The Brave & the Bold #184
Published and © by DC, March 1982
Title: “The Batman’s Last Christmas!”
Synopsis: Batman makes an unsettling discovery about his father, but the Huntress is there to help him crack this Christmas case.
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artist: Jim Aparo
Review: The main plot about Batman’s father is undermined by its reliance on retconning convenient new details into Bruce’s backstory. But Earth-1 Batman’s relationship with his Earth-2 “niece,” the Huntress, is fun, and the Christmas flourishes all work nicely. Jim Aparo’s art, as usual, shines; he’s perhaps the most underrated Bat-artist.
•••
Title: “Outfoxed”
Synopsis: Nemesis tries to rescue his helicopter mechanic’s daughter from the clutches of the villainous Greyfox.
Writer: Cary Burkett
Artist: Dan Spiegle
Review: A rather generic adventure strip featuring rather generic adventure-strip art. Zzzz.
Grade (for the entire issue): B
Cool factor: Batman smacks the taste from the mouth a hoodlum dressed as Santa. A Christmas gift from the great Jim Aparo.
Collector’s note: According to MyComicShop.com, there is a Mark Jewelers variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “I doubt that ‘hot lead’ was anywhere near the top of his Christmas list, punk.” – The Huntress, swooping with a yuletide save
Editor’s note: This review was written July 7, 2020.
