(vol. 1) August–September 1955 – July 1983 (vol. 2) December 1991 – June 1992 (Flash and Green Lantern:...) October 1999 – March 2000 (vol. 3) April 2007 – August 2010
The Brave and the Bold is acomic book series published by the comic book publishing companyDC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology title in 2007 and 2023. The focus of the series has varied over time, and it sometimes featured team-ups of characters from across theDC Universe. From 1965-1983, starting with issue #74, it was exclusively a Batman team-up book.
The first volume of the series ran for 200 issues from August/September 1955 to July 1983.[1] Originally,The Brave and the Bold was ananthology series featuring adventure tales from past ages with characters such as theSilent Knight, theViking Prince, the Golden Gladiator, andRobin Hood.[2] With issue #25, the series was reinvented as a try-out title for new characters and concepts, starting with theSuicide Squad created by writerRobert Kanigher and artistRoss Andru.[3]Gardner Fox andJoe Kubert created a new version ofHawkman in issue #34 (February–March 1961) with the character receiving his own title three years later.[4][5]
EditorJulius Schwartz hired Gardner Fox and artistMike Sekowsky to create theJustice League of America. The team debuted inThe Brave and the Bold #28 (February–March 1960), and after two further appearances in the title received its own series.[6]
Issues #45 through #49 (Dec. 1962/Jan. 1963 through Aug./Sept. 1963) 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".[7] Ten years later, in 1973,Strange Sports Stories was resurrected as a DC Comics title in its own right, but it lasted only six issues.[8]
The series was changed yet again with issue #50 as ateam-up title between established characters.[9] Starting with issue #59The Brave and the Bold began to frequently feature aBatman team-up.[10] This was due to the popularity of theBatman television series.[11] From issue #74 to the end of its run,The Brave and the Bold was exclusively a Batman team-up title.
Metamorpho was created by Haney and artistRamona Fradon inThe Brave and the Bold #57 (December 1964–January 1965).[14]
The title was the first to featureNeal Adams' version of Batman,[15] generating fan interest that led to Adams' style defining the modern Batman image to this day.[16] In addition, Adams updatedGreen Arrow's visual appearance by designing a new costume for the character in issue #85 (August–September 1969).[17] The primary artist for the second half of the run wasJim Aparo, starting with #98 (October - November 1971). Haney frequently disregardedcontinuity by scripting stories which contradicted DC'scanon or by writing major heroes in an out-of-character fashion.[18] 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.[19] Issues #112 (April - May 1974) to #117 (Feb.-March 1975) of the series were in the100 Page Super Spectacular format.[20]
The characterNemesis, also known as Thomas Tresser, debuted in an eight-page backup story in issue #166 (September 1980) written byCary Burkett and drawn byDan Spiegle.[21] The Tresser character was created by Burkett in 1979, and named for an actor with whom Burkett was rooming in New Hampshire.[22]
The title's final issue featured a team-up of the Batmen ofEarth-One andEarth-Two[19] and included apreview ofBatman and the Outsiders, the title that replacedThe Brave and the Bold on DC's schedule and became Aparo's next regular assignment.[27]
The title was used again in 2001 forThe Brave and the Bold Annual #1 (1969),[30] a one-shot special that reprinted selected Silver Age team-ups. The book was designed in the 1960s-style "80-Page Giant" format as if it were an actualannual issue of the original run of the title, which did not have an annual in 1969.
DC resurrected theBrave and the Bold title as another ongoing series in April 2007.[31] Deciding that it would be a random team-up series, and not a Batman team-up series, the first writer wasMark Waid, who remained on the title for its first 16 issues. The first arc, "The Lords of Luck", involved Batman in a team-up withGreen LanternHal Jordan. The story depicted the characters joining forces with various other characters in tracking down the book ofDestiny, with appearances bySupergirl,Lobo,Blue Beetle, theLegion of Super Heroes,Adam Strange, and theChallengers of the Unknown. The second arc picked up threads from the first, but mainly focused on self-contained stories.
DC published a 22 issue comic book adaptation of the animated seriesBatman: The Brave and the Bold from 2009[32]-2010.[33] In 2010 it was followed by a 16 issue series titledAll New Batman: The Brave and the Bold[34].
In May 2023, DC Comics released a fourth volume of the anthology series in entitledBatman: The Brave and the Bold, as a part of the "Dawn of DC" initiative. The series includes stories centered around Batman and otherGotham City-based characters, in addition other DC Universe superheroes. The first issue is 64-pages and features four stories by creators includingTom King, Mitch Gerads, Guillem March, Gabriel Hardman, Dan Mora, andRob Williams.[35]
Batman and the Outsiders Volume 1 includes the backup story fromThe Brave and the Bold #200, 368 pages, February 2017,ISBN978-1401268121
The Brave and the Bold
Volume 1: The Lords of Luck collectsThe Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #1–6, 160 pages, December 2007,ISBN1-4012-1503-3[63]
Volume 2: The Book of Destiny collectsThe Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #7–12, 160 pages, August 2008,ISBN1-4012-1838-5[64]
Volume 3: Demons and Dragons collectsThe Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #13–16;The Brave and the Bold #181;The Flash vol. 2 #107; andImpulse #17, 168 pages, April 2009,ISBN1-4012-2190-4[65]
Volume 4: Without Sin collectsThe Brave and the Bold vol. 3 #17–22, 144 pages, July 2009,ISBN1-4012-2286-2[66]
An animated series based on theBrave 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.[74] The tone of the series is markedly lighter than the previousBatman: The Animated Series andThe Batman.
