Superman #264

Something strange is happening on the gridiron — Nick Cardy's cover for this June 1973 issue depicts a massive, helmeted football player (jersey number 12) delivering a bone-rattling punch square to Superman's chest, sending the Man of Steel reeling backward in a blaze of impact energy. A tiny Superman figure streaks across the top of the cover, hinting at the wild, surreal energy packed into "Secret of the Phantom Quarterback!" Inside, Cary Bates scripts with Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson on art — a creative team that made early-'70s Superman storytelling a genuine pleasure.