The Brave and the Bold #15

One-sentence summary: Waid continues to deliver old-fashioned, quality comic stories along with his take on DC's characters in this team-up title.

In a lot of ways, Brave and the Bold feels like a throwback title. After finishing up their larger-arc recently, they've been doing mostly smaller stories (I think this one was two, maybe three issues). These stories really don't have consequences outside of this title, and rarely does it reflect the state of things in the DCU. The bright, if basic, colors and pencils seem to me to be more reminiscent of a Neal Adams style than anything modern. It doesn't use thought balloons, but they wouldn't seem out of place.

However, in no way am I using this bash the title. Sure, it's not a masterpiece showing where the medium is headed, etc, but it's good fun, which is something that Waid's good at (see: Impulse). I think it's a great title for the comic nerd or a younger reader -- it's clean, innocent fun, which, sadly enough, isn't true for a lot of basic DC titles (not trying to sound like an old fogey, I just think DC's missing out by not having more quality titles that kids can read). Also, I think it has appeal to those two demographics by having the random selection of rotating characters. The new readers can get introduced to neat characters who might not have had an appearance in a couple years, and old fans can see their favorites again.

In addition to that, it's not sloppy writing. Waid does interesting things with the characters together, making sure their interactions aren't forced. They know each other, they operate in the same world, and they fight using all of their abilities. This issue is one of the best highlights of that, with Deadman talking about knowing the Flying Graysons back in the day (which makes sense, since they were both acrobats), and other cases I won't spoil.

Sure, this feels like an anachronism, but it feels like a really, really good one.

Brave and the Bold #5

One-sentence summary: Brave and the Bold is a comic which I think is usually underrated, and even though this is a bit of a slow issue, I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

Mark Waid is usually a good writer to look for if you're looking for a fun read. Brave and the Bold continues its tradition of combining characters with Batman and the Legion of Superheroes this time. Nothing universe-shaking, generally, just good ol' fashioned comic book fun, really, and that's what BatB (as I shall now refer to it, even though I just negated the times-saving offered by the acronym by typing this lengthy explanation of it) is. The art is fine for the book, and it was fun to see Batman give the Legion a run for their money. I think Waid's Brainy was probably the highlight of the issue for me, honestly, though I did like the triple-charged Supergirl.

The nice thing about BatB is that Waid takes these characters I have no real fondness for (Blue Beetle, Supergirl) and somehow makes them enjoyable for me. Maybe it's just nice to see characters who rarely get exposure out of their own book thrown into a new situation; seeing Blue Beetle go fanboy on Batman in an earlier issue may be the highlight of the entire series for me. Though this wasn't my favorite issue, I still highly recommend BatB for anyone (like me) who likes a break from the giant, hero-destryong events of Marvel and DC.

All Flash #1

One-sentence summary: even w/multiple artists doing this, the story stayed cohesive as a way to introduce Wally West back into the DCU as the Flash, but not much more.

All Flash (sort of an odd name for a one-shot introduction, but, hey, whatever) wasn't a bad comic by any stretch, really, it just didn't do much for me. I think that's mostly because I grew up w/Impulse and the Flash from the cartoons; my Flashes are usually jokesters with the books having a generally light-hearted feel. This is so far from light-hearted it borders on down-right horrific with the fate of Inertia; Waid definitely does a darker job on this than most his stuff. I'm not complaining that this book wasn't jokey; I didn't really expect that, as Bart Allen is dead because of Wally's return. I was just hoping for something even moderately more upbeat than this for the Flash. As is, what I got was a mostly vengeful and depressing comic with an end foreshadowing what look to be some of the worst Flash characters since...ever, really.

However, I should stay positive. The art can definitely be nice in the book, and the story, as one that had to be told, is pretty well done. Wally West is back, and this book cements him back in place.