Brave & The Bold #29

[md62]

Well that was different. I love what JMS is doing with this series. When I heard he was pairing Batman with Brother Power The Geek I wasn't sure what kind of story this would be. One common thread I see in his stories so far is how heroism takes many different forms. Saiz' art continues to astound me. I know everyone can't wait to see what other series JMS does at DC but I really hope he stays on B&B. And I hope he rewards his fans & finishes any multi part story he writes.

[Rev. Calibos]

I liked this issue a lot better than the previous two. It was interesting to see a busy Batman worrying that he wasn't checking in on Brother Power nearly enough.


Great art as always, much better story than issue 27.

Had one small nit and that was near the end as he tries to compare 'then' and 'now'.

There's a panel showing college students in the 60's drinking coffee, talking about weighty matters and whathaveyou. The next panel shows 'today', modern day college students at a bar holding a kid upside down as they force feed booze into him.

Another panel shows a hitchhiker on a sunny day cheerfully thumbing a ride, smiling, content in the knowledge that whoever picks him up will certainly not demand cash, ass or grass from him as, in the 60's, people DID ride for free.

The next panel shows a man crawling from the wreckage of an overturned vehicle. He weakly reaches out to a passing vehicle asking 'help me' or some such. The car speeds along not even slowing down.

Another panel shows college students sitting outside enjoying a pleasant afternoon inbetween classes. They're sitting in groups of two or more and are enjoying each other's company.

The next panel shows a similar afternoon from a modern campus and it shows students, alone, isolated, using headphones, cell phones and laptops. Each student is in a world of their own and are almost unaware of their fellow classmates.



This was pretty forced and almost derailed a completely enjoyable story.

First and foremost, people drank in the 60's. They drank a lot. And college students did a lot more than just drink back then as well.

Hitch-hiking has never, ever been a good idea.

People can use their laptops, cell phones and i-pods and still interact with others.

Did anyone else think that that lil' sequence was unnecessary?

[md62]

I agree that page was a bit heavy handed. IMO the 60's weren't the rosy picture JMS portrayed.

[Pól Rua]

Originally Posted by md62

I agree that page was a bit heavy handed. IMO the 60's weren't the rosy picture JMS portrayed.

Yeah, but Brother Power is about the IDEALS of the 60's, not the reality.
And the scene where the hippies turn their backs on their ideals (resulting in BP turning his back on them) surely indicates that JMS isn't trying to say, "Hey, it was ALL good!"

Besides, what, you've got 22 pages... you wanna do an exhaustive history of the 1960's from every conceivable angle, or do you wanna do a story where a guy in a bat suit and a magic talking doll fight some crime?

It's like saying that every issue of Batman has to incorporate the causative and societal roots of crime before he can punch a mugger, or that every issue of Captain America has to deal with social inequality and the effects of globalization before he can slug the Red Skull.

[Seven_Ride]

Originally Posted by Pól Rua

Besides, what, you've got 22 pages... you wanna do an exhaustive history of the 1960's from every conceivable angle, or do you wanna do a story where a guy in a bat suit and a magic talking doll fight some crime?

Alan Moore could do both in 11 pages, incanting only one spell, whispered meekly.

So clearly the issue is that this writer just SUCKS!

[HaroldAllnut]

I loved today's issue just as much as the previous two. I really think JMS and Saiz are knocking it out of the park on this one. I was especially looking forward to this issue because I've always been fascinated by Brother Power. JMS did a great job of making him a product of his times (i.e. references to Laugh-In, etc.).

[gwangung]

Originally Posted by Seven_Ride

Alan Moore could do both in 11 pages, incanting only one spell, whispered meekly.

Um, no. PROMETHEA.

[Zeraze]

Originally Posted by Rev. Calibos

First and foremost, people drank in the 60's. They drank a lot. And college students did a lot more than just drink back then as well.

Hitch-hiking has never, ever been a good idea.

People can use their laptops, cell phones and i-pods and still interact with others.

Did anyone else think that that lil' sequence was unnecessary?

I didn't think it was heavy-handed at all. Heavy-handed would have to mean this was JMS' judgement on modernity as opposed to Brother Power's judgement.

The story needed you to see things through his perspective. The story needed us to understand why he might feel disillusioned with aspects of our culture.

I thought they showed that in a clever, convincing manner.

[dupersuper]

Yaaaayy! He didn't have Brother Power kill any one!

[40footwolf]

"When I was a lad people were NICER! Ya could sleep on the beach and not worry about a jibberdy-joo creepin' up ta getcha! We read books when I was your age, too! Nonayer Ipods and tweetmen and facepictures! Bread was 5 cents a meter! Are you my son? Where am I? Did they catch the guy who shot Kennedy yet?! I MISS THINGS I REMEMBER!"

[The Crime Dentist]

lol Brother Power? I need to buy this.

[Melfice]

I passed on this issue, but I'm going o buy it this weekend. JMS' work on Brave and the Bold has not sold me on the book yet. So far, all of JMS DC work as been "ok" at best. Nothing grand in my eyes.

Maybe I need to give Brave and the Bold a few more issues before I make up my mind I guess

[SeritoNiN]

Man, I really hated this issue. It was a bore fest for me. Actually, since JMS has been on this book I've been really disappointed.

[areacode212]

The only reason I read this was for Brother Power, and I thought it was awesome. JMS is really hit-or-miss for me (I thought his Spidey was mostly a miss), but this was really enjoyable, and it reminded me of the pre-DiDio days when I regularly read DCU books. It was great that Nick, Paul and Cindy all showed up and how there was a shout-out to the Vertigo BP appearances.

As for That Page, I had the same initial reaction as Rev. Calibos, especially since JMS does have these heavy-handed/simplistic tendencies in his stories. But it did fit the point that the story was trying to make, so I was OK with it on a reread.

I think Brother Power will be added to my list of cosplay ideas, along with Jeri-Curl Beyonder.

[Greg Anderson]

Where can I read more of this Brother Power character?