Back in 1967, right when the Batman TV show was everywhere, The Brave and the Bold locked into a simple formula: Batman plus whoever else showed up that month. Starting with issue #74 and running all the way to the final issue #200 in 1983, the Dark Knight shared every page with a rotating cast of DC heroes (and the occasional villain). Sixteen straight years of team-ups.
In issue #177 (1981), longtime B&B artist Jim Aparo started slipping a quiet visual hint into each story. No big announcement, just a little Easter egg pointing to who would guest-star next. This tour is me hunting down every single one of those clues.
Grab a seat and enjoy the ride!
In issue #177 (1981), longtime B&B artist Jim Aparo started slipping a quiet visual hint into each story. No big announcement, just a little Easter egg pointing to who would guest-star next. This tour is me hunting down every single one of those clues.
Grab a seat and enjoy the ride!
Summer of 1981. I had just wrapped up my junior year of high school and was living for the warm weather and those glorious mornings of no alarm clock. On a regular "new comics Wednesday", I picked up The Brave and the Bold #177. Batman and the Elongated Man were teaming up against a serial killer called the Hangman.
I arrived at page 13, and there it was: the Creeper's shadow stretched across an exterior wall. I assumed he’d show up later in the story.
Ultimately, with a helpful clue from Alfred Pennyworth, Batman and Elongated Man discover that a man named Thomas Quigley faked the entire serial-killer spree as a cover-up to murder his wife and claim her inheritance.
Creeper never showed up. I shrugged it off as some little inside joke from the book’s longtime artist, Jim Aparo, and didn’t think much more about it.
I arrived at page 13, and there it was: the Creeper's shadow stretched across an exterior wall. I assumed he’d show up later in the story.
Ultimately, with a helpful clue from Alfred Pennyworth, Batman and Elongated Man discover that a man named Thomas Quigley faked the entire serial-killer spree as a cover-up to murder his wife and claim her inheritance.
Creeper never showed up. I shrugged it off as some little inside joke from the book’s longtime artist, Jim Aparo, and didn’t think much more about it.
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| The Brave and the Bold #177, Page 13, art by Jim Aparo |
Imagine my surprise a month later when I made my usual Wednesday trip to Mr. Paperback and grabbed the next issue of The Brave and the Bold. Batman was teaming up with the Creeper! Game on!
While I read the story of Batman and the Creeper taking on a life-size origami paper monster terrorizing Gotham (yes, you read that correctly!), I kept a sharp eye out for another visual clue. Sure enough, there it was on page 13: a 30th-century space cruiser in the sky overhead. Batman would be joining forces with the Legion of Super-Heroes next.
Don't worry, everyone recovered from their papercuts and the heroes win in the end!
I was all in on the Easter egg hunt, and plenty of other comic fans were too. It gave every issue of The Brave and the Bold an extra spark of excitement.
While I read the story of Batman and the Creeper taking on a life-size origami paper monster terrorizing Gotham (yes, you read that correctly!), I kept a sharp eye out for another visual clue. Sure enough, there it was on page 13: a 30th-century space cruiser in the sky overhead. Batman would be joining forces with the Legion of Super-Heroes next.
Don't worry, everyone recovered from their papercuts and the heroes win in the end!
I was all in on the Easter egg hunt, and plenty of other comic fans were too. It gave every issue of The Brave and the Bold an extra spark of excitement.
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| The Brave and the Bold #178, Page 13, art by Jim Aparo |
Next stop on the tour was The Brave and the Bold #179, an issue I was genuinely excited for. Not only did I get to play detective again, hunting for the next Easter egg, but I was about to read a story starring my all-time favorite DC characters... the Legion of Super-Heroes!
The plot had a time-traveling ally of the Legion’s old foe, Universo, stealing an anti-matter egg from the past and planning to use it to mess up the 30th century in a big way. Batman hops forward in time to help the Legion take down this guy, Anton Halkor… who, by the way, was rocking one of the most ridiculous costumes of the era. We’re talking over-the-top space-villain chic that somehow managed to look both menacing and completely silly at the same time.
I have to admit, on my original read, I completely missed this issue’s Easter egg. It wasn’t until later, when the clues started getting talked about in the letters pages, that I learned it was sitting right there on page 4. A thoughtful-looking Jim Corrigan (aka the Spectre), his head shrouded in shadow, watching events unfold in spectral form. Even knowing what it's supposed to be, I’ve got to say… this one still feels like a stretch to me to this day!
