Yeah, I used to notice the volume numbers. I would also read the publication frequency. Sometimes you are starved for reading material, especially if there wasn't anything good on television (especially before cable and you live far enough out you can only tune in2 of 3 networks!) I also used to read the ingredients and nutritional information on the cereal box. It was years before I knew what riboflavin was.

I can't remember exactly when I discovered the indicia and all the good info you could glean from them, but I know I was all over them afterwards.

In fact, when I bought this issue, which, as they say, I'd been eagerly awaiting...



I can remember looking at the indicia hoping that I'd see that it would be published at least bi-monthly.

Alas, I saw a designation I'd never seen before (and maybe since).

"Published one-shot."

DAY-AMN! Even I knew what that meant.

I would always read when eating back in those days, and if I had nothing else, I'd read the cereal box too. I remember niacin, riboflavin, and the "Draw A Supervillain" contest.

Batman Family #16 (March 1978)



Batgirl and Robin: "Fury of the Five-in-One Foe!"

Script: Bob Rozakis
Pencils: Don Heck
Inks: John Celardo
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Letters: Milt Snapinn

Grade: D+

With the cancellation of Teen Titans, Rozakis does his best to move some of those characters here with last minute half-considered guest appearances, Harlequin playing a part in the first chapter of this story and then disappearing without mention:



And Betty Kane showing up on television for a brief and inconsequential encounter with the villain of the story:



But any plans Rozakis did or did not have to give these two a more meaningful role in this title down the road are about to get scratched. The letters page tells a very interesting tale, beginning with this promise from Rozakis:



but ending with this announcement:



So somewhere between Rozakis answering that letter and this issue going to print, Milgrom removed Rozakis from writing the lead stories for this title. Which is not to say Rozakis won't continue to have a presence in this title, but rather that he is no longer calling the shots, so to speak.


We get a few hints about where Rozakis might have beeen planning to take things next for Dick and Babs. It looks like Dick (and Lori?) might have ended up going back to work for Babs in DC:



Though I have no idea how they would have balanced that with attending school full-time in upstate New York.

And it seems as though Rozakis was working on developing some tension in regard to the three of them:



Did Lori know Dick's alter ego (as had been teased two issues earlier), or would she have been jealous and snooping because Dick and Babs would always disappear together? Would have been interesting to find out.


The story itself is third rate, at best. Rozakis gets to introduce a bunch of truly corny new villain ideas:







But they are all the same villain, which Batgirl and Robin are able to expose and ultimately trap because he is color blind. It's a clever idea, but I can't help but wonder if the reason Rozakis' script calls for one boot to be green instead of pink, or Babs' hair to be green in several panels instead of red, had anything to do with the fact that Jerry Serpe had been making coloring errors in both Batman Family and Teen Titans numerous times over the past few months. One of Serpe's previous errors had been coloring Lilith's hair green instead of red in Teen Titans #52.


Once again, Rozakis taunts us for not paying careful enough attention to his meticulous scripting when Dick solves the puzzle of what this guy is up to:




But (once again) Rozakis' solution makes precious little sense and is offered in an awkwardly presented epilogue:



At which point, Batgirl suddenly gives the villain a backstory and motive that might have been more helpful anywhere other than on the last page of the story:



It's just so lazy.



Important Details:

- Rozakis' final issue scripting the lead story



Minor Details:

- Harlequin guest appearance

- Betty Kane cameo

- Unless I missed something, the "Five-in-One-Foe" only has four costumed identities (one of which we only see in a newspaper photo)

- Wow is this awkwardly sexist:




- Congress and the President of the United States unanimously agrees to resign in under 9 minutes because some anonymous dude hijacked the loudspeaker and threatens to kill them all otherwise.



Anyone else have some trouble accepting that?





Man-Bat: "Bull's-Eye for Murder!"

Script: Bob Rozakis
Pencils: Michael Golden
Inks: Michael Golden
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Letters: Clem Robins

Grade: C

Rozakis and Golden's conclusion to the shotgun sniper storyline is adequate. Golden's art still looks good, but nowhere near as breath-taking as the last installment, and Rozakis manages to introduce his forced epilogue explanations into this story as well, where they come off similarly awkward, unhelpful, and badly paced:





Awwww. That's so touching, kissing her and telling her some psycopath was trying to murder her.


It's a completely forgettable installment beside the fact that it ends with his wife going into labor.


Minor Details:

- A giant bat with pants and no shirt walks into a bar...







It's safe to say that the Batman Family title had grown completely stale at this point, and the additions of Harlequin and Betty Kane, as well as new tensions developing between Babs, Dick, and Lori, weren't going to be enough to change that. Milgrom made the right call in letting others try a turn at the helm. I truly hope the next issue will be the beginning of something fresh and exciting.

Besides Teen Titans and Batman Family, Rozakis found time to write other stuff, including Freedom Fighters #5-15, Secret Society of Super-Villains #5-7 & 15, Superboy in Adventure Comics #453-455, and Karate Kid #12-15.  I don't think it's fair to say he was thrown off anything.  They added a new lead Batman feature written by other people when the issues expanded to 80 pages, but Rozakis continued to write Batgirl, Robin and Man-Bat, contributing 40 pages to BF #17, 31 pages to #18, 34 pages to #19, and 33 pages to #20.

The pattern you see there is Rozakis taking over, after the feature has been abandoned by higher profile writers.  Conway started Secret Society and Freedom Fighters; Paul Levitz began Karate Kid, with David Michelinie having the long run on it (for it's short life), while Michelinie took over the Superboy stories.  Rozakis wasn't a guy launching many series; he was the guy who inherited series, more often than not.  He did more in the way of back-ups and he had some good ones.  His talents seemed to be more behind the scenes, in editorial and production, rather than creativity.  I think 'Mazing Man was probably the highpoint of his writing career.

I newver knew Michelinie worked on Karate Kid. Was it ever explained why he adopted the Barry Jameson pseudonym?