The Brave and the Bold is the title shared by many comic book series published by DC Comics. The first of these was published as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007.
The focus of each version of the series has varied over time but most commonly features team-ups of characters from across the DC Universe.
Publication history
Volume 1
The first volume of the series ran for 200 issues from August/September 1955 to July 1983. Originally, The Brave and the Bold was an anthology series featuring adventure tales from past ages with characters such as the Silent Knight, Viking Prince, Golden Gladiator, and Robin Hood. With issue #25, the series was reinvented as a try-out title for new characters and concepts, starting with the Suicide Squad created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru. Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert created a new version of Hawkman in issue #34 (Februaryâ€"March 1961) with the character receiving his own title three years later.
Editor Julius Schwartz hired Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky to create the Justice League of America. The team debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (Feb.-March 1960), and after two further appearances in the title, received its own series.
Issues #45 through #49 were devoted to "Strange Sports Stories" combining sport and science-fiction in tales such as "Challenge of the Headless Baseball Team" and "The Man Who Drove Through Time." Strange Sports Stories was later resurrected briefly as a DC Comics title in its own right in 1973, but lasted only six issues.
The series was changed yet again with issue #50 as a team-up title between established characters. Starting with issue #59 The Brave and the Bold became, more specifically a Batman team-up book with the Caped Crusader as the book's main focus. This was due to the popularity of the Batman television series, which led to the creation of Batmania. After issue #74, The Brave and the Bold was exclusively a Batman team-up title until it ended with issue #200.
The teaming of Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad in issue #54 (June/July 1964) by writer Bob Haney and artist Bruno Premiani led to the creation of the Teen Titans. The three heroes subsequently appeared under the name "Teen Titans" in issue #60 (June/July 1965) by Haney and artist Nick Cardy and were joined by Wonder Woman's younger sister Wonder Girl in her first appearance.
The Metamorpho character was created by Haney and artist Ramona Fradon in The Brave and the Bold #57 (December/January 1964-65).
The title was the first to feature Neal Adams' version of Batman, generating fan interest that led to Adams' style defining the modern Batman image to this day. In addition, Adams updated Green Arrow's visual appearance by designing a new costume for the character in issue #85 (Aug.-Sept 1969). The primary artist for the second half of the run was Jim Aparo, starting with #98 (Octoberâ€"November 1971). Haney frequently disregarded continuity by scripting stories which contradicted DC's canon or by writing major heroes in an out-of-character fashion. Issue #100 (Feb.-March 1972) featured Batman and "4 Famous Co-Stars" (Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Robin) in a story by Haney and Aparo.
The character Nemesis also known as Thomas Tresser, debuted in an eight page backup story in issue #166 (September 1980) written by Cary Burkett and drawn by Dan Spiegle. The Tresser character was created by Burkett in 1979 and named for an actor who Burkett was rooming with in New Hampshire.
The title's final issue featured a team-up of the Batmen of Earth-One and Earth-Two and included a preview of Batman and the Outsiders, the title that replaced The Brave and the Bold on DC's schedule and became Aparo's next regular assignment.
Volume 2 and Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold
In December 1991-June 1992, The Brave and the Bold returned as a six-issue mini-series featuring Green Arrow, the Question, and the Butcher. The mini-series was written by Mike Grell and Mike Baron.
A six-issue mini-series was published from October 1999- March 2000 starring the Flash and Green Lantern titled Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold. This mini-series was written by Mark Waid and Tom Peyer with art by Barry Kitson and Tom Grindberg. A trade paperback of this mini-series was published in 2001 (ISBN 1-56389-708-3).
The title was used again in 2001 for The Brave and the Bold Annual No. 1 1969 Issue, a one-shot special that reprinted selected Silver Age team-ups in the 1960s-style 80-Page Giant format, as a companion piece to the original comic book series, had an Annual issue been published at that time.
