Review: The Brave And The Bold #3 & #4

Happy New Year's to everyone. I hope 2014 treats everyone well.

For me, I thought there would be no better way to start off the new year than to head to the long boxes and review a back issue. And with Supergirl and Lobo tangling in the current title, I thought  it would be fun to see how the two characters have interacted in the past. And so I present to you, from 2007, The Brave and The Bold, #3 and #4.

I definitely enjoyed this series, especially the first year, as writer Mark Waid and artist George Perez wove together one long arc which brought in a bunch of DC characters organically into a crazy reality bending story that culminated with the Challengers of the Unknown saving the universe. While the cover sports just two, the issues include all the characters as they slowly work their way to the climax. So Supergirl appears in #3 even if she isn't on the cover.

In rereading these issues for the review I am again reminded regretfully that Mark Waid doesn't write for DC anymore. It is clear he understands these characters and what makes them tick. Especially Supergirl. She isn't the easiest character to write. In the best of all worlds, she is an optimistic and sweet. She wants to help anyone she can and looks for the best in everything. And she be fierce when she needs to be, not letting anything stand in her way to do what is right and bring justice to the universe. It is a fine line. Lean one way too much and she is saccharine. Lean the other and she is overly angsty and angry. In these issues, Waid walks the tightrope. This is my Supergirl.

And it is clear that Waid is going to write the characters how he wants to write them. These books came out the same month that Joe Kelly was having Supergirl remember gunning down her high school classmates with a crystal flechette gun. None of that nonsense here.

Lastly, Perez is simply Perez, bringing his sensibilities to the issues. Detailed when he needs to be. Showing tremendous expression in his character. And setting up pages with inset panels, crunching the story when it needs it.

This isn't the 'new' Supergirl or the 'new' Lobo. Who cares!

In B&B #2, Supergirl had joined Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) to the gambling world of Ventura to try to track down thieves. It is an oddish issue with Hal clearly smitten with the irresistible Kara,  telling himself over and over to 'think good thoughts'. She is seventeen! But I think it is Waid's way of saying that Supergirl is so perfect that people find her charming.

Unfortunately, Hal takes off leaving Supergirl stranded with no way of finding Hal or heading to Rann where she needs to be.

Looking around, she asks if anyone knows a guide who can help her. I like how she politely asks if anyone can help her. There is that core of goodness which shines through even in a slimy place like this.

Don't worry we see plenty of the fierce.

The alien above leads Supergirl to the best tracker he knows, Lobo.

Standing before a firing squad, Supergirl rushes in, saving the day, dressed like a biker to hide her identity.

When Lobo asks why he should help her, Supergirl opens up her shirt and flashes Lobo. Flashes the S-shield that is.

It is an amusing opening for the characters, setting up a running gag with Lobo being a lecherous buffoon and Kara showing him his place.

Lobo agrees to take her to Rann ... for a fee.

Unfortunately, Lobo keeps sidetracking them, taking them to bars. In this scene, he arm wrestles Supergirl while the crowd gambles. Lobo wins and tells Kara he will finally take her to Rann after he buys everyone a round.

Irritated by the delays, Supergirl knocks out the nearest ordering alien and then asks if anyone else is thirsty. With the crowd silenced by that display, the two leave.

Again, it is the small things in comic art that make me smile. First off, that expression in the first panel is priceless. That is one irked Supergirl, looking out the corner of her eye to see if there are any other takers. But I also love how the panels slowly get bigger in the row, giving it a feeling of movement, progression, as we walk out the door.

In the first of many strange turns in the arc, the doors of the bar transport Lobo and Supergirl to some topiary labyrinth, tall hedges forming walls.

But these are super-powered beings. No mere hedge maze can stop them right?

Oh but this is a magic maze where Supergirl's super senses are worthless.

Still it allows Waid to inject some more bawdy behavior by Lobo with put-downs by Supergirl. The first panel has Supergirl rebuffing Lobo's jabs that she is checking out his package by saying she would need her microscopic vision for that. And then she icily tells him to stop when he says looking at the back of her head is a good view.