The plot had a time-traveling ally of the Legion’s old foe, Universo, stealing an anti-matter egg from the past and planning to use it to mess up the 30th century in a big way. Batman hops forward in time to help the Legion take down this guy, Anton Halkor… who, by the way, was rocking one of the most ridiculous costumes of the era. We’re talking over-the-top space-villain chic that somehow managed to look both menacing and completely silly at the same time.
I have to admit, on my original read, I completely missed this issue’s Easter egg. It wasn’t until later, when the clues started getting talked about in the letters pages, that I learned it was sitting right there on page 4. A thoughtful-looking Jim Corrigan (aka the Spectre), his head shrouded in shadow, watching events unfold in spectral form. Even knowing what it's supposed to be, I’ve got to say… this one still feels like a stretch to me to this day!
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| The Brave and the Bold #179, Page 4, art by Ernie Colon and Mike DeCarlo |
Fall of 1981 rolled in, and with it the start of my senior year of high school. The carefree summer mornings were gone, but at least the next issue of The Brave and the Bold was hitting the stands right on schedule.
Batman and the Spectre teamed up against a reincarnated ancient Japanese wizard named Wa’ar-Zen who was piecing together a magic scepter that could let him take over the world.
What made this stop on the tour especially fun was watching Jim Aparo handle both Batman and the Spectre. Aparo had been the regular artist on the Spectre’s solo stories back in the mid-70s, so seeing him reunite with that glowing green-cloaked figure felt like old friends getting back together. His clean, powerful lines made every panel of their confrontation look sharp and dramatic.
As the story unfolded, I kept one eye peeled for the next clue, and sure enough, it turned up on page 17. While the Spectre and Wa’ar-Zen sparred in another dimension, the swirling clouds of ember around them formed the clear images of Hawk and Dove. It had been five years since those two had last shown up as members of Teen Titans West, so the wait for their return was officially on.
Batman and the Spectre teamed up against a reincarnated ancient Japanese wizard named Wa’ar-Zen who was piecing together a magic scepter that could let him take over the world.
What made this stop on the tour especially fun was watching Jim Aparo handle both Batman and the Spectre. Aparo had been the regular artist on the Spectre’s solo stories back in the mid-70s, so seeing him reunite with that glowing green-cloaked figure felt like old friends getting back together. His clean, powerful lines made every panel of their confrontation look sharp and dramatic.
As the story unfolded, I kept one eye peeled for the next clue, and sure enough, it turned up on page 17. While the Spectre and Wa’ar-Zen sparred in another dimension, the swirling clouds of ember around them formed the clear images of Hawk and Dove. It had been five years since those two had last shown up as members of Teen Titans West, so the wait for their return was officially on.
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| The Brave and the Bold #180, Page 17, art by Jim Aparo |
The next stop on the tour lands us at The Brave and the Bold #181, and writer Alan Brennert made a bold creative choice. He aged Hawk and Dove ahead several years, suddenly making them older than their old Titans comrades. Hank (Hawk) Hall was married to his wife Linda, while Don (Dove) Hall was unemployed and discovering that his partner Michelle was leaving him. Serious adult stuff!
The story kicks off when Hawk accidentally causes the death of drug lord Thomas Kurland Jr. Batman steps in and teams with the brothers to stop Kurland Sr. from avenging his son by going after Hawk. It’s a grounded, personal tale that feels a long way from the usual superhero romp. At the end, the mysterious voice that once granted them their powers steps in and takes those abilities away, forcing Hank and Don to face life without the costumes and powers.
While it was an interesting detour, this particular adventure is generally dismissed from continuity. When Hawk and Dove showed up again later, they still had their powers and were back to being the same age as their Titan friends.
As for the Easter egg in this issue? It was waiting on page 13 in the final panel: a tiny letter R for Robin. I remember thinking that Robin was an odd choice for a guest star, given his years as Batman's sidekick. I was unaware of a planned twist!
The story kicks off when Hawk accidentally causes the death of drug lord Thomas Kurland Jr. Batman steps in and teams with the brothers to stop Kurland Sr. from avenging his son by going after Hawk. It’s a grounded, personal tale that feels a long way from the usual superhero romp. At the end, the mysterious voice that once granted them their powers steps in and takes those abilities away, forcing Hank and Don to face life without the costumes and powers.