The eighth episode ofArrow's third season is titled "The Brave and the Bold". The episode is a crossover withThe Flash and features a team-up of the title characters of both series.
In the crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Lex Luthor calls the team up with him and Marv Novu/The Monitor as "The Brave and The Bold".
^Schelly, William (2013).American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 141.ISBN9781605490540.
^Irvine, Alex (2010). "1950s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 95.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.In "The Three Waves of Doom", a story that filledThe Brave and the Bold #25, writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru introduced the Suicide Squad, a band of World War II-era military misfits.
^McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 102: "DC's...renaissance soared to new heights with the return of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Writer Gardner Fox and artist Joe Kubert...ushered in a pair of Winged Wonders that, costumes aside, were radically different from their Golden Age predecessors".
^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 99: "Editor Julius Schwartz had repopulated the [superhero] subculture by revitalizing Golden Age icons like Green Lantern and the Flash..He recruited writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky, and together they came up with the Justice League of America, a modern version of the legendary Justice Society of America from the 1940s".
^Wells, John (2015).American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 96–97.ISBN978-1605490458.
^Wells, John (2015).American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 127.ISBN978-1605490458.
^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 115: "By issue #50,The Brave and the Bold developed into the ultimate team-up book.The Brave and the Bold #59 added one final element to the team-up theme, when writer Bob Haney and artist Ramona Fradon partnered Batman with Green Lantern".
^Wells, John (2014).American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 76.ISBN978-1605490557.
^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 111: "They were never given a team name when scribe Bob Haney and artist Bruno Premiani spun them against Mister Twister. However, this first team-up of Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad came to be classically regarded as the inaugural story of the Teen Titans".
^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 115: "Writer Bob Haney and artist Nick Cardy added another member to the ranks of the newly formed Teen Titans: Wonder Girl".
^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 114: "Scribe Bob Haney and artist Ramona Fradon were truly in their element...Haney and Fradon's collaborative chemistry resulted in [Rex] Mason becoming Metamorpho".
^Haney, Bob (w), Adams, Neal (p), Adams, Neal (i). "The Track of the Hook" The Brave and the Bold, no. 79 (August–September 1968).
^Forbeck, Matt (2014). "1960s". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.).Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 98.ISBN978-1465424563.Artist Neal Adams started a long association with Batman, applying his modern style to the tales.
^McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 134: "Artist Neal Adams targeted the Emerald Archer for a radical redesign that ultimately evolved past the surface level...the most significant aspect of this issue was Adams' depiction of Oliver Queen's alter ego. He had rendered a modern-day Robin Hood, complete with goatee and mustache, plus threads that were more befitting an ace archer".
^abEury, Michael (December 2013). "The Brave and the Bold".Back Issue! (#69). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing:25–29.
^Eury, Michael (July 2015). "A Look at DC's Super Specs".Back Issue! (#81). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 23.
^Trumbull, John (May 2013). "Nemesis Balancing the Scales".Back Issue! (#64). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing:69–75.
^Isaacs, Deanna (December 23, 2004)."Nemesis vs. Politics as Usual - Gadfly, former actor, and superhero model Tom Tresser is back, calling on the creative class to claim their piece of the pie".Chicago Reader. Chicago, Illinois.Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2012.Tom Tresser, the square-jawed, blond comic-book hero, was created in 1979, when Tom Tresser, the meeker, balder actor, was working at the Merrimack Valley Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire, and rooming with writer Cary Burkett. Burkett got an assignment from DC Comics to create a new character and came up with Nemesis, a master of martial arts and disguise, who needed a daytime alias. Burkett's Tom Tresser became a mild-mannered, Shakespeare-quoting former FBI agent.
^Kelly, Rob (October 2015). "The Alan Brennert Interview".Back Issue! (#84). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 53.
^Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dougall, p. 140: "Alan Brennert and artist Jim Aparo pulled out all the stops to please fans of the Golden Age in this memorable tale".
^Manning "1980s" in Dougall, p. 144: "The romance between the Earth-Two Batman and Catwoman was examined in this tale by writer Alan Brennert and penciller Joe Staton".
^Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 202: "Despite being the final issue of this particular series, the book wasn't closed on Batman's team-ups. Although Batman was through working with partners, it was time to think bigger, and in a special sixteen-page preview insert written by Barr and with art by Jim Aparo, the Outsiders debuted. A super-hero team of Batman's own creation, the Outsiders would soon star alongside Batman in the new monthly seriesBatman and the Outsiders".
^Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 329: "Writer Mark Waid and artist George Pérez teamed up to relaunch one of DC's best-loved titles,The Brave and the Bold".
Category Publications are listed alphabetically by published titles. Storylines are listed in publication order. Compiled without respect for canon or "current" continuity.
