The Brave And The Bold: Batman And Wonder Woman #6 - DC Comics

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: BATMAN AND WONDER WOMAN No. 6, September 2018

Described by “DC Comics” in their pre-publication publicity as supposedly featuring “an epic battle for Tir Na Nog” in which “both Fomorian and Dé Denann creatures are spilling into our own realm”, Liam Sharp’s actual finale to this six-issue mini-series probably left its audience feeling badly let-down, if not entirely mislead. For whilst the Derby-born writer’s concluding instalment to “The Brave And The Bold: Batman And Wonder Woman” does feature certain elements of King Elatha’s fight against the forces of his tyrannical brother, it does so in arguably the most cursory of manners, and definitely fails to deliver any lasting satisfaction with its “End Of Book One” conclusion.

Indeed, in many ways the narrative for this twenty-two page periodical seems to be far more concerned with raising more questions for an evident sequel publication than it does answering, or at least eloquently exploring, any of the issues its previous chapters created. For example, having been a mainstay of the central cast for this storyline’s entirety the formidable-looking Captain Furf is disrespectfully dispatched ‘off-screen’, presumably during some great pitched conflict, and is subsequently given just the simplest of death scenes in the presence of his mournful king. Likewise, Gotham City’s invasion by Balor’s armies would surely have made for a short-lived series in its own right, and yet the “co-founder/CCO of Madefire Inc” squanders such an opportunity courtesy of a double splash which straightforwardly depicts the Batplane dousing the orcish trespassers with sleeping gas so Commissioner Gordon can simply “send your men in now.”

Perhaps this comic’s biggest disappointment however, is in Elatha’s highly-anticipated confrontation with Balor Evil-Eye, which initially looks set to simply be a portrayal of the king impotently being roasted alive by his all-powerful sibling. Considering that Ethné’s husband was somewhat cognisant as to what his foe was capable off, it seems utterly ludicrous that such a powerful ruler would simply stand still in front of so lethal an attack, especially when the quickly badly burnt leader doesn’t even bother to carry a shield with him..?

Of course, such a ludicrous lapse in judgement does provide Sharp with the opening to have Wonder Woman literally come out of nowhere to smack the God of Blight and Droughts squarely in his laser-beam eye and resultantly save the day. But such a contrivance seems to have been lazily orchestrated just so the Princess of Themyscria had something to do besides bewail Cernunnos’ shocking death at the hands of an unknown spearman, as well as allow Balor to escape justice and rather mercenarily set-up a follow-up publication…

Writer/Artist: Kevin Sharp, and Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.