Comic Title: Action Comics #48
Publisher: DC (Detective Comics, Inc.)
Address: 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Cover Date: May 1942
Approx. On Sale Date: March 18, 1942 Copyright Date March 14, 1942
Source: Library of Congress, Periodicals 1942
Until 1958 DC did not report actual on sale dates to the copyright office
The publication dates listed in LoC records are NOT release dates.

Frequency: Monthly
Cover Price: $0.10
Page Count: 64
Editor: Fredric Whitney Ellsworth

Title: "The Case of the Maddening Music"
Pages: 9

Feature(s):
Zatara (of Earth-2)

Writer: Gardner F. Fox
Artist: Joseph Sulman

Feature Character(s)

• Zatara (last appearance in Action Comics #47; next appearance in Action Comics #49)

Villain(s)

• Jan Harrl (a composer; dies in this story; no further appearances)
• Harrl's henchmen (no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

• Bob and Myra Barth (a music student and his wife; no further appearances)
• Lucius and Martha Gordon (a banker and his wife; Lucius also called Harry once in this story; no further appearances)
• Donald (a chauffeur; no further appearances)
• Ed and Molly (a young couple; no further appearances)

Synopsis:
Zatara attends a concert held by composer Jan Harrl. During the performance Bob Barth, Harrl's student, becomes hypnotized by the music. He then attempts to murder banker Lucius Gordon. Zatara prevents the murder and learns about Harrl from Bob's wife Myra.

Zatara follows Harrl and witnesses him kidnap Gordon and his wife. The composer was once employed by the banker and feels he was mistreated. When Zatara tries to rescue the couple, he is overcome by the hypnotic music and nearly kills himself.

Zatara escapes the deadly music. He recovers in time to stop a bank robbery conducted by Harrl's men. Finally he turns the composer's music against Harrl. The sound drives the man to kill himself. With Harrl dead, the threat to Gordon is over.