Panels from SUPERBOY #124/OCT 1965 
Featuring Lana's first adventure as the INSECT QUEEN!
Every great hero needs an origin...
We're only two panels in and Lana's already hearing "voices". What's next?
I know if I grew up with Superboy, I would see this kind of thing once a week at least. Is it just me, or does this alien look like he could be Reep Daggle, Chameleon Boy?
WARNING TO OUR YOUNGER READERS : Never ever ever ever follow an alien back to his ship for any reason. Don't follow any flying, talking jewelry back to any alien ships either (I'm looking at you, Hal Jordan).
Lana Lang of Space Sector 2814 - Welcome to the Insect Lantern Corps!
Falling right to sleep after her exciting day, Lana awakens and hears a burglar downstairs; which she scares away with her giant, glowing butt. Why the burglar thinks this is a haunting I have no idea.
The next day, while playing badminton with Clark, Lana uses her new powers to heroically get the shuttlecock off the roof!
Later that day, Lana uses her powers again to, um, cheat on her homework? Apparently, Lana Lang knows about some species of insect that can communicate telepathically with its parents. We here at the Comic Book Confessional would really like to know the name of this insect species, but have this terrible feeling it doesn't exist (and it's not named in the issue).
This part's great. Even though Lana's mom thought-cast the homework to her, Lana still misspelled a word on her test.
The misspelled word?
"ECSTASY".
Finally, LL decides she should suit up...
Take flight...
And horn in on Superboy's turf.
Later, while fighting some gangsters in a warehouse, Lana gets buried under giant carpet rolls and turns into a moth larvae to eat herself free. Awesome.
Lana keeps up her coveted secret identity for a whole two panels after this.
Hearing that the Leaning Tower of Pizza (no, really) is about to fall due to high winds, Lana decides that the best course of action is to turn into a giant caterpillar!
And then she goes to rescue the pizza place, right?
Not exactly.
Seizing the moment to finally prove that Clark Kent is Superboy, Lana spins a giant cocoon around Clark. Clark must break free by using super-strength - thereby revealing his identity as Superboy. Good try, Lana but...
Seizing the moment to finally prove that Clark Kent is Superboy, Lana spins a giant cocoon around Clark. Clark must break free by using super-strength - thereby revealing his identity as Superboy. Good try, Lana but...
Or maybe you could help the people in trouble at the pizza place, Lana...
Give her time folks; she's new to this hero stuff.
Of course Clark speeds off and saves the pizza place before the cocoon can hit the ground.
Of course Clark speeds off and saves the pizza place before the cocoon can hit the ground.
When it does hit the ground, Clark emerges with beautiful butterfly wings!?!?
I have no idea where the wings came from...I really don't.
That's it for Lana's first adventure as the Insect Queen!
That's it for Lana's first adventure as the Insect Queen!
Next time on Lana Lang, Insect Queen we'll look at her "novel-length" adventure in Superboy #127; introducing Bee Boy!
Long Live Lana!
Stretchy material is one thing, but that costume must've been made from unstable molecules imported from Marvel.
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