Volume 3
DC resurrected the Brave and the Bold title as a second volume, on-going series in April 2007. Deciding that it would be a random team-up series, and not a Batman team-up series, the first writer was Mark Waid, who remained on the title for its first sixteen issues. The first arc, "The Lords of Luck", involved Batman in a team-up with Green Lantern Hal Jordan. The story also saw the two join forces with various other characters in tracking down the book of Destiny, with appearances by Supergirl, Lobo, Blue Beetle, the Legion of Super Heroes, Adam Strange, and the Challengers of the Unknown. The second arc picked up threads from the first, but mainly focused on self-contained stories.
After Waid's departure, Marv Wolfman took over for a two-part storyline, involving Supergirl and Raven battling the son of Triumph, while David Hine and Doug Braithwaite did a four-issue arc on the series featuring Hal Jordan and the Phantom Stranger. Following this, Dan Jurgens wrote issue #23, featuring Booster Gold and Magog. Like Wolfman's run, this era was prominent for its team-ups between DC heroes and the characters of Milestone Media. Writer Matt Wayne and artist Howard Porter collaborated on a team-up between Static and Black Lightning, and Adam Beechen and Roger Robinson wrote another featuring Hardware and Blue Beetle. The final Milestone issue was a team-up between Xombi and the Spectre, by John Rozum and Scott Hampton.
In September 2009, the title was taken over by J. Michael Straczynski and artist Jesus Saiz with issue #27, which featured a team-up between Batman and Dial H For Hero. Similar to the Milestone issues, it was intended during Straczynski's run to use the series to showcase the Red Circle Comics characters licensed from Archie Comics. However, this idea was ultimately scrapped. Following the first issue, Straczynski wrote team-ups between: Barry Allen and Blackhawk; the Joker and the Atom; Hal Jordan and Doctor Fate; Batman and Brother Power; Aquaman and Etrigan; and Barbara Gordon, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna, which served as a companion piece to Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke graphic novel.
Collection editions
- The Viking Prince collects The Brave and the Bold #1-5 and 7-24, 296 pages, July 2010, ISBN 978-1-4012-2777-7
- Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #28â€"30, 544 pages, December 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0761-8
- Showcase Presents: Hawkman
- Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #34â€"36, #42â€"44, and 51, 560 pages, March 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1280-8
- Volume 2 includes The Brave and the Bold #70, 560 pages, August 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-1817-1
- Showcase Presents: Green Arrow Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #50, #71, #85, 528 pages, January 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0785-5
- The Brave and the Bold Team-Up Archives Volume 1 collects The Brave and the Bold #50â€"56, #59, 224 pages, June 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0405-8
- Showcase Presents: Aquaman
- Volume 2 includes The Brave and the Bold #51, 528 pages, January 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1712-5
- Volume 3 includes The Brave and the Bold #73, 448 pages, February 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2181-5
- Showcase Presents: Haunted Tank Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #52, 560 pages, May 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0789-8
- Showcase Presents: The Teen Titans
- Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #54 and #60, 528 pages, April 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0788-X
- Volume 2 includes The Brave and the Bold #83 and #94, 512 pages, October 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1252-2
- Showcase Presents: Metal Men
- Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #55, 528 pages, September 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1559-9
- Volume 2 includes The Brave and the Bold #66, 528 pages, September 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1976-4
- Showcase Presents: Metamorpho Volume 1 collects The Brave and the Bold #57â€"58, #66, and #68, 560 pages, October 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0762-6
- Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold â€" The Batman Team-Ups
- Volume 1 collects The Brave and the Bold #59, #64, #67, #69â€"71, #74â€"87, 528 pages, January 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1209-3
- Volume 2 collects The Brave and the Bold #88â€"108, 528 pages, December 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1675-7
- Volume 3 collects The Brave and the Bold #109â€"134, 520 pages, December 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1985-3
- Black Canary Archives Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #61â€"62, 224 pages, December 2000, ISBN 1-56389-734-2
