Batman: The Brave and the Bold #10 – Karl Kerschl, Delilah S. Dawson, Matt Harding, Torunn Gronbekk, Dan Watters, Writers; Karl Kerschl, Serg Acuna/George Kambadais, Mike Henderson, Tom Derenick, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Artists; Msassyk, Matt Herms, Adam Guzowski, Lee Loughridge, Colorists
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: It’s a clean slate this month, with five new stories including the return of one of DC’s most beloved recent cult series.
That would be Gotham Academy, written and drawn by Karl Kerschl, which spins off into “Batman: Mother’s Day,” the headliner story. Batman was a sort of hidden figure in the original Gotham Academy series, but he’s playing a bigger role here, as flashbacks show his involvement in bringing Olive to Gotham Academy. Now he’s dating a woman with ties to the academy, as well as investigating a strange vampire-like mystery that has been stalking Gotham. While Man-Bat is in the clear—he’s actually teaching at the school right now, a very big contrast to his role in another title—the same can’t be said for Tristain, the half-Bat student who became one of Olive’s closest friends. But Batman has a connection within the school—Maps Mizoguchi, who has talked her way into being a deputy Robin of sorts. This is a full-length story, and feels every bit as good as the last run.
“Artemis: The Poison Within” by Dawson and Acuna turns the focus on the famous Amazon who once replaced Wonder Woman, as she travels the desert, reflecting on her recent trials and trying to process the pain of being forced to play the role of a traitor to her fellow Amazons. This is a one-character play, with almost all the words being in the form of narration rather than dialogue, and nature being her biggest opponent. The tension picks up at the end, though, as Artemis is forced to confront her own mortality in a big way.
“Nameless” by Matt Harding and Mike Henderson focuses on a new villain—one who is distinguished by not being anyone of note. A random henchman who worked for many villains, he’s been poisoned by exposure to various gases and his clock is counting down. Determined to make his life matter, he becomes a new supervillains and targets the first Bat he finds—Duke Thomas—as he unleashes every tool in his disposal from a life of crime and proves himself to be a far bigger threat than expected. It’s an intense story, but also one with a melancholy edge to it as our titular villain tries desperately to leave a legacy in blood.
Gronbekk and Derenick take on one of DC’s most famous leading ladies in “Lois Lane: The Game,” which has its prologue this issue as Lois investigates the murder of a friend of hers. Anna had been receiving death threats, but was also part of an odd subculture of extreme treasure hunters—essentially escape game players with real stakes and the whole world as their playground. This story packs a lot of information into a small space, but has a lot of intriguing details in there and some great Lois characterization.
Finally, “The Cheeseburger” by Watters and Lopez Ortiz is this month’s black-and-white special, and it finds Batman focused on training, relying on a nutrient shake to keep himself fed and hydrated—until he’s called in for a mission at a burger joint being attacked by Clayface. The man-turned monster just wanted a burger, but couldn’t keep his form together long enough to enjoy it—and in the over-the-top battle, Batman starts to get a little hungry too. It’s all too familiar to those of us who love junk food once in a while.
This was a great collection of stories—with a potential masterpiece right at the start.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
