Supergirl Adventure Comics #398.

Just as snooker players of a certain vintage always seek to endear themselves to an audience by joking they'd give their right arm to be ambidextrous, I must alienate the entire human race by declaring I'd kill to have a, "Touch of Death." Oh how mankind would fall before me as I stalked the aisles of Poundland, clearing a way to the till to pay imperiously for my bargains.

Supergirl, being more wholesome than me, and not in the habit of using Poundland, is it seems less sanguine abut the prospect. Returning from a mission of peace to a number of alien worlds, she discovers she's picked up a strange radiation that kills any super-being she touches. Straight after threatening to give Streaky the Super-Cat a good spanking for leaving the door to her secret tunnel open, she kills him - not as you might think for leaving open the door to her secret tunnel but because she can't help it.

Next she accidentally kills Krypto the Super-Dog and then Comet the Super-Horse. She also kills Mr Myxomatosis or whatever he's called, which you would've thought'd be a source of celebration to all denizens and readers of the DC universe but she even feels guilty about that.

At last Superman shows up and says the only answer is to banish her to the Phantom Zone forever, where her Touch of Death can cause no more harm. Is this the end for our plucky heroine?

Happily, Supergirl realises it's all a trick by a bunch of shape-changing aliens seeking to get her out of the way so they can invade the Earth. Having been foiled, the alien planet shows its gumption by instantly surrendering and agreeing never again to attempt such hostility against our home planet.

Despite its brevity, the issue's second tale's quite the landmark as it introduces Supergirl's new-look costume, cobbled together with elements suggested by Adventure Comics readers Jean Bray and Louise Ann Kelley. Do comics still invite readers to redesign their stars' costumes? I hope they do, if only to see what nightmare concoctions they'd put their heroes in. As long-standing readers will know, I always feel any good hero should have a pie tin strapped to his thigh, a suggestion I'm sure any serious comics company would be glad to adopt. As for this issue's costume, it's the one that involves the thigh-length boots (which is good) and the long red gloves (which is bad).

Supergirl investigates the mystery disappearance of an aircraft carrier and, when she spots some jets vanishing in the same vicinity, she follows them, to discover they've been abducted by a giant alien child. Being the stalwart of justice she is, Supergirl dobs to the child's father, and she and the missing vehicles are returned to Earth as the kid receives the kind of spanking Supergirl no doubt had in mind for Streaky. At just six pages, it'd be fair to say it's a somewhat insubstantial story. Drawn by Mike Sekowsky, it's more assertively and modernly drawn than the issue's Jim Mooney pencilled opener but lacks its charm and also has Supergirl in a pose I never want to see her in again.

Argh! No! Please! My eyes! My brain!