Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1

Writer: Tom King, Ed Brisson, Christopher Cantwell, Dan Mora Artist: Dan Mora, Mitch Gerads, Jeff Spokes, Javier Rodriguez Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: May 17, 2023 Cover Price: $7.99 Critic Reviews: 13 User Reviews: 26
8.4Critic Rating
7.7User Rating

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Written by Tom King, Ed Brisson, Christopher Cantwell, and Dan Mora Art by Mitch Gerads, Jeff Spokes, Javier Rodriguez, and Dan Mora Coming off the spectacular success of Batman - One Bad Day: The Riddler, the Eisner Award-winning team of Tom King and Mitch Gerads reunite for a horrifying four-part retelling of the first bloody clash between The Joker and the Batman. A tale of loathing, lies, and laughter, this may be the most frightening Joker story in a generation. Everyone is going to be shocked. Everyone is going to be talking about it. The Justice League may be gone, but its enemies aren't. Who'll protect the world from the worst of the more

  • 10
    AIPT - David Brooke May 16, 2023

    When an anthology arrives that features multiple stories that could easily serve as solo series in their own right, you know you're in for a treat. Batman: The Brave and the Bold is everything you want in an anthology and more. Heart, drama, ingenuity, and originality, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a must-buy. Read Full Review

  • 10
    ComicsOnline - Matt Sernaker May 16, 2023

    Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a celebration of DC's history, both in the style and quality of storytelling. These talented individuals have delivered four insanely engaging tales in this first issue, expertly showcasing a variety of new and familiar characters to readers. Most importantly, this book was just fun. I truly appreciated each of the chapters in this first outing, as each story felt like it needed to be told. Each and every page turn added to my overall excitement. Read Full Review

  • 9.3
    Comic Watch - Dustin Gebel May 16, 2023

    Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 is a stunning collection of stories that showcase some of the best elements of the DC Universe. The wide gambit of storytelling and artistic sensibilities on display speak to the past, present, and future of the publisher, while making clear there are strong voices telling interesting stories with characters new and old. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Graphic Policy - Brett May 17, 2023

    Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 is a solid start to the series featuring a nice mix of stories that are fun and feature some great art. Why “Batman” is in the title is a bit of a headscratcher, especially if it features far more than just Batman and his family. Overall though, it's a great read and one that's a definite buy. It's a rate anthology where every story is top notch and something to get even if they were on their own. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Comics: The Gathering - Wes Greer May 17, 2023

    Overall, The Winning Card is a delightful yet terrifying story by Tom King that takes readers into the early days of Batman’s career and shows just how menacing The Joker truly is while laying the groundwork for what may be one of the best Batman and Joker stories we’ve ever seen brought to life by twisted noir like art that only Mitch Gerads could deliver. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Dark Knight News - Davydh Tidey May 18, 2023

    Batman: The Brave & The Bold #1 is a refreshing look at, not just Batman, but other characters around him or in his sphere. You have your classic tale from King and Gerards, your Bat-adjacent story with Ravager and the new Stormwatch from Brisson and Spokes, his best friend Superman's story from Cantwell and Rodrguez, and an exciting alternate Batman from Mora. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Geek Dad - Ray Goldfield May 16, 2023

    Overall, this is a fantastic start from four excellent creative teams. Read Full Review

  • 8.6
    The Super Powered Fancast - Deron Generally May 16, 2023

    Dan Mora writes and illustrates a beautiful, bold and entertaining story with a take on the Dark Knight that absolutely got my attention. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    ComicBook.com - Chase Magnett May 17, 2023

    Overall, The Brave and The Bold #1 makes a strong case for itself as an artistic showcase with room for the many mysteries inside to grow into something more compelling. Read Full Review

  • 7.8
    Weird Science - Gabe Hernandez May 16, 2023

    Batman: The Brave and The Bold #1 assembles four short chapters centering on Batman and his allies from alternate times and alternate realities. The collection has a little something for everyone, but Dan Mora's B&W short is the best of the bunch. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    The Comicbook Dispatch - Dispatchdcu May 16, 2023

    I didnt sign on to read Batman: The Brave and the Bold for Stormwatch or Superman. I signed up for Batman stories. And the only true Batman story was the first one by King that simply wasnt the greatest. I thought wed be getting Batman team-ups but sadly thats not the comic. If you liked Batman: Urban Legends, then you love this style and storytelling. Otherwise, I think this series is probably a hard pass. Im sure King fans will love the opener, however, is that small single story worth the cover price just to get the rest of the stories involved? Probably not. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless! Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    Batman-News - Jackson Luken May 16, 2023

    Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 is a mostly really solid collection of distinct stories, ranging from suspenseful thriller to action packed team-up. Not all of them work, but for the ones that do it's a wide array of first chapters that show a lot of potential. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    Razorfine - Alan Rapp May 24, 2023

    It's not a bad collection, but the most notable story is very hit-and-miss, and the backup stories aren't are all that memorable, with the Stormwatch story missing some key characters to sell me on the team instead using the issue to recreate the concept of StormWatch yet again. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Mout Aug 28, 2023

    King is cooking

    Skipped Brisson's story

    Fell in love with Javier Rodriguez doing Superman

  • 8.5
    Federico Liguori Aug 24, 2023

    Only read the Batman story, and it was one of the creepiest things I've ever read.

  • 8.5
    Sir_Pandaborg May 22, 2023

    When I heard that Tom King was doing a take on the first Batman/Joker encounter I immediately lost interest in reading this. I’m not a fan of King’s Batman run and I am so drained on “the first Joker story”. That’s why I was surprised with how much I enjoyed that story.

    Other than that the big reason to read this is the Superman story in here, which works really well if you’re also reading the Williamson run.

    I’m intrigued to see where the future Batman story goes, and the StormWatch is serviceable if a bit generic and predictable.

  • 8.0
    Psycamorean May 21, 2023

    The Tom King/Mitch Gerads Joker story is good. Joker is written in a much creepier manner than King usually writes him. In other stories, Joker typically plays the role of gay bestie to Catwoman. And there's nothing wrong with being a gay bestie, I recommend being both, but it doesn't work for a mass murdering psychopath. It just feels really off for all the characters involved. Luckily, there's no Catwoman here. I do have a couple of nitpicks. Gerads' art is mostly great but he really struggles with children, it turns out. The other big nitpick is the sheer amount of grawlixes in this story. I don't want to read dialogue where every sentence has a slur in it that I have to create in my head to fit the context of the rest of the sentence. I more

  • 7.5
    Hydro-Man May 17, 2023

    A mixed bag…

    Tom King’s story is predictably a “let’s see if I can out-Moore Alan Moore.” Killing Joke is by-far Moore’s worst work. He admits it. Alex Ross agrees. The saving grace is Brian Bolland’s art. Brisson’s story is instantly forgettable.

    The winners are Cantwell’s Superman and Mora’s future Batman.

  • 7.5
    REYNARD May 16, 2023

    Tom King/Gerads story was amazing, the Cantwell/Rodriguez story was amazing, the Mora one was good, but I could care less for Ed Brisson's work. Jeff Spokes art was very good, but wasted on a mundane script.

  • 7.5
    Tempra16v2.0Turbo May 16, 2023

    I find it funny how DC always ignores whatever kind of development Rose has had.

  • 7.5
    Mr Malone May 15, 2023

    Pricey book but what you do get is fantastic artwork from mitch gerads and Dan mora for his black and white story and some interesting lil one shots, not all of them hit the right spot but it not bad and Dan moras first work as a writer is good.

  • 6.0
    K-23 Jun 13, 2023

    AKA Urban Legends 2. StormWatch was the most interesting and Mora's story has fantastic art as always but I'm all set with more Tom King Batman stories.

  • 2.0
    myconius May 22, 2023

    Batman-
    More decompressed garbage from Tom King. Terrible visual storytelling. Dull repeating art. Edgy trash Tom King ending. Keep these idiots away from Batman.
    Stormwatch-
    More shoving Ghost-maker down our throats. Hate the panel layouts. Art is too zoomed in.
    Superman-
    Does no one understand visual storytelling anymore? Why must the art be so zoomed in close?
    Heroes of Tomorrow-
    Not up to Dan Mora's usual standard of storytelling. He needs the guidance of working with a writer.

    I don't see this series lasting very long.

  • 10
    Pardo May 16, 2023

  • 10
    YBWonder May 16, 2023

  • 10
    Donovan Turner May 16, 2023

  • 10
    Grimmjowhugo May 16, 2023

  • 9.0
    Jason The Dude Nov 23, 2024

  • 9.0
    COREMARK May 19, 2023

  • 9.0
    polo08p May 17, 2023

  • 8.5
    retcon_D May 25, 2023

  • 8.5
    ComicFan0703 May 17, 2023

  • 8.0
    ed1138 May 16, 2023

  • 7.5
    saccharin May 30, 2024

  • 7.5
    matmene Feb 12, 2024

  • 7.5
    NoobishSalad Jul 15, 2023

  • 7.5
    Joresti May 26, 2023

  • 4.0
    ComicWorm May 16, 2023

  • 1.0
    Dave May 19, 2023

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