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.

Final Crisis - Rogues' Revenge #1 (of 3)

One-sentence summary: This final crisis "tie-in" seems like it could be an interesting series, and the detailed, almost gritty art really works well for a series about villains.

First off, I need to get my biggest criticism of this series off my chest, simply due to the fact it has no bearing on the quality of the book. I hate DC's habit lately of doing tie-ins that are, in no way, tie-ins. At Marvel, even if the tie-in sucks, it usually has something to do with what it's being tied in to. Not so at DC. You'll have Countdown tie-ins with characters from 52, or with Captain Carrot for Pete's sake, and now you have a final crisis tie-in that I can almost safely assume will have nothing to do w/Final Crisis.

That being said, it could be a good story. The first issue was a good set-up, some neat stuff happens, and the artwork really was pretty neat. However, as it's the first issue, it's tough to judge how the series will be; the main plot of the story hasn't really been reached yet.

All in all, I think this series has definite potential, and I'm digging the art, but don't expect any actual connection with Final Crisis. I mean, why should you -- it's just a tie-in with the words "Final Crisis" in the title. Friggin' DC.