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

 

  When Batman: The Brave and the Bold aired on Cartoon Network from 2008-2011, the series maintained the already mentioned title throughout the entire run. Now, this might seem like an odd statement to make but it's gotten to be a trend in cartoons for each season to have a new title. A big example of this is Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man. The show is called 'Web Warriors' in season three and in  2016, season 4 will be titled Spider-Man Vs. the Sinister Six. BBB lasted 3 seasons without a single name change.  So why did DC cancel the original Batman: The Brave and the Bold comic and replace it with the All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold?

   This mystery is an easy one to solve. Each episode of Brave and the Bold started with a 2-5 minute long opening sequence called a 'cold open.'  In that scene, Batman would be paired with a partner different from the one the Caped Crusader would be teamed with in the main story. The first Brave and the Bold series followed that format. But when the series was relaunched, DC decided to omit that formula in order to devote more pages to the overall story. However, this was not why the first series was canceled!

    The reason for the reboot was due to fan complaints. The villains used were considered weak and uninteresting. The stylization of some characters such as Katana and the Doom Patrol looked nothing like the TV show or even the comics on which they were based and the storylines didn't follow the old-school style of the Cartoon Network show. Thus, fans stayed away from the book in droves.

   Now, I've read a handful of issues from the original Brave and the Bold and I never noticed any of these problems. But, I do think that the 'All-New' version was a little more superior. First of all, the great kids comics writer Sholly Fisch was brought in as series writer. Fisch, along with new title artist Rick Burchett managed to produce a series that was heavy on villains and classic DC lore. It was like reading a print version of the celebrated cartoon.

   So let's take a brief look at the adventures contained in this premiere volume. In the first issue, Superman seeks Batman's assistance in solving a series of crimes in the bottle city of Kandor. Then Billy Batson and Talky Tawny arrive in Gotham and find that the city isn't in the Holiday Spirit. It's up to Captain Marvel to help Batman overcome the mental effects of the Psycho Pirate and save Christmas.

   Did somebody mention that there weren't enough villains? Issue three has Batman and the Flash stuck in a bizarre mirror world of the creation of the dastardly duo of Mirror Master and the Mad Hatter. Then the number of baddies is turned up to 11 when Talia Al Ghul rounds up an assortment of enemies to stop the wedding of Batman and Wonder Woman. Then the Dark Knight teams up with Guy Gardner to save the earth from a horde of Manhunters.

   Speaking Manhunters, in this volume's last story, Batman trains the Martain Manhunter to be a better detective through a number of deduction challenges. This issue was filled with puzzles, mysteries, and surprises as the reader was encouraged to participate in finding the alien shapeshifter.

   I really enjoyed this book. It was tons of fun and a great old-school style read. My only complaint is that the book ended. Well, that and I'm still bitter that the cartoon got canceled. It was a good show! Thankfully, there're several more issues both Brave and the Bold series left for me to collect and read.

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.