80-Page Thursdays: Superman Family #183!

Another Thursday, another 80-pager: I have always wanted Superman Family #182, probably because of the cover. This is Superman Family #183, which is now just disappointing to me, even with stories from Jack C. Harris, J. Aruns, Bob Toomey, Cary Bates, and Paul Kupperberg; and art by Carl Potts, Al Milgrom, Kurt Schaffenberger, Vince Colletta, Bob Brown, and more.

Supergirl takes the lead with "Shadows of Phantoms!" The title should've been a clue, but I was distracted as Kara rescues a test pilot that probably should've been Hal Jordan. Later, students at Kara's school are victimized by a sleep-research study--luckily, this was 1977, or that could've gotten really creepy--and Supergirl faces a Phantom Zone criminal of her own. I'm not sure if Shyla ever made another appearance, which would be a waste.

There's another shaggy dog of a Krypto story, Jimmy Olsen vs. smugglers, a Perry White story that reads like it was written by J.Jonah Jameson, and Brainiac gets completely owned by Nightwing and Flamebird. The latter should be a bigger deal: Brainiac attempts to destroy Kandor, the city he once shrank, in order to drive Superman insane. You wouldn't think NW and FB would let him off with just a beating.

Lastly, there's "The Day Lois Lane Walked All Over Superman!" It's only made notable by a surprisingly chatty narrator, who has a surprise cameo at the end. I won't say!