He is oily and creepy. And she is appropriately angry about it but holding things in check for now.

If vision powers aren't helping, Supergirl decides to reconnoiter from the air. She flies straight up (first telling Lobo she will melt his face if he peeks up her skirt) only to crash back in from the ground.

And so we finally see that fierceness of Supergirl, that impetuousness of youth. She is learning and isn't perfect. And she can lose her temper. That last panel, angrily lashing out at the maze is great!

Lobo is a tracker though and is able to get them out of the maze. And there at the end is ... Destiny, minus his famous book. That is what has been stolen. That is what Hal is trying to find.

One page after losing it about the hedges, she is again the voice of reason. When Lobo goes to attack Destiny, she stops him. It is great how she asks him just what is wrong with him.

And that sense of justice flares to the front. She promises Destiny that if she can find the book she will return it to him.

But there is more to it than that. The book must be recovered and given to those who need it. Hmmm ....

Great stuff by Perez here, the garden looking lush and beautiful.

 As I said, Supergirl can be fiery in her defense of those being mistreated. Here, the person being mistreated is herself. Barbed with one too many 'dumb blonde' jokes and creepy innuendos by Lobo, she decides it is time to end them.

She throws him to the ground and batters him until he gives up, even if it is with an awkward end.

Still, it is that will to rise up and defend, and that unpolished nature ... the young hero growing into the role ... that I love about Kara.

 But if there is any moment that sums up Supergirl's character, it is this one. After she learns that she could read open the book and read it herself, she is suddenly silent and contemplative, a stark contrast to the bubbly and energetic hero she has been so far.

And that smooths Lobo's rough persona just a touch. He tells her that she will grow up fine. And when she wonders about other Kryptonian out there, he breaks the tension with a little joke, not even off-color.

And that is the wonder of Supergirl, that that light, that optimism, that joy, and that need to help ... it is infectious. It can inspire and soften even as jaundiced a soul as Lobo.

And this series of panels, closeups, profiles, single characters and both characters, it adds to the conversation. You need the first panel to feel Kara's mind racing and to sense that Lobo notices it. You need the off-Kara in the third panel, showing something is off a bit. And you need that last panel, allowing Supergirl to get the 'spotlight' as she senses that whiff of kindness from Lobo. Wonderful.

The two finally arrive at Rann. Given the universe is in peril, Supergirl assumes Lobo will continue to work with her, helping her find the book.

But Lobo isn't that magnanimous. It leads to this great parting shot.

Supergirl takes off to the planet, reneging on her payment, and telling him she could have beaten him at the arm wrestling contest from earlier ... without breaking a sweat!

How great is that last panel, Supergirl plugging her ears and saying 'la la' while Lobo steams. It once again shows that innocence she has, that elan of youth. She is trying to save the universe but she is ribbing Lobo at the same time. And saying a slip of a thing like her could have bested him in strength easily ... it is hits him where he is most vulnerable.

That mix of right and responsibility, innocence and goodness, mixed with passion and unbridled energy, and a bit of an edge - it is that cauldron that makes Supergirl who she is at her best. She is a young Kryptonian, learning the ropes, trying to be a hero. Taken alone, the 'punch out the bar patron', 'yell at shrubbery' basher might be considered angsty or 'Hell on Wheels' ... the perfect new 52 Supergirl. But it is clear that hope and optimism is the main facets of Supergirl, and these episodes of frustration are adjuncts.

I have nothing but praise for these issues. This is a fun story with a wonderful Supergirl and great interactions with the 'Main Man' version of Lobo. These are probably easy to find and cheap. But the trades might be better to see how it all turns out! Supergirl plays a decent role throughout this story.

Overall grade: A

Back Issue Box: The Brave And The Bold #160

With the cancellation of the animated Batman:The Brave and the Bold, I thought I would head to the back issue box and review The Brave and the Bold #160, a Batman Supergirl team up from March 1980. I hoped hoped hoped that Supergirl would somehow get a guest spot on the show but it never happened.

