Batman: The Brave and the Bold #15 – Tim Seeley, Mark Russell, Alex Segura, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Writers; Kelley Jones, Jon Mikel, Andy MacDonald, Lisandro Estherren, Artists; Michelle Madsen, Mike Spicer, Patricio Delpeche, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Four stories this month – three continuations and one kick-off. How do they play out?
The third chapter of “Nightwing and Deadman: Down the Road” takes our two haunted heroes deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the carny world, with them discovering a creepy record that takes them deep into the world of Nanda Parbat – which apparently had roots in the rest of the world far longer than Deadman’s legacy. This is a middle chapter, so there are some slow parts, but towards the end it kicks into high gear with a deeply creepy possession and hallucination segment that plays perfectly to Kelley Jones’ strengths as an artist.
The conclusion of “Time Jerks” by Russel and Mikel is the exactly opposite – light, silly nonsense. Booster Gold has now disrupted not one but two worlds with his antics, and the potential extinction of the Jurassic League could put humanity’s future in danger. So he recruits our Justice League for help – only to be interrupted by Bugster Gold, another alternate future version of himself who wants humanity to go extinct so insects can inherit the earth. It’s ridiculous and completely hilarious.
The best story in this issue, by far, is “Duality” by Segura and MacDonald. Picking up with Renee Montoya in the immediate aftermath of her losing the last members of her family in GCPD: The Blue Wall, she’s closer than ever to relapsing. She relies more on AA for help – but as her sponsor gets targeted by a mysterious assailant looking to hurt her, she decides she’s reached the limit of what she can do as a police officer here. And out comes The Question. Is this Two-Face, as the title indicates? I don’t think so, but I’m very intrigued.
The final chapter of “The Invader” by Fialkov and Estherren is rather short, simply covering how Batman finds out that the little alien is not in fact an invader but a refugee – and that it can’t communicate for a very specific reason. Good example of how Batman’s Detective skills work, as well as the hilarious caustic banter between Batman and Guy Gardner. The real star here, though, is Lisandro Estherren’s haunting art, paying tribute to the 1950s sci-fi serials that this takes its inspiration from.
Overall, one of the quieter issues, but a great collection of stories as always.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
