Anthologies can be a tough sale for readers, especially in superhero comics. A higher price point promises more stories, but with varied creators, characters, and context; plus, there’s always the concern amongst superhero readers about whether these stories “count.” Batman: The Brave and The Bold sets out to set a high standard for the publication model and produce a DC Comics anthology that qualifies as a must-read. The series assembles a collection of headlining writers and artists, each of whom could carry a solo series featuring the characters from their stories, together in one of the most ambitious anthologies of 2023.
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Batman: The Brave and The Bold #2 provides readers with the second chapter of three different stories and a new standalone contribution from cartoonist Joëlle Jones.
“Batman: The Winning Card” (Part Two)
It’s no mystery why “The Winning Card” leads this anthology line up given the tremendous success of writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads on prestige DC projects like Mister Miracle and Strange Adventures; it harkens back to the heights of King’s Batman run, which was always at its best when maintaining its distance from current continuity and crossovers. The second chapter doubles down on the gothic atmosphere of the first installment as it details Batman’s first hunt for The Joker before he understands his quarry as something unique.
The text panels, made to appear like intertitles in a black and white film, provide a distinct sense of pacing and tension whenever Joker is present. They extend the smallest action beats, whether that consists of a clock counting down to midnight, or the slow swipes and stabs of Joker with a blade by interjecting with black humor. There are considered layers of darkness that make the psychopathic violence displayed throughout “The Winning Card” even more unsettling. What’s more is Gerads’ ability to shift the reader’s perspective by warping his own art. Readers are able to watch a bloody spectacle unfold as Jim Gordon fades into unconsciousness or peer in on Joker’s version of a surgery room in pages that will leave them wincing.
Joker is portrayed as a force of nature in “The Winning Card” and a careful attention to detail combined with operatic portrayals of urban crime make for a potent combination. Although it’s presented as a “Year One” tale, this addition already has the feel of an evergreen recommendation.
“Stormwatch: Down with the Kings” (Part Two)
After introducing the members and laying the ground for this new iteration of Stormwatch in the first part of “Down with the Kings,” part two delves into the team dynamics and delivers some chaos that makes the story feel much more like Stormwatch. Given that Ravager is the most recognizable member of the current crew, time spent ashore and at sea watching the various shadow agents bicker and relax is a welcome change of pace. It serves to frame an action sequence in the second half that carries serious stakes despite its limited scope. Figures like Peacekeeper-01 aren’t presented as heroic, but are instead treated as fallible, but ultimately human. So when amoral commands are dispatched, the tone functions like that of a black ops thriller.
Artist Jeff Spokes presents the crew and their obviously supernatural antagonists in a style that carries plenty of mainstream superhero affectations. Yet small moments, like Mr. Bones exhaling the smoke from his cigarette, are undeniably cool and play up the odd intersection of spy and superhero genres. The addition of three absurd combatants is handled well as their designs are instantly recognizable and each shift in perspective during a complex combat sequence plays upon causal dynamics. There’s never a moment of doubt about what is happening or why it is, despite the mysteries underlying this plot, and resulting in the most welcoming invitation to read Stormwatch since before the New 52.
“Superman: Order of the Black Lamp” (Part Two)
“Order of the Black Lamp” continues to play upon a sci-fi mystery containing elements of potential time travel, mass memory manipulation, and a lot of mad science villains cast in Silver Age Style. These are all elements writer Christopher Cantwell has addressed before in excellent fashion, but what’s most impressive here is how they are allowed to fall into the background so that Superman’s exploration of them can take center stage.
Artist Javier Rodríguez’s presentation of a secret mountain stronghold and Superman’s passage through its various trials and tribulations is nothing short of outstanding. After establishing the scene, subsequent moments of action are provided with impactful splash panels and impressive designs, especially one for an oversized automaton. As the setting becomes more claustrophobic, the pages follow suit and the final few present some of this week’s most impressive layouts. They heighten the pacing of Superman’s furious race towards the truth and construct a sequence in which readers can follow Superman’s movement and the threat posed to him simply in color. Rereading this comparably shorter installment in The Brave and The Bold proves to be every bit as rewarding, especially with a cliffhanger that promises a satisfying conclusion next month.
“All Things Considered”
The 8-page story at the end of The Brave and The Bold #2 doesn’t have the same space to develop plot or character and opts, instead, to strike a familiar chord in Batman stories that showcases artist Joëlle Jones’ approach to the material. Batman, upon returning from a recent adventure, is left to mend his own injuries in the Batcave and is soon overwhelmed by memories of similar past events.
The resulting collages and a particularly impressive spread provide readers space to pore over dozens of figures and moments pulled from Batman history. Jones presents them in a fashion that simultaneously moves through different moods, allowing for melancholy to seep in after violence, and develop a sense of Bruce’s state of mind. That also sets up a final page that, while it presents a familiar beat in Batman comics, is bound to still tug at readers heartstrings in a fine art-forward denouement to this issue.
Despite the general assessment of anthologies, Batman: The Brave and The Bold #2 makes a strong case for being the essential collection of current DC Comics fare as it delivers four installments that are best summarized as: All killer, no filler. Reviewing the four installments of this issue, readers will not find a single one lacking in talent or merit. The creators and characters presented are among the most promising under DC Comics’ umbrella today, even the weirdos operating as Stormwatch. And each story presents those characters in a style and narrative capable of sustaining a comic unto itself. Rather than seeking out the gems, readers are left with a collection of modern comics where so many new entries seems like an embarrassment of riches.
Published by DC Comics
On June 27, 2023
Written by Tom King, Ed Brisson, Christopher Cantwell, and Joëlle Jones
Art by Mitch Gerads, Jeff Spokes, Javier Rodríguez, and Joëlle Jones
Colors by Mitch Gerads, Jeff Spokes, Javier Rodríguez, and Joëlle Jones
Letters by Clayton Cowles, Saida Temofonte, Simon Bowland, and Steve Wands
Cover by Simone Di Meo
