The Brave and the Bold #61

Alan Moreland, retired financier, is compelled by a hypnotic floral arrangement to empty the contents of his safe. Across town, at the Drake Flower Shoppe, astronomer Ted Knight calls on the owner, Dinah Drake Lance. Dinner arrangements are made, with Lance giving Knight a flower to wear, as a reminder. Knight next pays a visit to the Park City Astonomical Observatory, where he wiles away the afternoon hours studying quasars. Suddenly, the stars vanish from Knight's view, as his ears begin ringing. Then, a hypnotic voice emanates from the flower in his buttonhole, detailing instructions for a cash drop-off. Knight, as Starman, rushes to intercept the criminals in the act. Starman observes the criminal gang from the trees, then brings his cosmic rod into play. The cosmic rod, however, has ceased functioning. With no other recourse left available to him, Starman leaps down from the trees and wades into the group of crooks. A brutal fist fight ensues, with Starman beating down all but one member of the gang. As Starman closes on the last man standing, a flower in the crook's buttonhole emits a series of high-pitched sounds that render the Astral Avenger unconscious. The criminals make off with the loot, reporting back to the mastermind behind the crime, Starman's old nemesis, the Mist.Lance's husband, private investigator Larry Lance, has tracked the Mist's crime wave back to his wife's floral shop. Lance refuses to believe her flowers could have any connection to the crimes. Starman arrives, and details his own experience with the hypnotic talking flower Lance placed in his buttonhole. Lance goes to lock up her shop, but, upon her return seems to be under a hypnotic spell. Starman uses his cosmic rod to make the adjoining wall to Lance's office transparent. Then, Starman and Lance's husband spy on the girl, who gives instructions, into a bouquet of flowers, regarding the wealthy clients receiving the next day's floral arrangements. The communication with the MIst, however,...