The Brave and the Bold #2
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: George Pérez
Company: DC Comics
With one solid and thoroughly entertaining issue under its belt, DC’s adventure meets murder mystery meets road trip caper The Brave and the Bold continues to be a book that stars heroes who feel like true heroes, has big budget action and is a gleefully absorbing read. Not only is the writing and art that good, but writer Mark Waid is able to amp things up with a keen understanding and ability to take second tier heroes, ones that are more or less background characters, and make them endearing, funny and downright neato. In other words, he writes for the awesome. Yes, you heard me, he writes for the awesome.
In all seriousness though, beyond Waid’s craft to take the somewhat iffy character of Supergirl and put her to good use, the story here is an interesting one. The whole murder mystery angle is still in play but the search for the Book of Destiny takes precedence, and two superheroes must travel to Ventura, a Las Vegas-like planet that takes bets on just about anything. What better place is there to go when you’re holding a key to the past, present, and future? Doing the other worldly sleuthing this go around is the odd pairing of Hal Jordan and Kara Zor-El or Green Lantern and Supergirl if you’re into codenames. And let me tell you, the pairing is one of the best superhero team ups I’ve seen in comics these past few years. Shocked? Skeptical? Downright flabbergasted? Count me as all of the above.
What’s so good about the pairing is that both characters are of the variety that are misunderstood most of the time. Not many people get who Hal Jordan really is and underwrite him as some cocky show-boater who went bad, killed a bunch of people that one time and then became the Spectre. The human element that makes him who he is had been left behind and Waid brings it back in spades, putting him together with another character that is a mixture of convoluted ideas. In many ways it parallels episodes of the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, where you might get this strange grouping of people (remember Flash & Fire anyone?) that don’t really gel and yet there’s an element to it that captures your attention. With these two, and most of the other combinations we’ve seen so far in The Brave and the Bold, it’s the same way. There’s the same level of campiness and a heightened fun factor that inherently works. I actually want to see more of Hal & Kara working together, and not just because that many of the in-jokes and humor between them are great. Though, the running gag that Hal has to keep reminding himself every time Supergirl flirts with him or throws sexual advances his way, that she’s in fact 17 years old and in many ways just a kid, is classic.
I could say more about Mark Waid’s writing chops but let’s move on to another subject; the subject of art. George Pérez is a monster-sized house of talent and truly defines the word classic. Truthfully, I’m normally not the biggest Pérez fan. His work on The New Teen Titans, Justice League, and The Avengers were all amazing, but at the same time, sometimes his work can hit the wrong chord for the story and seem slightly dated. Here on The Brave and the Bold though, this is Pérez back in the saddle again, doing some of his best work. The characters all have that iconic feel to them and have a range of facial expressions that are able to get across a level of emotion that is astounding. Not only does Pérez have a distinct knack for capturing the versions of characters that people tend to think of when they talk about them, but his cityscapes and background work in general are the offspring of a mad genius. The city of Ventura is the best example, so chaotic and gorgeous in every facet of existence that you kind of get lost in it, which may turn out to be one of the only faults to this book as it sometimes takes you out of the story.
At the close of business, this is one of those books where campy fun and great character interaction rules all. Pérez and Waid, not to mention Bob Wiacek (inker) and Tom Smith (colorist) have nailed all that is great about DC team-ups and have reinvigorated a title that should not be missed by anyone.
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There were a lot of things about this book that were really good. I especially enjoyed Ventura, the gambling planet. Unfortunately there was one specific aspect that kept distracting me from all the good things the title had to offer:
It didn’t feel classic to me. In fact, it felt like Hal Jordan spent more time perving on an underage girl than solving a mystery in this issue. My big question is: When is the porno music going to kick in?
Now you could say that I’ve just seen too many pornos (and you would be right) but the whole teen girl in knee high boots and short skirt flirting with the older authority figure, who has to continually remind himself that he shouldn’t go there, is THE classic porno introduction.
Now before anybody labels my a hypocrite, I’ll readily admit I look at 16 and 17 year old girls and have to remind myself that they aren’t really adults yet. Yes, Hal gives Kara the whole speech about not hitting on everything with two legs, but that’s not enough; he should have never been tempted in the first place. My problem isn’t that an older man gets tempted by a teen girl; my problem is that it was Hal Jordan. If we only held superheroes to the same set of standards that we hold ourselves, they wouldn’t be very super would they?