While it was an interesting detour, this particular adventure is generally dismissed from continuity. When Hawk and Dove showed up again later, they still had their powers and were back to being the same age as their Titan friends.
As for the Easter egg in this issue? It was waiting on page 13 in the final panel: a tiny letter R for Robin. I remember thinking that Robin was an odd choice for a guest star, given his years as Batman's sidekick. I was unaware of a planned twist!
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| The Brave and the Bold #181, Page 13, art by Jim Aparo |
As predicted by that little letter R in the previous issue, Batman teamed up with Robin in The Brave and the Bold #182. Only it wasn’t his ward. It was the Robin of Earth-Two.
This story is, in my opinion, one of the absolute best tales this title ever delivered. Hugo Strange, a long-forgotten villain from Earth-Two, had stolen Starman’s Cosmic Rod and was using it to animate relics from the Earth-Two Batman’s past.
Somehow (you know how these things go), the Batman of Earth-One ended up on Earth-Two and found himself partnering with the adult Dick Grayson of that world. The two had crossed paths plenty of times during Justice League/Justice Society team-ups over the years, so they weren’t strangers. But they’d never worked a case just the two of them before. That alone already felt special.
Then the story dropped a quiet bombshell: Earth-Two had its own Batwoman. Shortly after that reveal came one of the most genuinely emotional moments that I remember in a DC tale. The Batman of Earth-One met the Batwoman of Earth-Two. Both of them were looking at a living reminder of someone they’d lost... the Batman of Earth-Two and the Batwoman of Earth-One were both dead. For each of them, it was like seeing a ghost. Beautiful, understated, and deeply satisfying.
Hugo Strange eventually got what was coming to him, of course. But when the last page turned, I was left scratching my head regarding the Easter egg. I reviewed the pages many times again, but ultimately gave up.
Some fans, after finding out who the guest star was for B&B #183 (The Riddler), zeroed in on a panel on page 7 where a group of bystanders seemed to possibly be arranged in the shape of a question mark. Months later, a letters column confirmed what a lot of us had started to suspect: the hint had simply been overlooked. No clue this time. The trail had gone cold… for one issue, anyway.
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| The Brave and the Bold #182, panel 1 from page 7, art by Jim Aparo |
The tour continues with The Brave and the Bold #183, and this one leans hard into one of comics’ favorite setups: the temporary truce. Batman and the Riddler, two guys who usually spend their nights trying to outsmart each other, suddenly find themselves on the same side. A writer named Hugh Rutherford Creighton has been kidnapped, and the perpetrator is leaving a trail of riddles. The Riddler is not amused. Nobody gets to copy his style and walk away clean.
They team up to track the clues, and of course the partnership is shaky from the start. The Riddler tries to pull a fast one on Batman, but the Dark Knight sees it coming and shuts it down. Then the real twist hits. The whole kidnapping was staged. Creighton himself arranged it, hoping to draw Batman out and eliminate him after piecing together his secret identity. By the final pages the plan has completely backfired. Creighton is the one who ends up dead, and the uneasy alliance between Batman and the Riddler dissolves as quickly as it formed.
On page 13, Batman and the Riddler are breaking into Creighton’s country estate, and hanging on the wall is a piece of art that is clearly the belt emblem of the Earth-Two hero, Huntress.
They team up to track the clues, and of course the partnership is shaky from the start. The Riddler tries to pull a fast one on Batman, but the Dark Knight sees it coming and shuts it down. Then the real twist hits. The whole kidnapping was staged. Creighton himself arranged it, hoping to draw Batman out and eliminate him after piecing together his secret identity. By the final pages the plan has completely backfired. Creighton is the one who ends up dead, and the uneasy alliance between Batman and the Riddler dissolves as quickly as it formed.
On page 13, Batman and the Riddler are breaking into Creighton’s country estate, and hanging on the wall is a piece of art that is clearly the belt emblem of the Earth-Two hero, Huntress.
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| The Brave and the Bold #183, page 13, art by Carmine Infantino and Mike DeCarlo |
Next, we head to The Brave and the Bold #184, a Christmas tale. Huntress, Helena Wayne, the daughter of Earth-Two’s Batman and Catwoman, swings by to spend the holiday with her “uncle” Bruce on Earth-One. What starts as a family visit quickly turns into a case involving the stolen account records of mob boss “Spurs” Sanders.
