Batman – The Brave & The Bold
If you want to have a whole lot of fun packed into 30 minutes or less, watch an episode of the new Batman: The Brave & the Bold TV series on Cartoon Network in the US and on Teletoon in Canada. You also might find it – ahem – on the web while we await a DVD package.
The Brave & the Bold started off as a Showcase-like tryout comic from DC, before becoming the Batman team-up book in the Silver Age. Scripted almost exclusively by Bob Haney, it was there that Neal Adams began redefining the visual look of Batman before Jim Aparo took over and drew the book until its cancellation in the mid 1980s.
Haney gleefully ignored the larger continuity of the DC universe. Characters sometimes appeared wildly out of character, but it was all in service of telling some of the most engaging stories of the period. (How else could you tell a story with Batman and Sgt. Rock appearing together?)
The new cartoon series draws upon that legacy and delivers it with every episode. Ignore the schmucks that might not like the slightly lighter tone, mistakenly comparing it to the Adam West series. You can have your Dark Knight rasping his way to a shredded throat, and this as well. It’s the dessert.
DC is currently reissuing The Brave & the Bold as Showcase collections (three volumes taking us well into Jim Aparo’s run available so far). And they’ve started up a direct tie-in book to the cartoon, aimed at younger readers.
Related
Batman Year One
Batman Year One by David Mazzucchelli from 1986, DC Comics. Colour and re-created logos by Scott Dutton / Catspaw Dynamics.
Batman by Alex Toth
Few people could distill a drawing down to its essence as well as Alex Toth. Colour and packaging by Scott Dutton / Catspaw Dynamics.
The Brave & the Bold No. 116 Cover by Jim Aparo
Supernatural hijinks with Batman and the Spectre. Another 100-page inset cover given the full-cover treatment. Colour and packaging by Scott Dutton / Catspaw Dynamics.
The Brave & the Bold No. 112 Cover by Jim Aparo
Changing cover formats can catch and illustrator off guard. Thankfully we can repackage art as it was originally intended to be. Colour and packaging by Scott Dutton / Catspaw Dynamics.
Thanks for recommending. I think it is really very funny cartoon, I am going to watch it. I do love comics and, I think, I will love this cartoon too.