads a small catboat with provisions, then puts out to sea.
A few days out he sights a galley, approaches it unhailed and unchallenged, boards it, and on the main deck meets a pistol-pointing pirate. This lookout marches him aft to meet Captain Treble, who conscripts him into his rowing crew of manacled slaves. Soon the galley approaches a small rocky peak, jutting out of the ocean. Here the ship is moored and a gangplank is extended. A jeering crew of pirates bring all the slaves up from the hold, and leads them onto the island and down a dark man-made shaft, then imprisons them in a dungeon far beneath the surface. According to one prisoner, they are at the bottom of a mostly-submerged mountain, where Captain Treble has discovered a rich source of phosphate. Every few months a new boatload of slaves arrives to mine the phosphate; some live longer than others. Jon Valor resolves to escape.
Appearing in Black Pirate: "The Attack"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Sea Queen's Crew (scattered and/or killed)
Antagonists:
- Red Raiders (many die)
- Captain Treble
Other Characters:
- Treble's slaves
Locations:
- South Atlantic Ocean (16th Century)
- Port of Missing Ships (See Notes.)
Vessels:
- The Sea Queen (damaged, abandoned)
- small catboat
- Treble's slave galley
Synopsis for Three Aces: "The Headhunters and the Incan Treasure"
Bill Cortland, an old wartime friend of the Three Aces, survives a plane crash in South America, and is missing. Fog, Gunner, and Whistler read about this in the newspaper, and get airborne right away to search for him.
In the Brazilian Jungle, they encounter a massive hostile force of headhunters, and in a running gun battle are forced to flee up a rocky mountain. As they hunker down for a final stand, the savage tribesmen pause in dismay, and retreat in great disorder. Intensely puzzled, the Aces look around, and find a walking skeleton among them. It seems harmless, and it beckons them to follow it, to a cavern, and up a dark underground stream, to a large chamber with a rock throne. There the skeleton seats itself. Gunner has had enough of this nonsense, he draws his revolver and shoots the skeleton in the head. This draws forth peals of laughter from the skeleton, who now addresses the three of them by name, and asks them why they're there. Gunner tells it they're looking for Bill Decortland, and the skeleton directs them to another chamber of the cave. There they find Decortland, rolling around on the ground, convulsing with laughter. He's been using wires and a speaking tube to manipulate the skeleton, which is what has kept the local headhunters from catching him for all these months.
Decortland also has found an Inca treasure trove, easily a cool billion in gold. In their small planes they can carry away only three massive chests of it, leaving behind the rest.
Appearing in Three Aces: "The Headhunters and the Incan Treasure"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Headhunters, many (some die)
Other Characters:
- Bill Decortland (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Brazil
- dense jungle
- Nambali Region
- dense jungle
- Three Aces' home city
Items:
- Incan Treasure
Vehicles:
- Decortland's plane (Destroyed)
- The Aces' red dive bombers
Synopsis for Tex Thomson: "Dr. Mixxo's Protection Racket"
Appearing in Tex Thomson: "Dr. Mixxo's Protection Racket"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Bob Daley
- D.A. Maloney
- Peggy Maloney (Final appearance as "Miss X")
Antagonists:
- Dr. Mixxo (wears a dark-glass monocle) (Single appearance)
- Mr. Mapes, henchman (Single appearance)
- Tony, henchman (Single appearance)
- Mr. Solar (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Mr. Greene, fur wholesaler (Single appearance)
- his secretary
- hospital nurse
- gullible cops
- idiot witness
- smarter cops
Locations:
- Brooklyn
- D.A. Maloney's house
- Hospital
- Greene Furriers, Inc.
- Solar Brothers Furs, Inc.
- out in the country
- High Pass
- Dr. Mixxo's Hideout
- secret fur-dyeing factory
Vehicles:
- Solar Brothers' Truck
- Miss X's Sedan
Synopsis for Clip Carson: "Death on the Set!"
During a movie shoot which Clip oversees as consultant, the co-starring actress is killed on set. Clip's investigations uncovers a plot by a rival studio to stop the production, because that studio is shooting an identical movie, and wants to release it first. Clip catches the killer before he can murder the main actor.
Appearing in Clip Carson: "Death on the Set!"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Pierre Renoire, foreign press (Single appearance)
- Rudolf, his lookalike chauffeur (Single appearance)
- his Arabian maidservant (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Pudge, publicity manager (Single appearance)
- Pat, producer (Single appearance)
- Marie Temperal, actress (Single appearance; dies)
- Allen Lane, actor (Single appearance)
- cab driver
Locations:
- California
- Hollywood
- Adventure Pictures
- 1154 Hollywood West, Renoir's suburban hideout
- Hollywood
Items:
- Renoir's walking cane, with a built-in electric ray projector
Synopsis for Zatara: "Mottled Death"
In one coastal city in America, an outbreak of robbery-murders has the police baffled. A venomous species of South American insect, the Jungle Jumbo, is being used in these crimes. Detective Regan enlists Zatara's help. It soon becomes apparent that his old adversary the Tigress is involved. Her new crime partner, the Master, is able to resist a backwards-verbal command from Zatara, to NRUTER! They get away, but Zatara deduces that they will flee to South America, and follows them there, mostly by levitating. Guided by his psychic sense, Zatara appears at their hotel and makes trouble for them; they flee to the jungle.
