Brave and the Bold #25 (October 2009)

While this particular comic wasn't picked up cheap (I paid the regular cover price), it does mantain the same spirit of the older 80's and 90's fluff that I do pick up for cheap. In other words, this comic is destined for the bargain bins of the future. So I'm thrilled to proclaim it: "A Bargain Book of Tomorrow--- Today!"

That's not to say that it's a bad comic, per se. It's pretty much a straightforward team-up comic with two random characters and is essentially...gasp... self-contained. Two superheroes team up, beat up some badguys, then fly off to protect us all from the evil-doers of the world. But there's nothing truly engaging or special about this book to make it stand out, ten years from now.

Thus, it's destined for a plot in the bargain bin graveyards of 2019. Of course, that's assuming that the apes don't take over, a plague doesn't kill the populace, Humongous doesn't rule the Wasteland, or one of the countless other futures predicted through reliable channels. You could also be really nitpicky and tell me that, due to the tight production runs and dwinndling fanbase of modern comics, that fewer actual books are being produced, and the chances of finding a copy of "Brave & the Bold #25" in a bargain bin in 2019 are rather slim. But...pfft... do not vex me with your details, Capt. Factoid!!

So what's this thing about? Well, as the cover tells you, it's a team-up between Blue Beetle and Hardware. Both guys would rank on the "C-list" of superheroes and are not worth their own title (heck, I'm not even sure if Blue Beetle's title is still around), but it works for a team-up book like Brave and the Bold. I've never read any of the new Blue Beetle's stories and have read only a few of Hardware's yarns. But this story was accessible, as within a few pages I found out about Hardware's ongoing beef with the obligatory "shadowy criminal organization", the creatively-named System. Plus, Blue Beetle's narration boxes told me all about the scarab grafted to his spine and the fact that he's a teenager. I even got hints of Beetle's own little "universe", as one of his villains made a cameo(a chick named "La Dama"... apparently inspiration for her name came from the restroom sign at any Mexican restaurant).

Hardware's an odd case, though. He was one of the original characters of the "Milestone" line of comics, circa 1992. An imprint from DC that featured primarily African-American characters, set in their own little universe. Unfortunately, they didn't prove too popular, as their polybagged premier issues seemed to stock bargain boxes of the 90's (although the overproduction/speculator market of the 90's was more to blame). They faded away sometime in the late 90's, so it's rather cool to have all of them brought into the DCU proper. Hardware; along with Static in issue 24; have just casually shown up in the DCU. A seamless merging of the two world, and a whole HELL of a lot easier than all the trouble used to bring the Charlton Comics characters into continuity back in 1986 (see: CRISIS on Infinite Earths. Which, when all was said and done, had that ONE lasting effect. But that's another column).

Hardware's costume is a little crazy. He has armored shoulder pads! A football/catcher's mask helmet! He can pull out an ENERGY WHIP! He can pull out GUNS! He has lots of pouches on his legs! Basically, he looks like the exiled member of Rob Liefeld's X-Force. But give the guy a break, he was created in 1992.

Shoot, I'm not even crazy about his name. Hardware. Had he been made in the 60's or 70's, he would have been full of carpenter's tools, wingnuts, level rules and 2x4's. "A young man is caught in a radioactive hailstorm while seeking shelter in a hardware store! Now, fused with the fabulous abilities of the local tool shop, he fights crime as HARDWARE!" Thankfully, that's not his official tagline. He just fights robots n' shit.

Anyways, the plot of this issue involves Hardware tracking down some System robots around the Mexican border. Blue Beetle, a local from El Paso, is on hand to share in the fisticuffs. They beat up robots, stop an Intergang shipment and give the artist a chance to show off the book's "Team-Up Money Shot":

But the entire brouhaha with the system robots was being monitored by two shadowy figures. One whom we don't see--aside from a bald head and some chin-fuzz. But the other is a BIG REVEAL! Okay, not so much. It's just revealed to be a new Gizmo. Yeah, THAT Gizmo-- the litle dwarf from 80's Teen Titans comics who had robotic backpacks and crap. Only this new Gizmo is apparently normal sized. A pretty lame tease to build up to someone like that. Example: "Next month -- the return of one of the deadliest villains in DC's history! Be here as fan-favoite KNODAR returns to wreck havoc!". At times like these, I feel that the staff of DC are their own biggest fans.

Still, this book's pretty harmless. Single-issue story and a chance for a reader to get hooked on either Hardware or Blue Beetle. When you break it down, it's a fairly ordinary almost lame story, but saved somewhat by the presence of two unordinary guys.

Summary: Two guys beat up robots, while two other guys watch 'em on monitors
Cover Price: 2.99
Rating: 1.25

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