Comic Title: Adventure Comics #172
Publisher: DC (National Comics Publications, Inc.)
Address: 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Cover Date: January 1952
Approx. On Sale Date: November 14, 1951 Copyright Date November 12, 1951
Source: Library of Congress, Periodicals 1951
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: 40
Editor: Jack Schiff

Title: "The Laws That Backfired"
Pages: 12

Feature(s):
Superboy (of Earth-1)

Writer: Edmond Hamilton
Artist: John Sikela

Feature Character(s)

• Superboy (last appearance in Adventure Comics #171; next appearance in Superboy #18)

Supporting Character(s)

• Jonathan Kent (last appearance in Adventure Comics #251; next appearance in Superboy #18)

Villain(s)

• Various unnamed crooks (no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

• Henry Mathers and the Smallville city council (no further appearances)

Synopsis:
Smallville city councilman Henry Mathers lobbies to cut police and fire departments by ninety percent and rely on Superboy to do their jobs. When his suggestion is passed, Superboy studies Smallville laws closely and begins acting as a one-man police force.

When crooks learn that Smallville has no police force, then begin coming to town. Superboy uses a series of outdated and obsolete laws that were never repealed in order to arrest the crooks. He then uses the same laws to convince Henry Mathers to restore the police force.

While studying Smallville's legal documents, Superboy also discovered that Smallville's land was leased, not purchased. When the lease expires, he claims the town as his own, then signs legal documents to restore the property to the current owners.