Remembering Artist Jim Aparo

Remembering artist Jim Aparo on his birthday (August 24, 1932 - July 19, 2005), who was known for his Batman art, as well as Batman team ups...

...but, you might not be aware of his World's Finest Comics covers....specifically these from the Dollar Comics era, that wraparound the comic, showing off not only Batman, but Superman and as additional features, Captain Marvel (as the Shazam feature), Green Arrow, Black Canary, Creeper, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Black Lightning!

World's Finest Comics #253 (October-November, 1978)

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World's Finest Comics #254 (December-January, 1978/1979)

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World's Finest Comics #255 (February-March, 1979)

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World's Finest Comics #257 (June-July, 1979)

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Secrets Of Jim Aparo

True horror fans can appreciate Jim Aparo, and the horror art he did associated with Phantom Stranger, Spectre and Deadman, but, it's haunting how few fans know of his two covers for Secrets Of Haunted House (#6 and #7, June-July and August-September 1977).

But, now you are no longer one who doesn't know!  

As a special bonus for you checking here, a few of Jim's old friends, working together as Halloween approaches!

 

Remembering Artist Jim Aparo

Remembering artist Jim Aparo (August 24, 1932 - July 19, 2005) on his birthday.  

Jim Aparo was known for his work on Phantom Stranger, Aquaman and the Spectre, but one of his best known and beloved work was on Batman team-up in Brave and the Bold....

...but, one of the strangest guest stars in one of the team-ups. was Jim Aparo himself, as this cover he drew shows!!!

Small War Of The Super Rifles

In Brave and the Bold #124 (January, 1976) by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo,  Batman is nearly taken out by a hood with a "super gun"....which Batman learns is an experimental M-76, when he is saved by Sgt. Rock (World War II veteran, assigned to get the stolen guns back from the Thousand, the group that stole them).  While doing that, Batman opens a locker and dies....what?  That's what Jim Aparo says....until he realizes the writer's script has been changed, by the terrorists who broke into his Connecticut house!

Thinking fast, Aparo escapes the fiendish felons, finds a nearby lighthouse to keep drawing (where he has Rock save Batman), then calls Bob Haney and Murray Boltinoff to get tips to help Batman and Sgt. Rock track down the Thousand, and save him at the lighthouse the fiends were approaching!

Truly, one of the craziest tales Bob Haney ever gave us, but, a wonderful adventure for artist Jim Aparo!

Of course, Jim also drew (but didn't participate) in adventures of the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger teaming up with Batman (as well as Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Black Canary and more, which you can check out on the link on their names!).

Batman Meets Hawkman

By the time of his team-ups in Brave and the Bold, Batman was tied more to Gotham and fighting human criminals, but, on the other hand, Hawkman was a Thanagarian police officer, observing Earth police habits with his partner (and wife, Hawkgirl)...


...so of course, these two characters would work together....

Brave and the Bold #70

The first team up of these heroes happened in Brave and the Bold #70 (February-March, 1967) with "Cancelled: 2 Super-Heroes" by Bob Haney, Johnny Craig and Charles Cuidera, under a cover by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.

Batman had to stop millionaire collector, Balthazar T. Balthazar, from figuring out that he is really Bruce Wayne, so he recruited Hawkman to help throw him off the trail (but, along the way, the collector things Carter Hall is Batman, with the two heroes battling, then eventually defeating their foe....and giving him other identities for him to believe in other than their real ones).

Sadly, this issue has only been reprinted in black and white, in Showcase Presents (both in Batman Team-Ups and Hawkman's volumes).

Brave and the Bold #139

Next up is Brave and the Bold #139 (January-February, 1978) by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, where Hawkman gets to meet Commissioner James Gordon, in "Requiem For A Top Cop".

This time around, Hawkman has to help protect Jim Gordon from an alien bounty hunter, Vorgon,  who is after Gordon for a crime he committed as a young police officer in Gotham, that of killing an alien named Lan who landed on Earth!  Batman and Hawkman aren't able to stop the hunter, but Gordon is, with the truth of the accident that lead to the alien's death.


This story was reprinted in glorious color in Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 2 hardcover of 2013.

Brave and the Bold #164

"The Mystery Of The Mobile Museum" is the next solo Batman/Hawkman team-up in Brave and the Bold #164 (July, 1980), by J.M. DeMatties, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Steve Mitchell, with a cover by Jim Aparo.

Carter and Shiera Hall had a lot to deal with being Thanagarian policemen, JLA members and curators of the Midway Museum....but being curators of the museum got a lot harder when the museum decided it didn't want to be on land anymore, and tried to fly away.  Batman and Hawkman had to stop the Ma-Prusha, who were making this happen (as well as animating armor and other items to stop the heroes from stopping them).

