Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "brave-and-the-bold"

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 by Matt Wayne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Batman Brave and the Bold provides a kid-friendly panorama of the DC Univese. This book collects Issue 1-6 of the series based on the popular Cartoon Network program.

In this book, we get appearance by Powergirl, Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Captain Marvel (Shazam), and a Golden Age style Kid Eternity. Villians include the pre-Crisis Mad Scientist version of Lex Luthor, the Mad Thinker, the Ultra-humanite, Dr. Cyber, the Queen of Fables, and General Immortus. On top of that, the book follows the format of the series with a short lead in adventure before the main event which allows readers to take a Superman, Wonder-woman, Haunted Tank, and Hour Man.

The book's big benefit is that it introduces kids to more innocent and wholesome versions of comic characters than they'll see anywhere else. Unfortunately, the stories are a mixed bag. Issues 1 and 2 are horendous and Issues 5 and 6 are mediocre. It'd be tempting to merely blame the format, particularly trying to include a 2 page lead in story in a comic book.

However, Issues 3 and 4 are real gems. In Issue 3, Batman has to impersonate the President to save him from being kidnapped and we get to see "President Batman" deal with Congressional gridlock Batman-style. Issue 4 was great from start to finish with the best two page lead-in story in the book and a crazy time travel adventure. True enough, it had some environmentalist propaganda in it, but it was still a fun story.

Series such as Superman Adventures and Spider-girl have shown that you don't have to be banal to create an all ages series: clever writing can be done in a fun and kid-friendly way. The two middle stories proved the same point and I only hope that future Brave and the Bold books are more fun than forgettable and these characters are given the type of stories they deserve.



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Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Fearsome Fangs Strike Again by Landry Q. Walker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The second collection of Batman Brave and the Bold books brings another mixture of poor and really solid stories. The book collects Issues 7-12 of the first Batman Brave and the Bold series based on the Cartoon Network comic series.

Issue 7 turns out a really poorly drawn and poorly written story featuring the Doom Patrol. Really, the group deserved much better than it got, particularly the beautiful Rita.

Issue 8 featured a Batman team up involving a bunch yetis and is obscure team of Chinese Super Guardians which produced a so-so story.

Issue 9 is the highlight of the book when Batman meets up with a guy in a very similar costume called Catman who offers to help Batman to take down some of his most dangerous foes. The question is why and who is this mysterious character?

Issue 10 is attack of the Colossal Bat Monster when Dr. Hugo Strange turns Batman into a monster and its up to Green Arrow and the Atom to save the day. Landry Walker decides to give the Atom the power to grow to massive proportions like he was Ant Man from the Marvel universe, but otherwise the story works.

Issue 11 has Batman and Green Arrow battling in the the titular story, "The Fearsome Fang Strike Again." This was an okay story that mainly highlighted Green Arrow's competitiveness.

Finally, we have Issue 12 which puts Batman with Adam Strange in a battle to save the universe. The story is problematic. Batman's made to look like a clown for the benefit of Adam Strange's wife. Then it turns out that they can save the universe by going to an anti-matter storm that coincidentally transforms Strange into a Santa Claus lookalike leading Batman to declare they were creating Christmas as everyone on Earth would have a memory of a guy with a red suit and a beard (and how would they know that?). While it'd be too much to expect an acknowledgment of why Christmas is called Christmas, did they really have to pretend that it was something Santa created with a blue bat elf?

In the end, we're given comics with mixed quality and a smattering of men attacking stupid as a propoganda method, with the Catman story elevating the book to 3 stars.




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Batman: Brave and the Bold - Emerald Knight by Sholly Fisch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Issues 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, and 21 of the Batman Brave and the Bold comic based on the popular animated series.

The book gets off to a great start in Issue 13 when Batman breaks his leg and Gotham criminals take full advantage. But then Green Arrow decides to step in as Batman, as does Shazam, Aquaman, and Plastic Man. Aquaman's particularly funny as he keeps his Blonde Mustache. Generally, just a blast of a story: A.

Issue 14 starts off with Batman and Plastic Man battling the Scarecrow but then it becomes a Huntress story. Batman thinks she's interested in romance and that's why she's acting odd on the case. However, she's got something different in mind and when Batman finds out what it is, he feels like a jerk. Regular DC Universe Batman probably wouldn't care, but that's why B&B Batman is a better person. Grade: B+

Issue 16 has Wonder Woman teaming up with Batman against Egghead with some great dialogue and some fantastic splash pages. Downside is I don't like the face drawn for Wonder Woman at all. Grade: A-

Issue 18 is the weakest in the book and it's big fault is trying to do much. The first half of the story is dedicated to Batman and Martian Manhunter battling an evil White Martian. The second has the evil White Martian trying to take over Batman's mind with Dr. Fate involved. This story could have used a few extra pages to develop well. Grade: C+

Issue 19 has Green Lantern battling the evil Cyborg Superman and sending his ring to Earth to Batman and Batman becomes a Green Lantern and even recites the Green Lantern oath. Simply awesome. Grade: A+

Issue 21 begins with Batman battling dinosaurs from outer space with the help of the Lady Blackhawks and ends with Batman fighting alongside with Green Lantern for the fate of the world against a malevolent alien named Bob. While the story could have been a little longer but still, it's quite fun. Grade:: A-

Overall thoughts: The first two collections of Brave and the Bold comics didn't live up to the fun of the cartoon series. This on the other hand did, big time. There are few great character stories, but the plots are awesomely insane with all the crazy things that can happen in the Brave and the Bold universe. There are a lot of splash pages but they are almost always necessary and well done.

