Batman #23 "The Brave and the Mold" Review

After all of the excitement of The Button, Batman has taken a different direction. Tom King has written one of the oddest and most surprising team-ups in recent memory with "The Brave and the Mold". Swamp Thing met Batman and together they investigate a murder.

The issue was really cool! All inclusive as well! No overdrawn story with one too many issues. It's all over and done with in this issue. King has jokingly said "Once I heard that title, I knew I could just phone the rest in" but thankfully, this isn't the case! My only complaint is that after reading the first issue of Scott Snyder's Batman/The Shadow cross-over series, this story does feel somewhat familiar. Especially with the opening scene of both stories. Again though, this is a minor problem! The story is fresh enough to still be very enjoyable!

I love this odd couple dynamic. They're both pretty dark and brooding but one is human and the other a swamp... It's cool to see them working as a team. Swamp thing has some really neat powers and it's always nice to give lesser characters a spotlight. He truly steals the show and leaves a strong impact on both the reader and Batman himself.

He's brought to life by Mitch Gerads on art and damn does he look cool! In fact, I was absolutely gobsmacked by a full double splash page in the middle of the book, depicting Bruce and Swampthing sitting in Wayne Manor. I want it on a poster! For a character quite literally made of nature and greenery, he looks so unnatural and out of place in this high class dining room.

Also, look out for a Kiteman cameo, which is always fun! Hell yeah, Kiteman! Hell yeah!

This gets an A for story and an A for art. Even if you're not currently reading Batman you should pick up this issue! It's a lot of fun, there's some classic Batman detective work, Swampthing is great and the art is magnificent.