The Brave and the Bold #183

A giant chessboard sets the stage for this February 1982 team-up, as the cover by Jim Aparo presents a menacing tableau: Batman sprawls across the chess squares in apparent defeat while the Riddler — question-mark scepter raised — stands tall alongside a cloaked, sword-wielding figure and a coiled snake, all looming over a shadowy silhouette in the background. The story title "The Death of Batman" is boldly announced right on the cover, promising real tension in this pairing of the Dark Knight with one of his craftiest adversaries. With Carmine Infantino on interior art and Don Kraar scripting, The Brave and the Bold #183 is a satisfying slice of early-'80s DC storytelling built around a genuinely unsettling premise.