24 Mar 2007 at 12:55 pm
QuotePicked up the 1st issue and too be honest, thought is was only average. It was a solid read but nothing spectacular and there wasn’t enough to make me pick up the second issue. Although that page above was quite funny. Don’t think it was too weird/wrong cause even though I haven’t read much Green Lantern over the years part of his appeal is that he’s an everyman who happens to have superpowers.
24 Mar 2007 at 3:49 pm
QuoteI like perv Hal. I like to think that the man with no fear would fear no statutory rape law.
24 Mar 2007 at 4:02 pm
QuoteHey, he carried on with that Green Lantern cadet years and years ago (before Johns retconned her age).
24 Mar 2007 at 8:35 pm
QuoteI’m usually with you on this kind of thing, D3, that heroes are supposed to be held to a higher standard. But the Hal/Kara flirtation, and Hal’s obvious discomfort with it being used for comedic value, were some of my favorite parts of Brave and the Bold #3, and here’s why:
1) As Sean points out, Hal does have a bit of a history with the underage ladies
2) It was funny, and Hal was basically acting like a horndog pilot (which he is) trying to restrain those tendencies in the name of being a role model and hero (which he also is). I liked the struggle, I found it in character, and again, I found it kind of cute and funny.
Just not as funny as this rationale for it.
Does this mean Daredevil is similarly immune?
24 Mar 2007 at 11:36 pm
QuoteNo. Daredevil is just plain blind to the existence of those laws. It’s a hole in his law school education.
25 Mar 2007 at 2:41 am
QuoteTouche!
Here’s one of my regular questions in my search for new books….how accessible is this book? Dropping a lot of Marvel stuff, so I got more money to spare, and Perez is always an attraction on any book. I pretty much have no knowledge of the DCU, but that page in the review looks pretty funny, actually. Think I’d be able to follow and understand, in general?
Just so long as it’s not as self-indulgent as the ill-fated Marvel Team-Up…
25 Mar 2007 at 9:31 am
QuoteNot a problem. It’s a very approachable book. In fact, it would be a book I would specifically recommend to DC newcomers. It’s very continuity light.
25 Mar 2007 at 11:17 am
QuoteActually, Murdoch can just say that the girl told him she was 18 and get away with it because really, how could he tell.
25 Mar 2007 at 9:45 pm
Quote“Seriously, Officer, she totally smelled 18…”
26 Mar 2007 at 4:09 am
QuoteI thought this issue was a good deal better than the first, which was entertaining but a bit by-the-book. This time out, the art is much more dynamic, the ch aracter play feels fresh, and the story really grabs me.
My only qualm is that I don’t think DC knows who Supergirl is. Is she the confused firebrand from her own series, the Mary Sue from Legion, or this hybrid of the two? I like her in Legion, and like her here, but I wonder why the editors can’t decide “this is who she is”.
26 Mar 2007 at 10:03 am
QuoteI found brave and bold annoying and too cute for it’s own good
26 Mar 2007 at 2:08 pm
QuoteYeah, I can’t quite figure this out myself. For me, the hybrid Supergirl that appears here is the best version that’s appeared in comics. A fine mix of farm girl naiveté, cleverness and the ability to smash things to bits. I’m not really a big fan of her new series, even though every now and then there’s a issue that is fairly entertaining.
If it was up to me though, I’d want the character to be similar to the way she was portrayed in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, as it is probably my favorite version in general.
27 Mar 2007 at 12:33 pm
QuoteSeconded. The JLU Powergirl was pretty cool too.
27 Mar 2007 at 6:25 pm
QuoteHehe “green cubicle”. I like Mark Waid’s Supergirl, I used to buy Ka-Zar when he was writer. I’m a 24 year old male and have to admit that I would find it extremely difficult to resist Kara’s affection, does that make me a perv? x_x
18 Apr 2007 at 11:59 am
QuoteI know what you mean, it took some getting used to, but it actually makes sense. The Mary Sue is a year younger than the confused firebrand, what with the infinite crisis and all. I guess during the course of the Legion-series we’re gonna see some dark development there…
11 May 2007 at 8:50 am
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