DCU Comic Book Reviews

The Brave And The Bold #27

Death Of A Hero

November 2009

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Pencils by Jesus Saiz

Inks by Jesus Saiz

Cover by Jesus Saiz

Synopsis

In Gotham City, Mr. Reed checks into a hotel room with his grandson, Robby Reed.  Nearby, Travers Milton watches the Reeds enter their room.  Milton was born and raised in Gotham who recently lost his job at the factory and is barely making ends meet.  Later, Milton is part of meeting where the Joker decides its time to unleash terror and kill Batman.  That night, Robby watches a tv newscast of the crime in Gotham.  Robby decides he might be able to do something, so he Dials “H” for Hero on his rotary dial, which turns him into Mental Man, the greatest psychic who ever lived.  However, he sees something that scares him so he crawls back into bed.  That next night, the Reed’s room is burglarized by Milton.  When he Dials “H” for Hero, he turns into The Star.  Realizing he can finally make something of his life, The Star decides to help people.  In the process he gets the attention of Batman, who warns the Star to be careful.  The Star tells Batman of the Joker’s plans that night.  Together the pair foil Joker’s plans.  However, Batman comes across a bomb.  Before he can do anything, the Star arrives, takes the bomb, and flies into the sky, where it explodes, killing him.  The next day, Batman returns the dial to Robby.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Ever since DC announced J. Michael Straczynski would be writing this title, there has been a lot of anticipation for his first issue which just so happens to be this one.  I am not sure if the anticipation is because of Straczynski’s writing ability or just the fact that he is writing for DC rather than the other company.  Straczynski is famous for Babylon 5, a show in which Straczynski wrote most of the episodes over a 5-year period.  He also wrote for nearly as long (if not longer) the flagship title for Spider-Man, a run that I thought was excellent at the beginning but kind devolved over time until the (editorial) embarrassment of his final story.  His initial writings for DC are the four-issue “series” to ingrate the Red Circle characters into the DC universe.  These issues were a mixed bag, but showed that Straczynski has a strong grasp on the tools of his craft. 

And, that, is essentially what I felt after reading this issue.  It felt like it was writing by a craftsman, someone who knows about the craft of writing and knows how to employ the tools of his tool box.  The plot is tightly woven, the characters are defined, either in the older ones such as Joker or Batman (loved the opening words about Gotham being his city; that sounds like the Dark Knight) as well as the new creation, either as the thug or as the hero.  Despite the sharpness of the pieces, overall I wasn’t hit over the head with the characters or with story’s ingenuity or any brilliant ideas (unlike say Waid’s run on this title which frothed at the mouth with creativity).  Maybe this is a result of doing a one-and-done story.  I am not sure.  All I know is that as I was reading, I didn’t get any spark, just the careful plotting and characterization from a craftsman.  This was especially true at the end with Batman’s speech about being a hero.  In fact, as I was reading I got the feeling that perhaps Straczynski started with Batman’s final speech and then worked backwards to craft the story around that idea.  And while it worked, and I have to commend Straczynski for a well-done story, it just didn’t jump out at me.  But, you know what, I will take a well-crafted story with strong plot and characters than a creative genius who fails to properly craft what he as going for him. 

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