This tale was reprinted along with a series from Batman: Confidential featuring King Tut, in the Batman: King Tut's Tomb collection of 2010.

Brave and the Bold #186

Last, but not least, is Brave and the Bold #186 (May, 1982), where Batman and Hawkman have to deal with "The Treasure Of The Hawk-God's Tomb" by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and Jim Aparo.

Batman and Hawkman try to recover a stolen Horus sarcophagus, searching Gotham City, and finding Hawkman's foe, the Fadeaway Man (Anton Lamont, who uses the Cloak of Cagliostro to teleport, become invisible or intangible in his pursuit of items to steal), being the one responsible for its theft....after first dealing with the Gotham underworld (whom the villain tried to sell a fake to), then capturing the thief on a second try (and recovering the real booty, along with the villain).

Sadly, this tale has yet to be reprinted.

But these tales do prove that Batman and Hawkman can work together!

Batman Meets Atom And Firestorm

Batman met the atomic age well, and worked with a few heroes involved with atoms and nuclear power, specifically his fellow Justice League of America members, the Atom and Firestorm, in the pages of Brave and the Bold.

When Batman met them, they were already beginning to be legends in the DC Universe, but the team-ups still proved to be fresh and interesting....

Brave and the Bold #77

Batman first met with Atom in B&B with Brave and the Bold #77 (April-May, 1968), with "So Thunders The Cannoneer!" by Bob Haney, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, with the Darknight Detective and the Mighty Mite facing off against the Cannoneer (a human cannonball) and Lilli De La Pooche (his midget assistant) as they plot to rob the Brotherhood Express train (packed with artistic treasures, passing through Gotham City).  Batman faces off against the Cannoneer while Atom deals with Lilli, eventually prevailing and getting the art back.


This story has only been reprinted in black and white, in Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups #1 of 2007.

Brave and the Bold #115

Batman was "The Corpse That Wouldn't Die" in Brave and the Bold #115 (October-November, 1974) by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo.  Batman was fatally wounded while searching for Debbie Manton, and Atom is called in to stimulate Batman's body, and continue the hunt to find the kidnapped girl.  While keeping Batman's body moving, Batman's brain also is stimulated, eventually restoring the Gotham Guardian to life.

This story has been reprinted in black and white, in Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups #3 of 2008, as well as in color in Batman: The Strange Deaths Of Batman of 2009 and in the Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 1 of 2012.

 

 

Brave and the Bold #152

Batman's next solo team-up with the Atom is in Brave and the Bold #152 (July, 1979) with "Death Has A Golden Grab" by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, with Bruce Wayne and Ray Palmer finding themselves labeled as criminals due to a computer mix up, which puts their alter egos on the chase across the country to find out the hackers behind this problem.


This tale should be reprinted in the Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Volume 3 of 2016, though it appears computer hackers have messed with the various listings of this online, as descriptions of this volume have the book starting with Brave and the Bold #151, and not containing #152 (though it appears #151 was in Volume 2, with a team-up with the Flash, which has been covered here).

 

 

Brave and the Bold #172

Batman moved on from the Atom and the 1970s, and had his only B&B team-up with Firestorm in Brave and the Bold #172 (March, 1981) with "Darkness and Dark Fire", by Gerry Conway, Carmine Infantino and Steve Mitchell (under a cover by Jim Aparo, at least).  This tale, written by Firestorm's co-creator, has Batman being called in by the Justice League facing off against Firestorm (a relative rookie in the JLA at this time), who has been taken over by the nuclear reactor that gave him his powers, and Batman has to play detective to find out why Firestorm is a menace, then free his nuclear powered friend.


This tale has been reprinted, in the Tales Of Batman: Carmine Infantino book of 2014, though sadly, the Nemesis back-up contained in the book has not (and that series cries for collection!).

 

Brave and the Bold #129 and #130

With all this excitement, almost missed Brave and the Bold #129 and #130 (September and October, 1976), but Atom was one of a few co-stars there, along with the Joker, Two-Face and Green Arrow....and Green Arrow team-ups with Batman (including this one) have been covered here.....so, go back there to read more on these, and we'll B&B seeing you soon!

Batman Meets Green Arrow

Green Arrow was one of the first two heroes in a team-up in Brave and the Bold when the title became a place for DC heroes to meet starting with Brave and the Bold #50 (October, 1963)...and Batman was so popular (thanks in part to the 1966 TV Show) that he became the regular star of the title (so awesome, he teamed with himself in the last issue of the series (Brave and the Bold #200, July, 1983, though, sadly, never with the Manhunter from Mars, at least in B&B).

