All-New Brave and the Bold #8 - Aug. 2011

Comics Weekend "Under The Sea" by Sholly Fisch, Rick Burchett, and Dan Davis.

Batman and Aquaman (and a special guest star) team-up this newest issue of Brave and the Bold!

The book opens as Vulko is trying to get his King to loom at some official documents, but he is too busy:

...wow, it's Batman and Aquaman in The Boatniks!

The Fisherman snags Aquaman on his line, but is interrupted by...a ghost ship ("Outrageous!" is Aquaman's response)!

Descending from the ship is the ghost of none other than the legendary pirate Captain Fear, who says he is cursed for his years of plundering, and is looking to redeem his soul so that he "can finally know peace."

Aquaman believes that the ancient Amulet of Arion could break the curse, and is immediately caught up in the adventure of finding it--an epic quest! He and Batman quickly head beneath the waves:

Aquaman explains that he knows where the amulet is--the trouble is getting to it. We and Batman quickly see what he means, as they encounter a giant sea creature, which tries to eat them both!

Thanks to an ink cloud courtesy Batman's underwater sled and some misdirection by Aquaman, the giant monster is knocked out after it crashes into a wall of coral. Next, our heroes get caught up in a whirlpool, which Aquaman plugs using his hard-water powers (borrowed from Mera, of course).

Batman asks if there are any other challenges. Before Aquaman can answer, they hear...music?

Aquaman begins to get lured by the siren song, but Batman stops via a high-frequency sonic blast from his utility belt. With that, they finally reach the Temple of Orion!

Waiting for them there is Captain Fear, but that's not at all: the villainous Black Manta has been following his old foe, and now wants the amulet for himself!

After blasting Aquaman and Batman with lasers from his helmet, he grabs the amulet, preparing to destroy both of them. But:

...the ever-lovin' end!


As I have said many times before, I find the team of Fisch/Burchett/Davis on this new Brave and the Bold book to be nearly perfect: the stories are fast-paced, crisp, and feature lots of great character details, and the art is simply wonderful to look at.

I love this book, and having Aquaman as this month's co-star (not to mention The Fisherman and Black Manta as the villains) just makes it that much better!


For all you B&B fans: make sure to check back in with the Shrine on Monday, when we'll have another interview with writer Sholly Fisch!