Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Brave and the Bold #82

Brave and the Bold #82 (On Sale: December 24, 1968) has a beautiful Batman and Aquaman cover by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.

"The Sleepwalker from the Sea" is by Bob Haney, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano. Batman witnesses the murder of Otto Chernak and is prevented from pursuing the killer by someone resembling Aquaman. As Bruce Wayne, he follows a lead on the case to Orm Marius, the man behind a new marine city project. Marius is actually Aquaman's half-brother Ocean Master.

Aquaman is under Ocean Master's hypnotic control and is ordered to kill Bruce. Batman brings him to police headquarters where Aquaman explains that he feels responsible for the death of a marine biologist. Batman helps to convince Aquaman that he was set up by his brother. Together the two heroes then shut down Orm's operations. The Ocean Master escapes because Aquaman did not want to see his brother harmed. This story has been reprinted in Best of the Brave and the Bold #3, Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 1 HC and Showcase Presents the Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff

1 comment:

nick said...

This was probably my least favorite among the year-long series illustrated by Neal Adams from '68 through '69. I recall it being confusing and vaguely unsatisfying. Maybe I'd have a different impression now than when I was ten. But I liked the octopus and the way Batman was tied to the anchor on the cover, and great things loomed on the horizon for this series.