Scott's Take: Batman Brave and the Bold Volume 1: The Winning Card by Tom King, illustrated by Mitch Gerads

Batman Brave and the Bold Volume 1: The Winning Card by Tom King, illustrated by Mitch Gerads, is a very good standalone story as long as you understand what you are getting. Unlike most Brave and the Bold titles, this is not a team up title. This is a Batman solo title. Putting under the Brave and the Bold titling is misleading in this reader’s opinion.

 

This is another story telling a different version of the first encounters between Batman and Joker. This is a more horrifying and violent version. The Batman thinks he understands the Joker. By the end of the volume, Batman will learn he was very wrong.

 

Told in a unique manner as panels detailing the Joker’s crimes are placed along panels featuring dark jokes from the Joker. This is a very interesting way to tell a story that would only work in a visual medium like comics. Mitch Gerads is a really talented artist and does an excellent job in his use of shadows and lighting to high parts of the story. His art showcased here is frankly terrifying.

 

Collecting only four issues, this Eisner winning series is very short, but very fun. However, a lot of the points made at the end have been made by other writers utilizing the same arguments. Don’t get me wrong --this is a good Joker vs Batman story. The actual story is really good.  I just wish the arguments made at the end were original. They have been done so many times that I am tired of them.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ebnFrr

 

My reading copy came by way of the Hoopla app through the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2024