The cover carries the blurb 'Together again - the team you demanded!' and it must have been true as the two heroes had teamed up just over a year before in The Brave and the Bold #147. That issue or the dynamic between the two characters must have been well received for Supergirl to appear in the book again so quickly. There is something interesting about a sideways World's Finest, teaming the more staid and dark Batman with the emotions and eagerness of Supergirl.

The creative team is the same from the B&B #147 issue. Writer Cary Burkett is able to fit in enough story to make this a satisfactory 'done in one' issue even if some of the events within stretch my suspension of disbelief. That said, the characterization and contrast between the Dark Knight and the Maid of Might are really the treat of this story, not necessarily the plot.

I grew up with a healthy diet of Jim Aparo art here in Brave and the Bold, plain old Batman, and the Adventure Comics stories of Deadman and the Spectre. I will always have a soft spot for him. And his Supergirl is really wonderful.

"The Brimstone Connection" opens with one of those all to convenient coincidences that spurs on the story. As Batman finishes up his nighttime patrol, he just so happens to be swinging outside of a building where a man is shot. And not just shot ... shot and somehow thrown from the high rise window. If Batman had been swinging a couple of blocks away this story doesn't happen.

Anyways, this still is a great splash page, throwing the reader into the action. Perhaps my favorite part, which might explain my bizarre tastes in comics, is that Aparo put the dying man's fingertips just outside the frames constraints. It just adds to the sense that this man is falling!

And, of course, this isn't a simple murder. It's the killing of an undercover government agent trying to stop a terrorist group from obtaining the four components of an experimental rocket fuel. He begs Batman to discover the route that the components are on and stop them from landing in the wrong hands. The agent is only able to give Batman one clue ... Brimstone. Unfortunately this conversation allows the killers to escape.

I do like how Batman immediately swears to finish this man's work and avenge him.

Batman doesn't get far in his investigation and is surprised to see Supergirl arrive at Wayne Industries in her Linda Danvers secret identity. Supergirl is distraught as her father has been kidnapped and she has been unable to make any headway in her own investigations. She thinks it has something to do with his work at STAR labs on a new rocket fuel! Again, a convenient coincidence.

I can't help but chuckle at this brief scene. When Supergirl first comes in, Batman is all cool and collected, almost dismissing her concerns ... after all who would want to kidnap Fred Danvers. But as soon as she mentions the fuel, which overlaps with his case, he is all ears. It reminds me just how easily Supergirl was dismissed sometimes.

They head to the Danver's home and look over Fred's home office, the site of his kidnapping. Batman notices a caramel apple core in the waste basket, a place she overlooked when she combed the scene. Batman thinks he can match the bite marks in his Bat-computer in the cave. Unbelievable.

More unbelievable is that he is able to do it. The bite matches Jasper Casbeer's, a mob button man who has an odd predilection for caramel apples. So let me get this straight ... you are a mob hitman, you kidnap someone quietly enough to not awaken his wife who is down the hall, but you leave peculiar and damning evidence at the scene of the crime?

Anyways, as I say, one of the things I love about Supergirl is that she is still on the hero's journey, still learning. She is shocked she missed this clue by overlooking the waste basket and says she won't make that mistake again. She learns from her mistakes.

Casbeer's hideout is in an amusement park and Supergirl and Batman head over to question him.

In another odd tactical decision, Batman tells Supergirl to stay outside and watch the exits while he goes in to bludgeon thugs and pound his way into Casbeer's office. But there are too many troops for the Batman to handle alone. Supergirl has to rush in. And with her father's life potentially at risk, she doesn't go in slowly. She tosses the mob's enforcers around like ragdolls, through pinball machines and walls. And then breaks in to confront Casbeer himself, holding him up with her fists clenched. Very nice.

Casbeer refuses to talk. But his speed in burning the document he was holding leads Batman to believe it was crucial to the case. In classic Silver Age mode, Supergirl's Kryptonian powers are limitless. The brief glimpse she above is buried in her photographic memory. A short bit later, she is able to draw out the map which leads to the drop site for Casbeer to leave his component of the formula. Batman deduces that this Brimstone Connection must be the work of his old enemy Colonel Sulphur. Get it ... brimstone ... sulphur.

