DCU Comic Book Reviews

The Brave And The Bold #2

The Lords of Luck, Chapter Two: Ventura

May 2007

Written by Mark Waid

Pencils by George Pérez

Inks by Bob Wiacek

Cover by George Pérez

Synopsis

In outer space, Hal Jordan (aka Green Lantern) is on the trail of an alien who posses the Book of Destiny.  Jordan has tracked him to Ventura, a planet that is essentially one giant casino.  Since Green Lanterns are not welcome, Jordan recruits Supergirl for help.  On Earth, Batman goes searching for the alien’s partner but finds he is too late as Blue Beetle has beat him to the punch.  On Ventura, Kara and Hal track down the book, which fell into the hands of a Rannian who returns to his home planet via Zeta Beam just as Hal reaches him.  At the last second, Hal leaps in the beam and goes to Rann, leaving Kara on Ventura.   

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was another good issue.  Once more Waid effectively pairs two heroes, creating a believable interaction between them that does not involve questions about heroics or duty.  They are heroes. This is what they do and they don’t shirk their responsibilities.  They don’t whine and moan and certainly don’t fight with each other.  The minor tiff between and Hal and Kara was believable and understandable given who they are.  Waid sets it up beautifully; the characterization of Hal and Kara are handled well and don’t overwhelm the story but flow well within the story and the plot.  In fact, Kara’s crush and Hal’s subsequent rejection led to one of the best scenes in the book when Kara appears in the arena for the battle.  Waid captures a lot of the angst of Supergirl that is seen from her own book, but somehow manages to make it more believable and enjoyable. 

If there is one thing that I like about George Perez is that he loves to fill all of his pages to the brim; there are very little white spaces in any of his books.  The backgrounds of Ventura are mad, chaotic, bright, and loud, which is just about how I would picture a casino city.  There are more aliens than I can shake a stick at place randomly in this book which helps to really flesh out the setting.  I am also beginning to think that Perez’s influence has also affected Waid’s writing in this book.  There is a lot of dialogue.  A lot of that has to with the exposition to Kara (and the reader) regarding the nature of the planet, but a lot of it is just some good, playful humor of Hal and Kara’s relationship as it develops (and I like the zinger tossed in Ollie’s direction).  Waid’s description of Ventura is wonderful as well; how can one not be amused by the Hounds of Chaos or the bets made by pedestrians on Kara’s ability to catch the falling guy (or even his take on the classic “it’s a bird, it’s a plane” line). 

I like the cover except for the fact that Hal’s head is in a position that is nearly impossible to be, unless your neck has been broken or you don’t have any bones.  It is interesting to note Adam Strange in the top left (and given where Hal landed, a sign of things to come?) and Batman in the bottom right (who was in the first issue and featured in the next issue).  On the top right there is Lobo, which suggest he might show up later in this story. 

 

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