Superboy #163

Superboy #163 (On Sale: January 8, 1970) has a superb Neal Adams' cover which seems inspired by Cool Hand Luke.

This issue begins with Superboy in our cover-story, "Reform School Rebel" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Mike Esposito. Superboy shows up when Skimpy Sills escapes from the Reform School Farm, unknowing that Sills is hoping to find Superboy. It seems that the head of the school, Evil-Eye Gratch has been selling the boys' muscle to the highest bidder and keeping the profits.and  Sills wants to show Superboy the proof. When Superboy shows up at Sills' house his mother shows him a note she received from Sills saying how he was hoping to find Superboy and tell him the truth about the reform school.

With Krypto's help Superboy is able to locate Sills and makes himself up to look like Sills and replaces him in the reform school. There he learns that Skimpy's friend, Knucks Mangrin, is also in on the scheme. When the brass visit, Skimpy and Knucks are working in the rock quarry when Gratch uses a steam-shovel to try and kill the both of them. It is then that Knucks shows his true colors when he tries to save Skimpy. Superboy then shows the brass proof of what Grath was up to and he is taken away to jail.

The back-up is "The Super-Robot" from Superboy #52 and produced by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and John Fischetti. Two swindlers build a Superboy robot. They then sell the robot to the gullible Pop Peabody who thinks the robot has super powers. Superboy tricks the crooks by posing as the robots and performing super deeds for Pop. When the crooks see that the robot possesses powers they offer to buy it back for twice the price. The crooks then take the real robot back to their workshop where they discover it to be worthless junk. Superboy explains his trick to Peabody and gives the extra money to charity.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.