I do like the middle panel above. For some reason it reminds me of the more classic 'finger at the side of the mouth' quirky pose Supergirl had in her earliest stories.

The next day, disguised as Casbeer, Batman makes the drop. Meanwhile, Supergirl acts as the 'eye in the sky' following the weaving path of the data until it leads to a warehouse by the seashore.

I thought this panel worked incredibly well, showing the reader just how many twists and turns the package took while still showing that Supergirl had her eye on the thing. Very well done, especially the monotone nature of each drop point, making it clear to be a separate place and time. Wonderful composition there.

When the heroes arrive on the scene, a plane suddenly takes off. Batman tells Supergirl to stalk to plane to see if it leads to somewhere even more important all while he takes on the people in the warehouse by himself. Once again, Batman seems pretty secure in his skills and feels he can send Supergirl away.

With Supergirl away, Batman is again overpowered by thugs and knocked unconscious.

Rather then kill the Dark Knight, or unmask him, or ransom him, Sulphur decides to let Batman awaken, gloat over capturing him, and then putting him in a ridiculous 'Austin Powers' type death trap. Batman is tied to a pole on a pressure plate. Should he step off the plate, a bomb will explode killing both him and Fred Danvers, who is also tied up in the room. Of course, the bomb is on a timer anyways, scheduled to blow up at dawn killing them both anyways. Laughing maniacally, Sulphur leaves for the safety of the 'briny deep'.

Why not just shoot Batman? Anyways, even without his utility belt, Batman is able to lasso a heavy chair to take put on the plate allowing him to free Fred and escape.

Supergirl returns having realized that the plane was a decoy drone. Knowing her father is safe, she and Batman give chase, realizing the 'briny deep' must mean Sulphur is in a submarine.

I thought this was another nice scene, Supergirl first shaking the sub like a rattle and then bringing it out of the sea. And Batman being in the view of the periscope is precious.

And once again showing the differences between her and her cousin, Supergirl lays out the helpless Sulphur, punishing him for kidnapping her father. That sort of emotion is what is so great about Kara. And Aparo renders her so well. I love the steaming Supergirl in the first panel.

And, like many B&B issues, it ends on a high note. Here Batman invites Supergirl and Fred out for a cup of coffee. If this was a sit-com we would freeze frame that shot and the credits would run.

So overall this is a somewhat strained and silly story with a number of clues/events falling into place to help Batman and Supergirl. That said, it is that condensed sort of story that is necessary for a 'one and done' type team-up book. As I said before, it isn't necessarily a plot about a rocket fuel that is the key here. Instead it is the differences between Batman and Supergirl ... the quiet, skulking, controlled loner mode of Batman versus the faster, rush in, emotional tactics of Supergirl. Neither is perfect and that is showcased here. Burkett does a good job of allowing each character to shine here.

I would also add that Aparo is simply a master. And seeing his Supergirl is a treat.

From a Supergirl collection viewpoint, I would say this is of medium importance. It doesn't add much to her overall mythology. But it does allow the spotlight to shine on her, and allows her some alone time with Batman. That makes it a good issue to have. It is these glimpses of Supergirl in the context of the whole DCU that enriches her. This probably can be found for under $5 in stores or at cons.

Overall grade: B/B+

Batman: The Brave And The Bold: Battle Of The Super-Heroes

 Last week, the Batman:The Brave and the Bold episode on Cartoon Network was 'The Battle of the Super-Heroes' and guest-starred Superman. The Source blog talked about it last week here:
 http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2011/03/25/batman-takes-on-the-man-of-steel-in-tonights-new-batman-the-brave-and-the-bold/

 I have always enjoyed this cartoon. Yes it is a little light-hearted but it works so well. Batman is often the straight man, gritting his teeth as lunacy happens around him. The episodes have veered from straight forward adventures (like battling Starro), to comedy (the excellent Bat-Mite episodes), to musical (the Music Meister!). But there has always been a very deep understanding about the history of the DCU put into the show. There are plenty of Easter Eggs for the more knowledgeable fans.

