Batman: The Brave and the Bold #19 – Zac Thompson, Dave Wielgosz, Michael W. Conrad, Brendan Hay, Rich Douek, Writers; Stefano Raffaele, Nikola Cizmesija, Christopher Mitten, Marco Santucci, Stevan Subic, Artists; Lee Loughridge, Rex Lokus, Ivan Plascencia, Luis Guerrero, Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Of the five stories in this issue, four are either premieres or one-offs, so there is plenty of new stuff in the world of Gotham.
First up is “The Hum” by Thompson and Raffaele, which finds Batman working with an unlikely partner – the Scarecrow. A mysterious sound has emerged in Gotham, driving everyone who hears it insane. The tech is derived from a similar source as Scarecrow’s experiment in fear, so Batman considers him the only reliable source – which forces a tense team-up against a particularly fiendish trap. Scarecrow is one of Batman’s most unhinged villains, so this is a darkly fun story with shades of some classic horror stories like “28 Days Later”.
The launch of “Man’s Underworld” by Weilgosz and Cizmesija features a quite unlikely team-up – Wonder Woman and Plastic Man. The lasso of truth has been stolen, and Wonder Woman needs a thief’s mind to find it – even if she and Plas don’t get along, to put it lightly. The investigation leads first to a fairly iconic b-list villain, and then to an obscure threat that only appeared in one of the best DC stories of the last few decades. It’s a genuinely odd story, but one that works shockingly well.
“Hive Mind” by Conrad and Mitten continues Conrad’s work with Amimal Man and his family (being the only one who seems to want to deal with some of the thornier stuff that’s happened to them). In this story, Maxine is behaving oddly and the family has gone to J’onn J’onnz for help investigating her connection to the Red. Thus begins a creepy tale in which her mind seems to be under attack by some sort of insectoid swarm, creating a deadly landscape for the two men who shouldn’t be there. Short story, but a strong kickoff.
The second chapter of “Robin Season” by Hay and Santucci finds the bickering brothers of Tim and Damian captured by Killer Moth. He’s out for revenge on Robin – but he may have the wrong Robin. The story has a lot of fun with just how screwed-up Moth is as a villain, and it’s great to see Tim and Damian finding a new rhythm as partners. At only two short chapters, this is a pretty quick read, but one that nicely captures what makes Robin work as a concept without getting too bogged down in lore.
The final story, a one-shot by Douek and Subic, is titled “Leftovers” and focuses on a group of people who survived attacks by a villain – but not without many scars. But the villain knows they’re unfinished business and comes back to finish his work – leading Batman to a tricky situation where he is faced with a moral paradox by one of the victims. It’s a topic we’ve seen before, but it’s handled pretty effectively with some creepy visuals and a tragic, unsettling vibe to the whole thing.
Overall, a strong issue without any real misses.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