Among the recovered material is a tape recording of Bruce’s father, Thomas Wayne. Listening to it, Batman becomes convinced that his own father once funded the mob. The discovery hits him hard. In comic book dramatic fashion, Bruce decides the entire Batman crusade has been built on a lie and walks away from the cape and cowl.
It doesn’t last long. Watching Huntress leap into action to save an innocent bystander snaps him out of it. He realizes the mission was never just about vengeance. Protecting people matters too. Just like that, Batman is back, as quickly as he departed! By the end of the story, the evidence against Thomas Wayne has been thoroughly debunked, and everything settles back into place.
I have to fess up that I completely missed the Easter egg on my first read. Only after the next issue hit the stands and I knew Green Arrow was the guest star did I go hunting again. There it was, tucked into the final panel on page 5: a tiny arrow mixed in with the trash.
Among the recovered material is a tape recording of Bruce’s father, Thomas Wayne. Listening to it, Batman becomes convinced that his own father once funded the mob. The discovery hits him hard. In comic book dramatic fashion, Bruce decides the entire Batman crusade has been built on a lie and walks away from the cape and cowl.
It doesn’t last long. Watching Huntress leap into action to save an innocent bystander snaps him out of it. He realizes the mission was never just about vengeance. Protecting people matters too. Just like that, Batman is back, as quickly as he departed! By the end of the story, the evidence against Thomas Wayne has been thoroughly debunked, and everything settles back into place.
I have to fess up that I completely missed the Easter egg on my first read. Only after the next issue hit the stands and I knew Green Arrow was the guest star did I go hunting again. There it was, tucked into the final panel on page 5: a tiny arrow mixed in with the trash.
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| The Brave and the Bold #184, page 5, art by Jim Aparo |
It's generally agreed that The Brave and the Bold #185 has no Easter egg. If anyone reading this knows differently, please drop me a comment!
The Brave and the Bold #186 has a possible, yet unconfirmed clue. Batman teams with Hawkman to take down the art thief, Fadeaway Man. The villain has stolen a priceless Horus sarcophagus and attempts to auction off a fake version to the Gotham underworld. Despite Fadeaway Man using the mystical Cloak of Cagliostro to escape, the heroes defeat him and recover the artifact.
The possible clue in this issue is some artwork on the wall on page 4, which might be the chemical symbols of Lead and Tin, indicating the next issue's guests... the Metal Men.
This one remains a guess by many, nothing more.
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| The Brave and the Bold #186, page 4, art by Jim Aparo |
Next stop on the tour is The Brave and the Bold #187, where Batman joins the Metal Men to uncover the fate of their long-lost member, Nameless. The team is being systematically destroyed, and Batman learns that Doc Magnus erased all memory of her after their first reconstruction. Once those memories return, the attacks continue, leading to Platinum Man and the Missile Men under Nameless’s command as she seeks revenge for being forgotten. After the confrontation, she and Tin decide to “alloy” (marry), but a rogue Missile Man interrupts the ceremony, and Nameless sacrifices herself to save the others.
The Metal Men mourn her, though Tin is glad she finally has a name... “Beautiful.”
The Easter egg appears on page 16. I've got to admit, this was another one that I missed on the initial read. It was only after B&B #188 was published that I was able to backtrack and find the clue! Amongst some debris, a rose with thorns!
The Metal Men mourn her, though Tin is glad she finally has a name... “Beautiful.”
The Easter egg appears on page 16. I've got to admit, this was another one that I missed on the initial read. It was only after B&B #188 was published that I was able to backtrack and find the clue! Amongst some debris, a rose with thorns!
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| The Brave and the Bold #187, page 16, art by Jim Aparo |
The next stop on the tour is a two-parter that starts in The Brave and the Bold #188 and wraps up in #189, with Batman teaming up alongside Thorn (better known as Rose and Thorn). This fulfills the clue from the previous issue. The first half hit the stands during my final weeks of high school, and the conclusion arrived just as I kicked off my last summer before college!
The story is a straightforward neo-Nazi chase. Batman and Thorn go after a group that has stolen a deadly gas and desecrated Rose’s father’s grave, taking the action from Gotham all the way to Brazil before the bad guys get shut down.
While some fans have claimed to see a Rannian spaceship (a clue for Adam Strange) hidden as a clue in issue #189, I fail to find it, and it has never been confirmed. It's generally agreed that issue #189 has no Easter egg.
