“The Brave And The Old”
Artist: Christian Duce
Color Artist: David Baron
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Review by Steve J. Ray
Detective Comics #1010 is right on target. Yes, that was an intentional Deadshot pun, but, hey… I’ve got a rep to maintain.
At the end of the last issue, we left Bruce Wayne and a plethora of one percenters stranded on deserted island, after Mr. Lawton, quite literally, crashed the party and the plane they were all flying on. Enter Hiroshi and Clarence, two unlikely saviors, but a couple of characters that I’m already in love with. “The Brave and The Old” isn’t just a great play on words, it describes these two noble warriors perfectly.
I hope that the partnership of Peter J. Tomasi and Christian Duce is one that we’ll see again, even after this storyline wraps. In this issue we get a tale that wouldn’t be out of place in a 1970s Neal Adams anthology, but that is also incredibly now. Tomasi’s dialogue is real and Duce’s art brings the words and characters to life beautifully.
Once again, I have to take issue with the editorial team, as the covers credit Luis Guerrero as color artist this ish, while the credits page names series regular David Baron. Whoever’s responsible did a great job.
Everything Old Is New Again
Rob Leigh always does a great job. Anyone who’s been reading comics as long as I have will get a real kick out of Rob’s credit box and titles on page two. I was transported back to the classic 70s run on The Brave And The Bold by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo in particular, right down to the Blue on white DC bullet with the red stars. I don’t know if Mr. Tomasi gave Mr. Leigh the idea, or if this was all Rob, but it made me very happy. Thank you, team ‘Tec.
Yes, the issue put a nostalgic grin on my face, but there was a ton of action to go with the humor and memories too. Panthers, rattlesnakes, gun toting assassins and WWII flashbacks gave us plenty of entertainment, as did Jungle Batman and the Mr. Freeze mini-story at the end of the issue. The ongoing Batman series is one of my favorites, but any fan that isn’t regularly reading Detective Comics is really missing out.
Conclusion
Since the DC Rebirth this series has been on a roll, and a lot of that is down to it being in the hands of incredibly talented creators. I love Detective Comics #1010 as it honors everything Batman and DC from the past, while still plotting the future and delivering something brand new.
Now, as long as Tanaka, Clarence and Hiroshi make it out of this tale alive, and Batman gives Deadshot a whupping, I’ll be a very happy fan-boy.
Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment