Batman #697
Written by TONY DANIEL
Art by TONY DANIEL and SANDU FLOREA
Cover by TONY DANIEL
Tony Daniel wraps up his 6-issue storyline by, apparently, revealing the identity of Gotham City crime boss/lord Black Mask. As I've said before, Daniel has been holding down this title very well, but I don't jump at reading it each month. It's the sad fact he's competing with the likes of Grant Morrison and Paul Dini, who are flat-out great writers. (I may quibble with Morrison's suitability with Batman, in general, but I can't argue that his Batman and Robin has been top-notch stuff.) Daniel has always been a great artist, but I think this run has cemented his skills as a writer.
The Brave and The Bold #32
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art and cover by Jesus Saiz
This is a kind of book that I wish the "Big Two" would do more of, a good, old-fashioned, team-up book. Looks like Aquaman and The Demon this month. When I was growing up, both DC and Marvel would publish several, Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Two-In-One, and the original The Brave and The Bold run. The formula, back then, was simple, take a popular character (Spider-Man, The Thing and Batman, respectively), and team them up with lesser-known characters. I can't tell you how much of both companies stables were introduced to me via these types of stories.
Straczynski has dropped the recurring character, and, while I don't think it works as well, it allows new, and old, readers to be exposed to characters they might not know off the bat. Simple, done-in-one stories that you won't have to follow for 6 to 12 months also help. I, more often than not, know I'm going to get a fast-paced, fun adventure tale. If I don't like the team-up this month, well, next is a new opportunity.
You want more people to know your characters? This works wonders, I think.
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