For several days, they make their way to the Hall of Magic, in the City of Kilgor, far inland on the Waters of Jagolang, expecting to work a powerful magic that will defeat Zatara. He gets there ahead of them and greets them from a comfortable chair inside. Their meeting is interrupted by a band of spearmen bursting into the Hall, but Zatara easily deals with all of this. When he's finished, one Native warrior has been turned into dust, the others have been distracted away by a man made out of weather, the Master has been teleported into an American prison, and the Tigress is turned over to an American police department.
Appearing in Zatara: "Mottled Death"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- The Tigress
- The Master (Single appearance)
- two waterfront thugs
- band of South American spearmen (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Detective Regan (Single appearance)
- Mr. Carr (Dies)
Insects:
- South American Jungle Jumbo
- (carries the "Mottled Death")
Locations:
- big coastal U.S. city
- Jones Club
- Master's apartment, # J-22
- Carr mansion
- Krieger's Drugs store
- South America
- coastal city
- Waters of the Jagolang, inland
- Kilgor (aka "Dead City of Kilgor" and the "City of Ancient Magic")
- Hall of Magic
Vessels:
- S. American Ship Lines passenger liner
Notes
- Published monthly by Detective Comics, Inc.
- This issue's Black Pirate episode is continued from last issue and continues into next issue.
- The "Port of Missing Ships" was called that, once, in the "Next Issue" blurb at the end of Action Comics #28's story, but no character calls it that and neither do the captions.
- First issue for George Papp on Clip Carson, replacing Sheldon Moldoff.
- Clip gets pistol-whipped unconscious.
- Pep Morgan:
- Two issues ago Pep Morgan was attending Middletown College, and three issues ago he was enrolled in Ardale College. Now, for the first time, he's attending Midtown College.
- The cross-country coach smokes cigarettes.
- Superman:
- A Summer Snow is reprinted in Superman: The Action Comics Archives Vol. 2 and Superman Chronicles Vol. 4.
- George Taylor is still the editor of the Daily Planet in this story indicating it must occur chronologically prior to the first story of Superman #7, in which Perry White takes over.
- Zolar's nationality and origin are unknown, as are those of his Arab soldiers, airmen, and agents.
- Zolar has the same name as an earlier Siegel & Shuster villain, from the Doctor Occult story in More Fun Comics #23.
- The origins of Zolar's technology are also unknown.
- Zolar had a fleet of radium-powered strato-ships, armed with a W.M.D. called "meteor death."
- His troops were armed with advanced radium-powered globe-shaped disintegrator rifles.
- Zolar also had some way of causing it to snow in Metropolis, in late June.
- Zolar and his female agent were killed by radium, and only their shadows were left behind. In the Real World, a person killed during the Hiroshima bombing had the same doom.
- The Three Aces:
- The Aces, and Bill Decortland, served in France during the First World War.
- The captions in the first few panels of issue #28's story strongly imply that it is a sequel to this issue's story, published out of sequence.
- Zatara's villainess the Tigress was last seen in Action Comics #25, and will return in Action Comics #35. Also she carries a glass cutter, for breaking into mansions.
- Zatara explains: "Did you ever hear of transference of material matter by thought control? That is how I accomplished it! Just as the Tibetan Lamas do!"
- Zatara's spoken command is, for the first time, not obeyed, indicating to Zatara that the Master is a mighty magician. Then again, Zatara has no further trouble pursuing, confronting, toying with, and defeating him, so maybe it was just a fluke.
- Also appearing in this issue of Action Comics were:
- "Announcing the New Superman Krypto-Raygun" (full page black-&-white ad for the Superman Krypto-Raygun from Daisy Manufacturing)
- "Supermen of America" (full page text advertisement for the fan club)
- "New!" (1/2 page ad for the current issue of Superman #7)
- "Listen to the Superman Radio Program!" (full page ad for The Adventures of Superman (radio series), featuring "The Return of the Yellow Mask!")
- "Danny Dubb" by Stan Aschmeier
- Fantastic Facts: "Elagabalus, Monkeys, Footprint, Toothpicks, Gentleman Jim", by George Papp
- Book Review: "The Royal Road to Romance" by Richard Halliburton, reviewer uncredited
- "Tall Timber" (text story) by Bert London
- "Here It Is -- Better Than Ever!" (1/2 page ad for the current issues of All-American, Adventure, Flash, More Fun, and especially All-Star Comics #2)
- "These Four Comic Magazines ..." (1/2 page ad for the current issues of Superman, Action Comics, Batman, and Detective Comics)
See Also