The Brave and the Bold #98

This November 1971 issue of The Brave and the Bold teams Batman with the enigmatic Phantom Stranger in a pairing that leans hard into mystery and the macabre. Nick Cardy's cover sets an urgent, unsettling mood: Batman lies unconscious on the ground while a glamorous woman in purple commands a knife-wielding silhouette to "kill the Godfather," all as the Phantom Stranger's ghostly form looms over a cluster of grotesque figures lurking in the shadows. Three stories are packed inside — "Mansion of the Misbegotten," "The Killer Shadow," and "One Challenger Must Die" — with the Batman/Phantom Stranger lead brought to life by the remarkable triple-threat talents of writer Bob Haney and artist/inker/letterer Jim Aparo.