BOOK REVIEWS - THE NEW BRAVE & THE BOLD: "THE BRIDE AND THE BOLD" AND "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS" BY SHOLLY FISCH (WITH A SPIRITUAL LESSON THROWN IN)

 For those unfamiliar with comics in general and DC in person, "The Brave and the Bold" was a title which teamed up Batman with other heroes - and occasionally one not so heroic, like the Joker or the Riddler. When I read that title in the '70's, I found it a bit dark. However, this six part series by Sholly Fisch, including "The Bride and the Bold" and "Through the Looking Glass!," is much more fun and aimed at a young audience.

In "The Bride and the Bold," Batman and Wonder Woman stop a plan by a pair of Wonder Woman's old foes. However, God of Love Eros was upset with the violence, believing Wonder Woman was sent to show love, not beat up on the baddies, so he puts her and Batman under a spell where they fall in love and plan a wedding. Of course, one bad lady is jealous and thus rounds up the two heroes' rogue galleries to crash the wedding. Of course, most of the wedding guests were superheroes, so you can guess the rest.

"Through The Looking Glass!" starts with Batman and the Flash facing off with the Mad Hatter and Mirror Master. The bad guys flee through a mirror, with the heroes in pursuit, and end up in a Wonderland-like Dimension, and then Mirror Master returns to reality taking the mirror with him so the heroes can't escape. Or can they?

As stated, these are aimed for a young audience. However, if you happen to be an old comics fan like yours truly, you'll enjoy seeing familiar faces both among the good guys and the bad guys. It's also a short book (you can read either one in 15 minutes).

One fun thing about this series is it ends with some questions that relate to telling the story (both the writing and the drawing).

I definitely recommend these books. But would you believe one of these has a theological lesson, possibly unknown to the author? (SPOILER ALERT)

In "The Bride and the Bold," Eros is displeased seeing Wonder Woman fighting Giganta and Mouse Man with Batman helping, so he makes them fall in love. But when the wedding has the heroes beating up on the bad guys, Eros thinks that's worse, saying that Diana (Wonder Woman) was sent to spread love. Then, Eros' mother Aphrodite shows up and points out that Wonder Woman is showing love by defending the defenseless from the bad guys. 

As Christians, we're given an example that we need to stand up for faith and defend our brothers and sisters in Him. Unfortunately, many - including believers - claim that standing up against false teachers and refuting error is judgmental and unloving. No, tolerating evil is what's unloving.

BOOK REVIEW - "BATMAN: ONE BAD DAY - THE RIDDLER #1," WRITTEN BY TOM KING, ILLUSTRATED BY MITCH GERADS

 Which is the first Batman villain you remember? For me, it was the Riddler. Frank Gorshin played Batman's opponent in the first two episodes of the '60's TV series and was in 8 of the 34 episodes of season 1 (the Joker and the Penguin had a half dozen each in that first season, and the Catwoman only appeared in two). My all time favorite villain was Gorshin's Riddler (I was disappointed with John Astin's take on the role in the second season). I will admit that I am not a Jim Carrey fan, but I enjoyed his portrayal in Batman Forever. That being said, I had NEVER seen him in the limited comic book viewing I've done.

Needless to say, we're not in the '60's anymore, and "Batman: One Bad Day - The Riddler" is proof of that. I would grade this story with a D: Dark, Depressing, Disgusting, Deplorable, Disconcerting, Disappointing. The story is interesting, and gives some of Edward Nygma's back story, but it left me torn between being sympathetic to the abuse he faced as a boy and utterly despising a totally evil character.

If this is what modern Batman is like, I'd rather stay with the past.

PRE-OSCAR LOOK AT MOVIES THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON ME, PART 2 OF 12: THAT DARN CAT (1965)

 

I debated whether this was the second or third movie on my list. Technically, it came out first and thus, I probably saw it first (I was 5 or 6 at that time). However, this movie had a delayed impact - it wasn't until I watched it as a teenager that it climbed to being my all time favorite comedy.

Even when I was a child at its release, this movie had a draw from having two actors I was a fan of. One was Frank Gorshin, who portrayed my favorite villain, The Riddler. The other was, of course, the cat. 

I will add that I could not stand the '97 remake nor, for that matter, John Astin's portrayal in season 2 of Batman. Also, I will also admit I'm not a comedy fan, in spite of me being quick to tell a joke. (Most of the time, my favorite comedies were ones that mixed adventure with the comedy like "Silver Streak" or those that try to keep you on the floor laughing like "Airplane".

One last comment - the first two movies on this list were Disney films. Is that expected from me starting chronological? Or is this a trend?