So, it seems obvious that Batman and Green Arrow would be the most frequent team-up of the B&B era!  Let's take a look at these meetings....

The First

Brave and the Bold #71 (April-May, 1967) has the first B&B teaming of these two heroes, in a story by Bob Haney (who started the team-ups in B&B #50), with art by George Papp (the co-creator of Green Arrow), all under a cover by Carmine Infantino (who was the artist who started Batman's "new look"...which included the yellow oval). 


"The Wrath of the Thunderbird" was a pretty simple story of Batman and Green Arrow facing off against a crooked promoter and save an Indian tribe..

...a reflection of what the average team-up was like at the time, but boy was that to change!

The Times Are A Changin'

Brave and the Bold #85 (August-September, 1969) was Bob Haney's second Batman/Green Arrow story, but the first for new artist...Neal Adams, who got to redesign Green Arrow's look for the issue (as Green Arrow had no individual feature of his own at the time).

This led to Green Arrow getting paired with Green Lantern (and Neal Adams getting the art assignment there as well with writer Denny O'Neil, creating the very famous pairing and socially relevant comics...) .


But it all started here with "The Senator's Been Shot!" in a story that's been reprinted more than a few times as well!

More Co-Stars

Brave and the Bold #100 (February-March, 1972) had a story by Bob Haney, and art by Jim Aparo (with a stunning cover by Nick Cardy).  For the anniversary issue of B&B, Batman was nearly killed by a gangster's bullet, and met with Robin, Black Canary, Green Lantern and Green Arrow...

...and the lot of them gathered to prevent a shipment of drugs from being dumped in Gotham and make sure Batman recovered from his wounds.


"The Warrior in the Wheel-Chair" has been reprinted in color, in the first volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

A Mystery

Brave and the Bold #106 (March-April, 1973) had Batman and Green Arrow face off against a mystery villain that was defrauding people in a double your money scheme...and that might suggest which Batman villain that was the ?. 


This story was by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, and was the first time Jim Aparo got to draw Green Arrow on a B&B cover...but it wouldn't be his last.


"Double Your Money...And Die" also made it into the first volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover, and Green Arrow would face that mystery villain again in the pages of B&B!

Double Your Pleasure

Brave and the Bold #129 and 130 (September and October, 1976) was Green Arrow's only two-parter with Batman...and added additional hero, the Atom, as well as two Batman villains (the Joker and Two-Face, both of whom had been in B&B before) to the mix in a story by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, wherein Oliver Queen gets the Pathanistanian Emperor Eagle, and has to return it to its homeland, all the while fighting with Joker, Two-Face and General Mahmood Khan (with the help of Batman and Atom).  Wonder if some variant of this story might show up on the CW's Arrow as Atom will be a guest there this year?

These stories are also reprinted in color in the second volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

More Group Fun

Brave and the Bold #136 (September, 1977) was a real milestone for B&B fans. 

True, it was just another story by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo, but along with Green Arrow, it featured the Metal Men (robots of Dr. Will Magnus that fought evil and exhibited the properties of the metals they were made of), as well as reoccurring Batman B&B foe and femme fatale Ruby Ryder - who was previously in B&B #95, 123 and 135, menacing Batman, Plastic Man and Metamorpho).



"Legacy of the Doomed" (along with all but Ruby's first appearance) all made it into the second volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

One Last Time

Brave and the Bold #144 (October-November, 1978) featured Bob Haney's last Batman/Green Arrow tale (with art by Jim Aparo) but it was a chance for him to return an old villain as well, the Gargoyle (whom had been a foe for Robin in two issues of Teen Titans, #14 and 35, for those that want to know, in two stories written by Bob Haney, who was also the co-creator of the Teen Titans).


This time Batman and Green Arrow faced the Gargoyle over an enchanted arrow..."The Arrow of Eternity".

This story also ended up in the second volume of the Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo hardcover.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Brave and the Bold #168 (November, 1980) began with adding a new writer to the Batman/Green Arrow pairing, that of Cary Burkett, but at least Jim Aparo was still providing the art. 


This time around, Batman was helping Green Arrow by introducing a friend's escape artist act...

...an oddly friendly thing for the "grim and gritty" Batman to do.  Still, it was something for this B&B team to do to while away the time...


...and, sadly, "Shackles of the Mind" has yet to be reprinted.

One Last Hurrah

Brave and the Bold #185 (April, 1982) was the last time Batman and Green Arrow met in Brave and the Bold...and it was with new writer and artist (Don Karr and Adrian Gonzales).  This time around, Batman and Green Arrow faced the Penguin (whom Green Arrow had fought before in issues of the Justice League of America), as well as Penguin's new ally, a trained falcon.