The story is a straightforward neo-Nazi chase. Batman and Thorn go after a group that has stolen a deadly gas and desecrated Rose’s father’s grave, taking the action from Gotham all the way to Brazil before the bad guys get shut down.
While some fans have claimed to see a Rannian spaceship (a clue for Adam Strange) hidden as a clue in issue #189, I fail to find it, and it has never been confirmed. It's generally agreed that issue #189 has no Easter egg.
My days as a teenager freed from High School carried on, but sadly the Brave and the Bold Easter eggs didn’t. Issue #190 featured a team-up between Batman and Adam Strange… and once again there appeared to be no visual clue. Three issues without one, and it seemed like this fun hunt between the DC team and the readers might be over.
Thankfully, The Brave and the Bold #191 got things back on track!
Next up is The Brave and the Bold #193. It was the last issue of the series I bought while still living in my home state of Maine. Summer was winding down, and college was just around the corner.
This one put Batman side by side with Nemesis, the non-costumed hero who’d been running as a backup feature in the title for a couple of years. The two of them team up against a terrorist outfit called The Council. Nemesis digs in and tracks the group’s head of operations all the way to their secret base, where the bad guys are getting ready to launch a helicopter bomb. He hijacks the chopper and flies it straight into the headquarters, taking himself out along with the terrorists. Just like that, Nemesis’s run comes to a heroic and abrupt final close.
The Easter egg this time showed up on page 6, and I’ve got to say it was the laziest clue of the whole tour. Alfred is standing there dusting some object we can’t even see, and floating just over his head on the wall is the unmistakable emblem of the Flash. It doesn’t really fit the scene. Maybe it was supposed to pass for some kind of wall art? Sigh. But there it is, plain as day once you notice it.
Next stop on the tour drops me right into a whole new chapter of life. September of 1982, I headed south to Austin, Texas, to start fresh at St. Edward’s University. My first time living on my own, first time in a city I didn’t know at all, and first time not knowing where I would find my weekly Wednesday comic books! During my first few months, I relied heavily on convenience stores located close to campus. I did manage to find a copy of The Brave and the Bold #194.
Thankfully, The Brave and the Bold #191 got things back on track!
Now we’re back in familiar territory: the temporary truce between hero and villain. Just eight issues after Batman joined forces with the Riddler, he’s now teaming up with his arch-rival, the Joker.
It starts with a live Gotham TV news broadcast. The Penguin interrupts the show, only to be gunned down on camera by what looks like the Joker. Millions of viewers (and Batman) see it happen. The Clown Prince of Crime is the obvious suspect… except the real Joker soon tracks Batman down and insists he was framed by an imposter. After a surprisingly convincing pitch (and the usual half-hearted attempts to kill each other along the way), Batman agrees to work with Joker to find the actual killer.
Their investigation leads them to Penguin’s hideout, where the late crime boss’s men are preparing the body for the funeral. Batman puts the pieces together and realizes the truth: the Penguin faked his own death. The “corpse” was a dummy, and the whole murder-by-Joker stunt was staged so the bird-themed crook could slip into the cathedral where his funeral was being held. The real target? A visiting Cardinal, ripe for a hefty Vatican ransom.
On the day of the funeral, Penguin makes his move, disguised among the choir, and tries to grab the Cardinal. That’s when the Cardinal peels off his own disguise… and reveals the Joker underneath. Ultimately, Batman scoops in and stops them both, handing them over to the authorities.
The Easter egg is waiting on page 14, tucked into the church’s stained-glass window: a small letter “S.”
It starts with a live Gotham TV news broadcast. The Penguin interrupts the show, only to be gunned down on camera by what looks like the Joker. Millions of viewers (and Batman) see it happen. The Clown Prince of Crime is the obvious suspect… except the real Joker soon tracks Batman down and insists he was framed by an imposter. After a surprisingly convincing pitch (and the usual half-hearted attempts to kill each other along the way), Batman agrees to work with Joker to find the actual killer.
Their investigation leads them to Penguin’s hideout, where the late crime boss’s men are preparing the body for the funeral. Batman puts the pieces together and realizes the truth: the Penguin faked his own death. The “corpse” was a dummy, and the whole murder-by-Joker stunt was staged so the bird-themed crook could slip into the cathedral where his funeral was being held. The real target? A visiting Cardinal, ripe for a hefty Vatican ransom.