As a Superman fan, I loved this episode because of the homages and references. Many of them occurred in flashback scenes and are Silver Age silliness. I will only post the ones that struck me the most, but they are almost identical references to comics and with the right dialogue too! Sorry for the somewhat pixilated pictures.

In the episode, Superman gets effected by Red Kryptonite and becomes angry and evil. Hilarity ensues.

Early in the episode, Mr. Mxyzptlk shows up and uses his magic to put Jimmy through multiple of his incarnations. My favorite is the wolf-man because a kiss from Supergirl cures him in the comic Jimmy Olsen #44.

Later in the episode, Lois daydreams about what her life would be like if she married Superman and settled down including this dream like the cover of Lois Lane #23.

And Jimmy remembers some of his crazier adventures with Superman like this one from Jimmy Olsen #53.

But then Superman gets exposed to the Red K, setting himself up as king of Metropolis, like this famous cover from Action Comics #311.

And Jimmy and Lois tell Batman of how mean Superman has become, like burning a bathrobe gift like from this cover of Jimmy Olsen #30.

And taking Lana out for a beach side barbecue leaving Lois to pine, just like this cover from Lois Lane #26.

But all the references aren't Silver Age craziness. Because when Batman finally fights Superman, buying time for the Red K to wear off, he does it with some Dark Knight Returns kicks ...

 And Dark Knight Returns fisticuffs.

And trust me, there are more Easter Eggs in there. As a big time DC fan, I am really going to miss this show.

With everything in this episode, it would have been the perfect time for us to have seen Supergirl on the show. But instead we get a healthy dose of Krypto. And with Brave and Bold ending soon, I guess we will never see Kara here.

If you look hard enough around the internet, you can probably find this episode to watch. Here is the home page link on the Cartoon Network site: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/batmanbb/index.html

Cosmic Adventures Continuity - The Moon Gang

In the wonderful Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade, Landry Walker and Eric Jones showed us Supergirl's daydreams, allowing the reader a peek into the workings of the young hero's mind. These glimpses were often amusing ... diverting a giant meteor with an enormous tennis racket for example.

But one of the better recurring daydream gags was Moon Supergirl. In those dreams, Kara was a lauded and beloved perfect superhero who easily dispatched the vile Moon Gang.

I still miss that comic.

At least, as fans, we still get to read comics by the Cosmic creative team Landry Walker and Eric Jones. The team recently took over Batman The Brave and the Bold for Johnny DC.

And for Cosmic Adventures fans, Batman Brave and the Bold #10 had a wonderful cameo ...

After an opening scene where Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary take down Hugo Strange, we get to see Batman on his usual rounds in Gotham City. And who does he run into ... the Moon Gang!

The Moon Gang!! And they are robbing the Gotham Museum's lunar artifact display. Hmm ... does this mean that Cosmic Adventures Supergirl is in the Brave and Bold continuity? Could she guest star here?

Anyways, the gang is about to be easily dispatched by the Dark Knight when Batman begins to transform under the full moon rays.



With Bat-zilla about the bring the museum down around them, the Moon Gang scatters. I love their dialogue.

"Retreat! Retreat to the safety of the moon!" Too funny!

The rest of the issue has the Atom using his powers in reverse to hold off the rampaging beast while Green Arrow rushes to procure the antidote. There are some somewhat heavy themes in this 'kid's comic' including the Atom's brief internal discussion on whether he should let this bat-monstrosity destroy a prison and all those in it.

As with Cosmic Adventures, there was something in this issue for all levels of readers. And it certainly read like the Brave and Bold episodes play out.



But I have to be honest, for me the best thing in the issue was the Moon Gang. If only because it reminded me about Moon Supergirl.

Well, if I can't get a Supergirl Cosmic Adventures sequel, how about the Cosmic Supergirl as a guest star with Batman in this book? Pretty please Landry?

