The Brave and the Bold

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For the Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album, see The Brave and the Bold (album). For the animated television series, see Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Creative team
The Brave and the Bold
Cover of The Brave and the Bold vol. 2 #1 Art by George Pérez and Bob Wiacek.
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Publication date	(Vol. 1) 1955-1983 (1st mini-series) 1991 (2nd mini-series) 1999 (Vol. 2) 2007- Current
Number of issues	(Vol. 1) 200 (1st mini-series) 6 (2nd mini-series) 6 (Vol. 2) 13 (as of March 2008)
Main character(s)	(Vol. 1) Many characters until Batman and a rotation of DCU characters with #50 (1st mini-series)Green Arrow, The Question, and the Butcher Flash, Geen Lantern (Vol. 2) Rotating characters from the DCU
Writer(s)	Mark Waid (Vol. 2)
Penciller(s)	George Pérez (Vol. 2) (1-10) Jerry Ordway (11-13)

The Brave and the Bold is the title of shared by many comic book series published by DC Comics. It was first published as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983, then two mini-series in 1991 and in 1999, and was finally revived as an ongoing in 2007.

The focus of each version of the comic has varied over time but most commonly (and currently) features team-ups of characters from across the DC Universe.

1 Publication history
2 Collections
3 Awards
4 In other media
- 4.1 Justice League
- 4.2 Batman: The Brave and the Bold
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Publication history

[edit] Volume 1

The first volume of the series ran for 200 issues from August 1955 to July 1983. Originally, Brave and the Bold was an anthology series featuring adventure tales from past ages with characters like Silent Knight, Viking Prince, Golden Gladiator, Robin Hood, and many others. But with issue #25, the series got reinvented and started as a try-out title for new characters. These new characters and teams became well-known thanks to the book, such as the Suicide Squad, Metamorpho, Nemesis, and most famously the Justice League of America. But again, with issue #50, the series was reinvented as a venue for team-ups between established characters. And from all the team-ups, the most common one were team-ups between Batman and another DC-related character. Thus, accidentally, the series became, and has been ultimately known as, a Batman team-up book. The final issue featured the then-latest new superhero team that happened to be Batman's own superhero team; Batman and the Outsiders.

[edit] Mini-series

In December 1991-June 1992, The Brave and the Bold returned as a 6 part mini-series featuring Green Arrow, The Question, and the Butcher. The mini-series was written by Mike Grell.

Then in October 1999- March 2000, a second 6 part mini-series was published 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 1563897083).

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.

[edit] Volume 2

Responding to fan demand^{[citation needed]}, DC resurrected the Brave and the Bold title as a on-going series in April 2007, written by Mark Waid.

The first arc started with Batman and Green Lantern, then each of them teamed up with various other characters before teaming-up again along with some of the others each had teamed up with throughout the arc at the very end. In making sure the series was not, in actuality, a Batman team-up book, each issue of the first arc had a different focus for each character. Following that arc, issues 7-8 were solo team-ups from Wonder Woman & Power Girl, to The Flash & the Doom Patrol. Issues 9-10 returned to the plotline of first arc where the Book of Destiny is under the care of the Challengers of the Unknown. #9 featured Dial H For Hero, the Metal Men, the Blackhawks, Boy Commandos, the new Atom and Hawkman. While #10 featured Superman, Silent Knight, Aquaman, and the Teen Titans.

Issue #11 had a team-up between Superman and Ultraman, followed by #12 which concluded the storyline started back in issue #1. Issue #13 will be a new "jumping on" point of sorts featuring the return of Batman, in a team-up with the Golden Age Flash. Followed by issue #14 with Deadman and Green Arrow, #15 with Nightwing and Hawkman and #16 with superman and Catwoman.

In November 2008 J. Michael Straczynski will take over writing duties and Jesus Saiz will supply the art.^[1] Future series team-ups planned by Straczynski include Batman and the (Jim Corrigan) Spectre, Lex Luthor and Swamp Thing, Deadman and Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen) and the Blackhawks, Batman and Dial H for Hero, Constantine and Eclipso, Doom Patrol and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman and Sgt. Rock, Two-Face and Hawk and Dove, Challengers of the Unknown and the Metal Men, and the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Inferior Five, although the use of Swamp Thing and Constantine was under negotiation with vertigo.^[2] ^[3]

[edit] Collections

In 2005 an archive edition, The Brave and the Bold Team-Ups Archive, was published containing the first 'team-up' issues. Other issues have appeared in the following collections:

Showcase Presents: Justice League of America vol 1. (#28-30)
Showcase Presents: Hawkman vol 1. (#34-36, #42-43)
Showcase Presents: Green Arrow vol 1. (#50, #71, #85)
Showcase Presents: Haunted Tank vol 1. (#52)
Showcase Presents: The Teen Titans vol 1. (#54, #60)
Showcase Presents: Metamorpho vol 1. (#57-58, #66, #68)
Showcase Presents: The Brave & The Bold - Batman Team-Ups vol 1. (#59, #64, #67, #69-71, #74-87)
Showcase Presents: The Brave & The Bold - Batman Team-Ups vol 2. (88-109)

Then in 2007, DC Comics started releasing hardcovers of the current Brave and the Bold series. Volume 1, released on December 5th, 2007, collects the first six issues. While Volume 2: The Book of Destiny, to be released on August 5th, 2008, collects #7-12 of the series.

[edit] 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).

[edit] In other media

[edit] 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 seems to refer to the The Flash and Green Lantern characters in connection to the second mini-series featuring Barry Allen and Hal Jordan in the roles.

[edit] Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Announced in early 2008, an animated series based on the comic book series will be made as the next DC Animated cartoon. ^[4] As the title suggests, the series will feature Batman teaming-up with various characters of the DC Universe, much like the first volume of the ongoing series. Known characters to have been revealed so far are Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman. The series was set to start airing in Fall 2008, but was pushed back to March 2009 instead. ^[5]