On the day of the funeral, Penguin makes his move, disguised among the choir, and tries to grab the Cardinal. That’s when the Cardinal peels off his own disguise… and reveals the Joker underneath. Ultimately, Batman scoops in and stops them both, handing them over to the authorities.
The Easter egg is waiting on page 14, tucked into the church’s stained-glass window: a small letter “S.”
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| The Brave and the Bold #191, page 14, art by Jim Aparo |
Next stop on the tour is The Brave and the Bold #192, Batman teams up with a young Superboy, just as that letter “S” in the stained-glass window had promised. The hyper-intelligent villain I.Q. has cobbled together a makeshift time machine, hoping to shove Superman clean out of the present timeline. Comic book science being what it is, the machine glitches in the best possible way. Adult Superman gets flung into the future while a teenage Superboy gets yanked forward from the past and dropped into modern-day Gotham. Makes sense, right?!
Stranded in an era he doesn’t know, Superboy has to find his footing fast. Batman steps in, takes the kid under his wing, and the two of them set out to stop I.Q. and put the timeline back where it belongs.
Stranded in an era he doesn’t know, Superboy has to find his footing fast. Batman steps in, takes the kid under his wing, and the two of them set out to stop I.Q. and put the timeline back where it belongs.
This time, the Easter egg was easy to spot. Nemesis had been starring in a backup feature in The Brave and the Bold for two and a half years. I never actually followed those stories, but I knew enough about the character to spot the clue right away. There on page 11, tucked into the background, sits a blindfolded statue of Lady Justice. Nailed it!
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| The Brave and the Bold #192, Page 11, art by Jim Aparo |
Next up is The Brave and the Bold #193. It was the last issue of the series I bought while still living in my home state of Maine. Summer was winding down, and college was just around the corner.
This one put Batman side by side with Nemesis, the non-costumed hero who’d been running as a backup feature in the title for a couple of years. The two of them team up against a terrorist outfit called The Council. Nemesis digs in and tracks the group’s head of operations all the way to their secret base, where the bad guys are getting ready to launch a helicopter bomb. He hijacks the chopper and flies it straight into the headquarters, taking himself out along with the terrorists. Just like that, Nemesis’s run comes to a heroic and abrupt final close.
The Easter egg this time showed up on page 6, and I’ve got to say it was the laziest clue of the whole tour. Alfred is standing there dusting some object we can’t even see, and floating just over his head on the wall is the unmistakable emblem of the Flash. It doesn’t really fit the scene. Maybe it was supposed to pass for some kind of wall art? Sigh. But there it is, plain as day once you notice it.
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| The Brave and the Bold #193, Page 6, art by Jim Aparo |
Next stop on the tour drops me right into a whole new chapter of life. September of 1982, I headed south to Austin, Texas, to start fresh at St. Edward’s University. My first time living on my own, first time in a city I didn’t know at all, and first time not knowing where I would find my weekly Wednesday comic books! During my first few months, I relied heavily on convenience stores located close to campus. I did manage to find a copy of The Brave and the Bold #194.
In this tale, a motivational therapist named Professor Andrea Wye counsels two supervillains to swap their traditional heroic rivals to maximize their chances of success.
Following her advice, Doctor Double X (a Batman rogue) attacks The Flash in Central City, while Rainbow Raider (a Flash rogue) targets Batman in Gotham City. The strategy initially succeeds. Both heroes are caught off guard, defeated, and taken captive to Wye's remote island. However, the Flash's accelerated metabolism allows him to recover quickly from his injuries. He breaks free, liberates Batman, and together the duo easily defeats the villains. Professor Wye, however, was able to escape. She turned up again, three years later, and hasn't been seen since!
In the final panel of page 5, the Flash's speed causes a newspaper page to whip around in the air. The visible headline... "Vampire Strikes".
In the final panel of page 5, the Flash's speed causes a newspaper page to whip around in the air. The visible headline... "Vampire Strikes".
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| The Brave and the Bold #194, Page 5, art by Carmine Infantino and Sal Trapini |
Next stop on the tour is The Brave and the Bold #195 (1983). Back then my comic reading stuck pretty tightly to costumed superheroes. Thankfully that changed later on, but as a late teenager I didn’t wander much outside those lines. That’s why Nemesis never grabbed me (as I already mentioned), and the supernatural held even less appeal. So a team-up between Batman and Andrew Bennett, the vampire lord from the series I, Vampire, wasn’t high on my list.