Landry Walker and Eric Jones on Batman:The Brave And The Bold

Fans of Supergirl:Cosmic Adventures In The Eighth Grade will be happy to hear that Landry Walker and Eric Jones have been given the reins of Batman:The Brave and the Bold DC kids book! Here is a link to Walker's blog discussing the assignment and its origin:
http://xray-studios.livejournal.com/48928.html

Here is a blurb from that post where Walker talks about the tone of the book.

Our intention with this series is to capture the feel of the cartoon rather than literally interpret the style of the animated series onto a comic book page. Comics and animation are two very distinct (even if related) mediums, and neither wholly translates into the other. We're a bit past our first issue now, and I'm very happy with the result of this approach.

To be honest, I have enjoyed the cartoon more than I thought I would. The 'Dick Sprang' style art is not as jarring as I thought it would be. And the show has included a lot of minor characters from the DCU (which is always welcomed) as well as a boatload of Easter Eggs for us old-timers. You may remember my post on the show's homage to Streaky. So I am interested in seeing what Walker/Jones come up with.

As for this book, I asked Walker about the chances of Supergirl being the guest star and here was his response.

Supergirl as a guest star: Hopefully in the near future. I certainly have a story in mind. In the meantime, some other elements of Cosmic Adventures will trickle in to the stories sooner rather than later. Minor elements, but elements nonetheless.

Well, I would be absolutely giddy to see a Supergirl/Batman team-up. I loved Cosmic Adventures and continue to hope that a sequel happens. In the meantime, throw us rabid fans a bone and have Kara as a guest star!

The first Walker/Jones Brave and Bold issue is solicited for September 30. Here is the DC site's description of the issue:

Batman teams up with a mysterious figure to stop the Penguin and The Riddler, but is this anti-hero a friend or a foe? Be here for all of the cataclysmic catastrophes in "The Tale of the Catman!"

The supergirls at home also loved Cosmic Adventures and watch the Brave and the Bold show so I will be sure to pick up these issues.

Brave and the Bold cartoon: Streaky Cameo

Cartoon Network premiered its more kid-oriented super-hero cartoon The Brave and the Bold last week. The opening episode teamed up Batman and the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle. Together they thwarted Kanjar Ro.

Early in the episode, Jaime and a friend are watching TV. If you blinked you missed it, but there was a commercial for Plastino's Cat Snacks featuring Streaky!

Of course, Al Plastino drew Action Comics #252, the first appearance of Supergirl, so nice little homage there.

But is there any denying that 2008 is The Year of Streaky?

Tiny Titans, Final Crisis, a planned appearance in Cosmic Adventures, part of the Deluxe Supergirl doll, and now a television appearance !! Unbelievable!

As for the show, it clearly is based on a kinder gentler DC universe with a less grim Batman and drawn with Dick Sprang inspired art. I guess we can hope for a Supergirl team-up in the future.

June 16 - Big News Day; Item 3 - September solicits Brave and Bold 17

Also solicited for September is The Brave and the Bold 17.

Written by Marv Wolfman

Art and cover by Phil Winslade

Supergirl and Raven team up to save San Francisco from a new super villain with deep roots in the DC Universe!

I think it is great to have another issue showcasing Kara to the DCU. I enjoyed the way she was handled by Mark Waid in earlier issues of this Brave and Bold run.

It should be cool to see how Marv Wolfman handles her, especially in an issue with a Wolfman creation, Raven.

But is that the crazy Zor-El on the cover!!!

Really!?

The crazy/evil Zor-EL??

ARRRGGGGHHH!

I cannot express how much I loathed the 'Mad Zor-El, kill Kal-El, crystal hell' storyline which was in the title until the Puckett issues. What an absolute worthless plot.

Allow me to briefly summarize the insanity. Zor-El thinks ghosts from the phantom zone are possessing Kryptonians and that his 'sun crystal' science is the only thing that can save those people and Krypton. He peforms experiments on Kara to infuse her with crystal powers. Zor-El learns that Krypton will explode and Jor-El plans to rocket baby Kal to Earth. Zor-El knows the ghosts will follow Kal and so to save Earth he plans to rocket Kara there as well with the plan to kill baby Kal and stop the spectral invasion.