"The Falcon's Lair" has not been reprinted, but at least the cover featured the newer Green Arrow logo...which had made it onto Green Arrow's first mini-series as well.



Batman and Green Arrow weren't done teaming up either, still working together in the Justice League, and even in more than a few issues of Detective Comics.

Green Arrow ended up as a back up feature there for a time, and some notable appearances include #468 with Atom and Black Canary, and #559 with Black Canary and Catwoman)....but those team-ups can be covered at a later date, as can Batman's B&B team-ups with "Team Arrow" members Black Canary and Speedy (though Speedy was with the Teen Titans).

B&B seein' ya!

Batman Meets Himself In Brave and the Bold

Holy multiple Batman, Batman!

After over 75 years in the comic industry, Batman has changed a little bit over the years since Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939)...

...and here's a few stories that help show those changes as the Silver Age (or Earth-1) Batman meets a few Golden Age (or Earth-2) members of the Batman family!

Face Yourself

In Brave and the Bold #200 (July, 1983), writer Mike W. Barr, with artist Dave Gibbons (and all under a stunning cover by premiere Batman artist, Jim Aparo), tells a tale late in the original Batman's career, where he faced Brimstone (a villain with a devilish theme, good enough to make it into 1950s comics, or even the 1966 Batman TV show)...

...and Brimstone was defeated (at least for the 1950s...). 

A few decades later, and Brimstone wanted to revenge himself on the original Batman, but is unable to due to the passing of Earth-2's Batman, so Brimstone takes over the body of his Earth-1 counterpart and menaces the (at the time) current version of Batman.

A fun little story even if the two Batmen don't meet, and the issue contains the first appearance of Batman and the Outsiders as well!

One of the biggest differences at the time (besides the yellow oval) was that 1950s Batman still had Robin as a partner....

The Ex-Boy Wonder

Now with Brave and the Bold #182 (January, 1982), the modern Batman was given an "Interlude On Earth-Two" thanks to writer Alan Brennert and artist Jim Aparo, where he met with the original Batman's now grown-up partner of Robin!

The Batman of Earth-1 also met two people he considered to be ghosts, Batwoman and Hugo Strange (both who had just passed on Earth-1, but were still alive on Earth-2).  Seems the original Batman's foes were all ready to kill Batman, and not that happy that they couldn't...

This story established that some of Batman's later 1950s stories must also have happened in the lives of both Batmen, and it was a touching tale of how to deal with loss.

This story was reprinted in the Secrets of the Batcave tradepaperback as well...

...and more history of the original Robin has been covered here too!

Darknight Daughter

Earth-2 must have been on Mike W. Barr's mind as well, as he gave us a Christmas take on cross-Earth Bat-family meetings (along with artist Jim Aparo) with Brave and the Bold #184 (March, 1982) and "The Batman's Last Christmas".

Batman discovers that his father, Thomas Wayne, may have been involved in the Gotham crime scene...as a criminal! 

Luckily for the Earth-1 Batman, his "niece" from Earth-2, the daughter of the original Batman, Helena Wayne, a.k.a. Huntress, came over for a visit..

...and the two of them worked it out, as well as dealing with the loneliness the holidays can bring!

This story made it into the Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Volume 2 tradepaperback of 2007, and the Huntress had the majority of her earliest solo appearances including her first appearance and origin in DC Super-Stars #17 (November-December, 1977, by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Bob Layton) gathered in the Huntress: Darknight Daughter tradepaperback of that year as well (and this was the Huntress that was the inspiration for the Huntress of the Birds of Prey TV series as well!).

Crossing the Cat's Path

With all of this, you might wonder who the Huntress' mother was, and she was a foe of the original Batman, Catwoman! 

Her part in Huntress' origin was covered pretty well in Huntress' origin in DC Super-Stars #17, but there was still a little more of the tale to be told, and that was told in Brave and the Bold #197 (April, 1983), by Alan Brennert and Joe Staton (and cover by Jim Aparo).

This issue also dealt with a lonely Batman, but this time it was the original, Golden Age, Earth-2 Batman, and his fear was made that much worse by the master of fear, the Scarecrow!

This could be considered a "zero issue" for the Huntress, as it detailed how Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were finally able to reveal their feelings for each other, and put the masks behind.

A truly touching tale, reprinted in the original Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1988 and the tradepaperback of 1989.

All of this shows how much Alan Brennert, Mike W. Barr, Jim Aparo and Joe Staton have given to the legend of Gotham and it's hero, the Batman...and their work is appreciated!  It also shows that Brave and the Bold helped Batman's mythology as well, expanding and exploring the Batman family and finding the man behind the mask!