Comic Title: Action Comics #45
Publisher: DC (Detective Comics, Inc.)
Address: 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Cover Date: February 1942
Approx. On Sale Date: December 17, 1941 Copyright Date December 15, 1941
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 Cobra)
Pages: 9

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

Writer: Gardner F. Fox
Artist: Joseph Sulman

Feature Character(s)

• Zatara (last appearance in Action Comics #44; next appearance in Action Comics #46)

Villain(s)

• The Cobra (J. Hamilton Sears; no further appearances)
• Three kidnappers (Butch named; no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

• Sandra Norris and George (a secretary and her boyfriend; no further appearances)

Comments:
This story was not originally titled.

Synopsis:
Zatara witnesses the kidnapping of a young woman, Sandra Norris. He follows the crooks, but he is captured before he can rescue the girl. The crooks try to get the girl to reveal her boss's safe combination. When she refuses the kidnappers leave her and Zatara to die in a house fire.

The crooks then break into the office of Sandra's boss, J. Hamilton Sears. Inside they find their leader, a masked man known as the Cobra. The Cobra gives them the safe combination, and they use it to steal the company payroll. The crooks then frame Sandra's boyfriend George.

Zatara and Sandra escape the fire, but are arrested by the police. Sandra and George are blamed for the theft. Zatara uses magic to get out of jail. He then tracks down the crooks and exposes Sears as the Cobra. The man wanted to rob his own company which was insured and intended to frame Sandra for the crime.