Let's revisit some of the more cringe-worthy moments closely...

Here he is stating his plan to have Kara kill Kal-El (issue 5) ...

And then having his 16 year old daughter parade around him naked (also issue 5) ...

And discussing her classmates before he has her mow them down with a crystal flechette gun Colombine-style (issue 10) ...

And persuading her to kill her 'possessed' mother (issue 16) ...



But wait ... didn't Kelley Puckett ret-con that guy out of history? Remember when Supergirl saw images of her loving father just 6 issues ago!!!


And didn't Will Pfeifer corroborate that just this month?


Yeesh ... I thought that awful part of this version of Kara was behind her. That the current team was trying to rehabilitate her into a more heroic figure.

Hopefully this is just some mind game from Phobia or some other villain. Because if he comes back, I think I'll vomit.

It Came from the Back Issue Box: Brave and Bold #147

A week ago I was reminded about how great Jim Aparo was as an artist on the Fortress of Fortitude blog (http://fortressofortitude.wordpress.com/2008/06/08/sunday-pin-up-35/).

It's funny, but it is his version of Batman that usually comes to mind when I picture the Dark Knight in my head. Most likely this is from the glut of Batman issues he drew in the formative years of my collecting. One such issue was The Brave and the Bold #147, release in February 1979, and written by Cary Burkett. Aparo both drew and inked the book.

The story is titled 'Death-Scream from the Sky' and guest stars Supergirl.

The story starts out with a terrorist group called The Children of Light announcing that they have hi-jacked a Wayne Enterprise communication satellite and rigged it with a huge laser cannon capable of destroying whole cities. Unless their demands for prisoner release and cash are met they will begin annihilating cities. (I can't help but be reminded of Dr. Evil in Austin Powers talking about his air-quoted laser.)

And what a time to start this plot! Outside of Batman, the rest of the JLA just happens to be away on a space mission. The Dark Knight follows some clues to the STAR labs in Midvale. And who should he literally stumble upon there, Supergirl.

Kara explains she has been following a student from New Athens college who exudes some field which weakens her. She followed him to STAR where her powers abandoned her and she was ambushed and knocked unconscious.

Figuring that Supergirl can help take out the satellite, Batman hops into a single passenger space shuttle and heads into space. The terrorists have thought things through though. The satellite is rigged to emanate red-sun radiation which will make Kryptonians powerless, so Supergirl cannot approach it. (The student/terorist she has been following has been working so closely with the red-sun radiation technology that he has been giving off low levels himself, thus explaining his effect on Supergirl.)

Amazingly Batman tries to take out the satellite only to be gunned down by the cannon. Kara is able to save him from a death in deep space and brings him quickly earthward.

Back on Earth, the two do some more snooping and find a key clue in the student's apartment. Turns out the "top secret" terrorist group are wearing badges on there chest (scroll up to first pic) which are handed out at a night club in Gotham called 'Le Soleil'. Those tricky terrorists!

After breaking into the terror cell, it is revealed that the mastermind villain is Dr. Light, still decades away from becoming a rapist and getting mind-wiped in Brad Metzler's Identity Crisis. Here, he is just another evil scientist trying to scam a buck.

Batman trashes the goons and deactivates the red sun field around the cannon. In a rage, Light activates the laser cannon. In the best moment of the book, Kara has to outrace Light's radio signal to the satellite. She gets there in the nick of time, destroying the satellite before it can fire.

This is fairly typical 'one and done' B&B issue with standard excellent Aparo art. His Supergirl is both strong and beautiful.

As for Supergirl, this takes place during the "Superman Family" continuity period meaning Linda is working as a guidance counselor at New Athens college. It is a period of her history that I actually know little about. In this issue, she seems in awe of Batman. Throughout the story he tells her to stay behind for her own safety since the villains have a way of robbing her of her powers. In the end, she acts the way we expect Kara to act - heroically- and charges into the terrorist HQ to save Batman while risking her own life.

If only to see Batman and Supergirl interact one-on-one, I would recommend this issue to all Supergirl fans.

Overall grade: B