Superman #297

Superman stands arms-folded and unmoved as two green-clad thugs rough up a helpless Clark Kent in the foreground — a tense, visually striking setup that makes the cover's taunting challenge, "Had enough, Clark Kent — or do you still think you can get along without being Superman?", feel all the more charged. Bob Oksner's cover art delivers a punchy yellow-backed composition that pulls you right into the dilemma at the heart of the story title, "Clark Kent Forever — Superman Never!" Inside, Elliot S! Maggin and Cary Bates write, with Curt Swan on art, making this 1976 DC issue a fine example of the era's signature blend of street-level tension and superheroic identity drama.