We begin with a signpost for the future in "Mansion of the Misbegotten" featuring Batman and the Phantom Stranger by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo. This is Aparo's first Brave and Bold and though he does not draw the next issue, with #100 he becomes the defacto B&B artist. This is one of my favorite Aparo styles and I was so happy to see Jim get a prestigious book like B&B. When Batman goes to visit his old friend Roger Birnam, who is dying, he promises to watch over Birnam's wife Clorinda, and his son Enoch. After the funeral, when a man who posed as Birnam's doctor and as a religious articles salesman turns out at the Gotham morgue, a victim of ritual murder, Batman rushes to Birnam Towers to check on Birnam's family.
Batman soon finds himself caught in a Satanic cult ritual, with the little Enoch as the leader. Batman is easily captured, but he is saved by the arrival of the Phantom Stranger. Together, Batman and Phantom Stranger try to find a way to stop the cultists, but Batman is captured and offered as a sacrifice to Enoch, the warlock leader of the cult.
During the ritual, Lucifer appears and takes Batman away, claiming his soul as the ultimate prize. However, it was all a charade staged by the Phantom Stranger to save Batman, and once again, they start working to bring down the evil worshippers. Taking Enoch and bringing him to a psychiatric ward, Batman is shocked to find the boy has no knowledge of the occult and deduces that the Birnams had two children, not just one.
Returning to the Birnam residence, Batman is forced to battle Clorinda and the evil Enoch with the help of the Phantom Stranger. However, the appearance of Roger's ghost scares Clorinda so badly she falls over the railing of a stairwell to her death along with her evil son, Enoch. Afterward, the Phantom Stranger moves away to find the next mystery and Batman makes a promise to take care of Roger's good son, Roger, Jr. Reprinted in Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol. 2 TPB (2008), Showcase Presents: Phantom Stranger Vol. 2 TPB (2008), Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Vol. 1 HC (2012), Batman in the Brave and the Bold: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2017), and Batman in the Brave and the Bold: The Bronze Age Vol. 2 TPB (2019)
Our first reprint is the Phantom Stranger in "The Killer Shadow" by John Broome, Carmine Infantino, and Sy Barry and reprinted from Phantom Stranger #2 (1952). Heiress Myra Hunter attends a party thrown by her uncle John. During the party which celebrates the construction of his new summer house, John performs a ritual to capture Myra's shadow. Later, Myra really believes her shadow was taken. The Phantom Stranger then appears to show Myra that it was only a series of tricks that led her to be missing a shadow. He then proves that she still has one.
Myra then attends another party where it seems her shadow has been removed. The Phantom Stranger returns and exposes the tricks. Myra's uncle is responsible. He hoped to drive Myra mad or kill her in order to steal her fortune.
We end with the Challengers of the Unknown in "One Challenger Must Die" by Arnold Drake and Bob Brown and reprinted from Challengers of the Unknown #32 (1963). The Volcano Men are appearing on an island, multiplying by splitting, growing large by merging. The Challengers can't agree on an attack. Ace wants to use LOX, Professor Haley CO2 foam. The team splits to pursue their own methods, but both sides fear "one Challenger might die". Separate attacks fail, and the boys stop Rocky from making a suicidal rush. Finally, they work together. Ace Morgan's LOX cools the Professor, who wields super-CO2. Smothered, the Volcano Man crumbles to ash. The Challengers agree to work together from now on.
Edited by Murray Boltinoff.
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