- Showcase Presents: The Spectre Volume 1 includes The Brave and the Bold #72, 75, 116, 180, and 199, 616 pages, April 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3417-8
- Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo
- Volume 1 collects The Brave and the Bold #98, 100â€"102, and 104â€"122, 512 pages, April 2012, ISBN 978-1-4012-3375-4
- Volume 2 collects The Brave and the Bold #123-145 and 147-151, 528 pages, October 2013, ISBN 978-1401242961
- Tales of the Batman: Don Newton, includes The Brave and the Bold #153, 156 and 165, 360 pages, December 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-3294-8
- The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told includes The Brave and the Bold #197, 360 pages, December 1988, ISBN 978-0-930289-35-5
- Showcase Presents: Batman and the Outsiders Volume 1 includes back-up story from The Brave and the Bold #200, 552 pages, September 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1546-7
- The Brave and the Bold
- Volume 1: The Lords of Luck collects The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #1â€"6, 160 pages, December 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1503-3
- Volume 2: The Book of Destiny collects The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #7â€"12, 160 pages, August 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1838-5
- Volume 3: Demons and Dragons collects The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #13â€"16; The Brave and the Bold #181; The Flash vol. 2 #107; and Impulse #17, 168 pages, April 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2190-4
- Volume 4: Without Sin collects The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #17â€"22, 144 pages, July 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2286-2
- Volume 5: Milestone collects The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #24â€"26; Hardware #16; Static #12; and Xombi #6, 160 pages, February 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2654-X
- Team-ups of the Brave and the Bold collects The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #27â€"33, 176 pages, August 2011, ISBN 1-4012-2809-7
- Booster Gold: Volume 4: Day of Death includes The Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #23, 160 pages, April 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2643-4
Awards
The series won Alley Awards in 1962 for Best Single Comic Book Cover (#42 by Joe Kubert), in 1965 for Best Comic Book Cover (#61 by Murphy Anderson), and in 1968 for Best Full-Length Story ("Track of the Hook" in #79 by Bob Haney and Neal Adams). Issue #28 of the current series (the Flash and Blackhawk team-up) was nominated for an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue (Or One-Shot)" in 2010.
In other media
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
An episode of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure was titled "The Brain, the Brave and the Bold," in which Aquaman battles an supervillain named the "Brain."
Justice League
The Brave and the Bold was used as the title for a two-part episode of the first season of Justice League. The title refers to The Flash (Wally West) and Green Lantern (John Stewart) characters in connection to the second mini-series featuring Barry Allen and Hal Jordan in the roles.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
An animated series based on the Brave and the Bold concept aired from November 14, 2008 to November 18, 2011. The series features Batman teaming with various characters of the DC Universe, much like the first volume of the ongoing series. The tone of the series is markedly lighter than the previous Batman: The Animated Series and The Batman.
Major characters who appeared in the series include:
- Heroes
Adam Strange, Aquaman, The Atom, Batman, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Marvel, Deadman, Doctor Fate, Fire, Firestorm, Flash, Green Arrow, The Green Lantern Corps, Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan, Jonah Hex, Kamandi, Katana, Huntress, Metamorpho, Red Tornado, Plastic Man, Hawk and Dove, The Question, Bat-Mite, OMAC, Vixen, Jay Garrick, Bronze Tiger, Hawkman, Wildcat, and Superman.
- Villains
Black Adam, Black Manta, Calendar Man, Cavalier, Clock King, The Joker, Gentleman Ghost, Gorilla Grodd, Terrible Trio, Kite Man, Morgaine Le Fey, Kanjar Ro, Despero, Ocean Master, Shrapnel, Major Disaster, the Sportsmaster, Equinox, the Music Meister Weeper, and Zebra-Man.
Arrow
The eighth episode of Arrow's third season is titled "The Brave and the Bold". The episode is a crossover with The Flash, and features a team-up of the title characters of both series.
References
External links
- The Brave and the Bold (1955) at the Comic Book DB
- The Brave and the Bold (1991) at the Comic Book DB
- Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold at the Comic Book DB
- The Brave and the Bold (2007) at the Comic Book DB
- The Brave and the Bold at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
- The Brave and The Bold Animated Series Announcement
