The Brave and the Bold #141

From June 1978, The Brave and the Bold #141 teams Batman with Black Canary for a tension-packed encounter with the Joker. Jim Aparo's cover says it all — a close-up Batman looms large as Black Canary crouches over a fallen figure while the Joker's leering face dominates the foreground, taunting the Dark Knight with a threat against Alfred as his maniacal laughter spills across the bottom of the page. With Bob Haney scripting and Aparo handling every line of the artwork himself, "Pay — or Die!" promises a sharp, propulsive team-up charged with real stakes.