Straight outta' Suicide Slum-- it's 1978's "The Other Black Lightning".

A travelling circus has come to Metropolis, featuring an appearance by "Black Lightning". It's not the real BL, it's a former football player in a red and yellow costume. He's on-hand to protect the big ass diamond that is displayed at the beginning of every show, by insistence of the circus's owner. The phony BL is named "Jocko" and his costume resembles a version of Marvel's Battlestar--complete with the worthless shield he carries. Jocko was kicked out of pro football for tackling his own quarterback (I'm guessing that means he was the Brian Griese of offensive linemen).

The real Black Lightning, schoolteacher Jefferson Pierce notices a newspaper ad for the circus, and decides to check in on this "other Black Lightning". Pierce changes into his costume, complete with DETACHABLE AFRO! Black Lightning didn't just have a mask..the mask was attached to an afro. Pretty funny, but it helps to back-up one of the longtime lubricious implications of comics books-- the old "why doesn't anybody recognize him, if he's only wearing a small MASK to disguise himself?!" See?! He also has an AFRO!

Meanwhile, practiced Flash rogue, the Trickster, is being transported through a prison plane. Trickster pulls off an absolutely ridiculous escape. He projects an image of himself in front of the plane's cockpit. This "distracts" the pilots and Trickster is able to parachute out the back of the plane, cabin pressure be damned. Trickster arachutes right into his hidden stash outside of Metropolis, where he's cached an extra costume, jet-boots and all his usual crap. Trickster notices that same circus ad. Only, instead of the Black Lightning appearance, he's focussed on the big ass diamond that's on display.

The real Black Lightning and the Trickster show up at the circus and the usual superheroic buffonery ensues. Trickster super glues BL to the ground and sends an elephant stampeding toward him. The "other" BL manages to shoulderblock the elephant out of the way, saving his namesake. With a bit of luck and his "protective energy field", Black Lightning catches Trickster and saves the diamond.

The Trickster is turned over to the cops while BL and Jocko decide to go out for a brew. BL is thankful and wants to help Jocko turn his life around. The circus
owner laments that the diamond wasn't stolen...it's given him so much grief that he'd just as soon have the thing stolen and collect the insurance money. I don't think Jocko was ever seen again...but the concept of a done-on-his-luck goofball posing as a phony superhero is one of those seldom-used plot manuever. It was abundant from the 40's - 60's, and was most recently used in "Nightwing" when Tad Ryerstad became "Nite-Wing".

Fairly tolerable 70's superhero romp. Scorecard has a circus, a guy in striped pants, a mad elephant, and a detachable afro! Black Lightning's powers weren't explicity defined over the first year of his series. He had the electric energy field, but it wasn't clear if he was a lightning-powered hand-to-hand combatant, or a guy who could shoot electricity like his cheap TV counterpart Black Vulcan. Even glancing at my "Batman & the Outsiders" issues, I'm not sure exactly what his powers were, 8 years later! Time to dig up my "B" issue of "Who's Who".

I HAVE THIS ISSUE!!!!!!!!! OH SHI
Seriously, I still have this issue buried away somewhere in our home. It's been a looooooooooooong time since I read it. Once you mentioned the other BL's costume colors, it all came rushing back to me. I also dug the fake fro/mask combo, too. ;-)