The story has Batman looking into an attack on a crime lord’s daughter that left suspicious bite marks on her neck. At the same time, Andrew Bennett is in Gotham hunting members of the Blood Red Moon cult. The two cross paths at a place called Club Dracula while both are under attack, quickly realize they’re after the same people, and end up tracking the trail to a local crime boss named Johnny “The Gun” Gunnarson, who has gotten mixed up with Mary, Queen of Blood. They put a stop to the immediate threat, though Mary slips away and Bennett takes a silver bullet for his trouble, leading to an unexpected hospital scene where Batman helps keep him alive.
When I read this issue, I’m pretty sure I was much more focused on finding the Easter egg than on the story itself. My apologies to writer Mike Barr! The clue for the next issue’s guest star appears on page 19. The Ragman is featured as a large portrait hanging in the background.
The story has Batman looking into an attack on a crime lord’s daughter that left suspicious bite marks on her neck. At the same time, Andrew Bennett is in Gotham hunting members of the Blood Red Moon cult. The two cross paths at a place called Club Dracula while both are under attack, quickly realize they’re after the same people, and end up tracking the trail to a local crime boss named Johnny “The Gun” Gunnarson, who has gotten mixed up with Mary, Queen of Blood. They put a stop to the immediate threat, though Mary slips away and Bennett takes a silver bullet for his trouble, leading to an unexpected hospital scene where Batman helps keep him alive.
When I read this issue, I’m pretty sure I was much more focused on finding the Easter egg than on the story itself. My apologies to writer Mike Barr! The clue for the next issue’s guest star appears on page 19. The Ragman is featured as a large portrait hanging in the background.
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| The Brave and the Bold #195, page 19, art by Jim Aparo |
After a few months in Austin, I finally found a comic book store that was just a 20-minute walk from campus. In November of 1982, I made my usual Wednesday voyage and picked up a copy of The Brave and the Bold #196. As predicted, it featured the teaming of Batman and Ragman as they take down a domestic terrorist group known as D.F.D. (Dynamiters for Democracy).
Our heroes find out the terrorists snatched a woman called Nina Norwood. To throw the bad guys off and snoop around without getting spotted, the two of them switch costumes for a bit. They track the terrorists down, find Nina, and she’s been hypnotized by the group. She snaps out of it and won’t kill the heroes, so the terrorists shoot her. Batman and Ragman take out the cell pretty quickly, and Batman manages to do CPR and save her life.
I finished reading the story and realized I hadn’t spotted a clue. I went through the issue a second time. Still nothing.
When The Brave and the Bold #197 arrived, it featured a team-up between the Earth-Two Batman and the Earth-Two Catwoman. I scoured #196 again, hunting for any cat-related hint, but there was none to be found. The monthly Easter eggs had quietly come to an end. Issues #197 through #199 carried no visual clues either, and the series itself reached its much-publicized conclusion with #200 in 1983. I’ve always wondered whether the impending cancellation simply sapped the creative energy for continuing the tradition, or whether the little game had simply run its natural course.
The Brave and the Bold was replaced by the new series Batman and the Outsiders, and with that change the quiet monthly tradition of Jim Aparo’s visual hints disappeared for good.
When The Brave and the Bold #197 arrived, it featured a team-up between the Earth-Two Batman and the Earth-Two Catwoman. I scoured #196 again, hunting for any cat-related hint, but there was none to be found. The monthly Easter eggs had quietly come to an end. Issues #197 through #199 carried no visual clues either, and the series itself reached its much-publicized conclusion with #200 in 1983. I’ve always wondered whether the impending cancellation simply sapped the creative energy for continuing the tradition, or whether the little game had simply run its natural course.
The Brave and the Bold was replaced by the new series Batman and the Outsiders, and with that change the quiet monthly tradition of Jim Aparo’s visual hints disappeared for good.
Looking back, those little Easter eggs lined up almost perfectly with a big stretch of my own life. The hunt began during the carefree summer after my junior year of high school and carried me all the way through senior year, graduation, that last summer at home, and into my first months living on my own in Austin. Every Wednesday trip to the comic shop, whether it was Mr. Paperback back in Maine or the comic shop near campus, came with the same small thrill: would I spot the next clue? For a couple of years, The Brave and the Bold wasn’t just another Batman comic. It was a friendly ongoing game between the creative team and the readers, and it gave those transitional years an extra spark of excitement I’ve never forgotten.
Batman and all related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.
Batman and all related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.
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