My only other complaint is that the book decided to put all pictures of covers at the back while I prefer to see them before the stories. Given the issues with most comics and with the earlier books in this collection that's really not a big deal.



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The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Volume 1 by Sholly Fisch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Issues 1-6 of the All New Brave and the Bold, the second comic book series based on Batman: the Brave and the Bold. Here's an issue by issue rundown:

"The Bottle of the Planets:" This book features Superman and Batman teaming up to solve crime in the Bottled City of Kandor. Crime in the bottled city is pretty rare. It's not a great Superman/Batman story, but it's okay even with a dumb title. Grade: B-

"The Holiday Feeling" has Billy Batson showing up in Gotham city on Christmas only to find that Psycho Pirate has been driving the city haywire with emotions and Batman's in a deep depression and it's up to Captain Marvel (Shazam) to snap him out of it. This is a nice tribute to what Captain Marvel traditionally represented in comics and sees a nice cameo by the Marvel family who then disappear so Batman can go take care of the villain on his own. This wasn't a great story but compared to the other Christmas specials Brave and the Bold has done, this was actually pretty good. Grade: B

"Mirror, Mirror" This story was a blast. Batman and the Flash battle the Mirror Master and Mad Hatter and get stuck in an Alice and Wonderland world in what's a beautifully fun story. Grade: A

"The Bride and the Bold": Under the influence of powerful Greek spirits and an enchantment Batman and Wonder Woman get engaged, and villains crash the wedding. The result is a madcap scene reminiscent of Sue Storm and Reed Richards wedding in Fantastic Annual #3. Grade: A-

"Man-Hunted": An alien comes seeking Batman and Guy Gardener's help. He's being pursued by the robotic manhunter cops. Batman wants to find out if the fugitive is innocent, while Guy wants to smash the Manhunter robots. Everyone gets what they want in a really enjoyable romp. Grade: B+

"Now You See Me"-An issue that had a few annoying parts as the Martian Manhunter turns to Batman to teach him detective skills because the Martian Manhunter says he's too dependent on telepathy. I really don't get why writers (this one included) decide they have to make the Manhunter weaker to make Batman look more awesome. Still, the story has a certain silver age flavor to it as the Nartian Manhunter challenges Batman to teach skills by finding the Manhunter who can change forms. There's a nice twist at the end. Grade: B-

Overall, despite a few bumps in the road, this collection succeeds in producing Batman comics that are kid-friendly and make heroes accessible. Unlike some later and earlier collections, it doesn't make stupid stories, but tells tales that parents can enjoy with their kids. An excellent read.



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Kids who watched the 21st century TV series might be confused but this isn't the comic book based on the TV series, but rather than the Comic book which inspired the TV show

The DC comic Series, The Brave and the Bold went through a variety of format changes. At Issue 50, it became a superhero team up book. Batman didn't feature until Issue 59 and didn't become the regular star of the series until Issue 74. This book collects Batman's appearances in Brave and the Bold from Issues 59, 64, 67-71, and 74-87.

The book is divided in two artistically. Prior to Issue 79, a variety of artists drew the comic. The styles were typical silver age style with some good artists chipping in. On a Batman Team Up with the Flash (Issue 67), Carmine Infantino provided the pencils. With Issue 79, Neal Adams took over and gave readers the unique style of art that would come to define Batman into the Bronze Age and in ways that screamed for more realistic stories and got them.

The team ups include plenty of DC Comics A-listers including two appearances each for Green Lantern, the Flash, Wonder Woman (traditional and Mod redesign). The series did feature some of the lesser known characters including Metamorpho, Eclipso, the Spectre, and two separate appearances by Deadman, however these were all fairly well handled. The Eclipso story gave us a rare look into Batman's personal life and the first appearance by Deadman is one of the book's finest efforts. The book also worked in a flashback crossover with Sergeant Rock which is always a plus.

In terms of writing, the book is a bit mixed. The comics were longer than typical stories of the era, running from 23-25 pages when a typical comic was only 20 which allowed time for more development. Prior to Adams taking over as artist, the stories were often goofy to the max. Issue 77 features Batman teaming up with the Atom to fight circus a human cannonball who has a nefarious scheme that involves shrinking a circus midget and a cowboy romance thrown in for good measure. Issue 78 has Batgirl and Wonder Woman staging a fake romance to lure Copperhead into a false sense of confidence. Things go wrong when the two beauties actually fall for the caped crusaders. Both stories are fairly well-done but silly, and so this book may be less enjoyable if you don't like silly stories. In addition, some aren't as well done.

Issue 67's Flash Story has the Flash risking certain death to stop a gang of fast robbers in Gotham City. While it was meant to be noble, it came off as silly to put your life in unusual jeopardy to stop a series of property crimes. Issue 71's tale of Green Arrow and Batman helping a businessman become chief of his Indian tribe was a tad dull. However, that's more than made up for by all the great stories in the book including, "War of the Cosmic Avenger," "But Cork Can Hurt You," and "Punish Not My Evil Son."

Overall, I enjoyed this book's contrasting art, it's fantastic guest act, and it's most