This week we will be taking a break from the George Pérez Wonder Woman books. Instead we shall be diving into The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman six-issue miniseries written and illustrated by Liam Sharp. Diana and the World’s Greatest Detective will be teaming up to take on the world of Celtic gods.
DISCUSSION TIPS
• Stop by to share your thoughts, reactions, and answers to discussion questions as you read the story.
Spoiler discussion begins RIGHT NOW and lasts until next Wednesday (8/28) evening!
READ & DISCUSS WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21 - WEDNESDAY AUGUST 28
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: BATMAN AND WONDER WOMAN (2018-) #1-6
How do you feel about the Wonder Woman/Batman relationship depicted in this story and in general?
What are your thoughts on the Celtic/Irish myth? Any previous knowledge of any of it?
Which other pantheons/mythological worlds would you like to see Wonder Woman involved in?
Were there any new characters that you’d like to see make future appearances?
Typically, how do you feel about a comic being written and drawn by the same person? What did you think of Liam Sharp’s work specifically?
Share your thoughts on the reading overall and let’s discuss
That’s funny, I pronounce it like the adjective or the noun. I never thought about pronouncing it like the verb. Now I’m curious as to how it is actually said.
I don’t know who originated calling the lasso that, but I believe Greg Rucka calls it that in his Rebirth run. I don’t really like it
I remember it first being used in an arc of Joe Kelley’s JLA run, his first one after Mark Waid’s, if I remember right. The arc itself is called “Golden Perfect,” where an international incident involving an ancient underground society causes Diana’s lasso to be destroyed, and all concepts of truth slowly fade away with it. Really good stuff, if you’re interested, it’s issues #62-64. The trade I still have in storage also has #61, which is a good one-off that shows the character dynamics for all the characters, and #65, which is a great team-up between Batman and Plastic Man.
I particularly appreciated the part in issue 1 where Cernunios was explaining to Diana about has the pathways between world’s were breaking down as fewer and fewer people believe that they exist.
This really resonates because my spirituality is stronger based on my belief that it doesn’t matter if anyone else believes…what matters is that I believe and it’s my belief that makes it real for me.
@hashtag-goodtobejo That’s a really beautiful way of describing your belief. I didn’t even think of it like that when I was reading the first issue. I’m going to be reading the rest of the story in a different light now.
Cracking into this last night, i found this being harder to read than some other books of similar genre, and I think it’s partly because I’m so unfamiliar with Irish folklore/mythology that its a little hard getting my head around who is who and what they want. All I know for sure is that there’s a character named King McCool and it makes me giggle every time I see it.
I had to re-read certain parts to make sure I really understood it. It’s very unfamiliar to me as well.
Now I’m going to keep thinking of McCool in a different light, Jay-Kay
How do you feel about the Wonder Woman/Batman relationship depicted in this story and in general?
It seems to be a rather easy relationship such that it is evident that they have worked together in the past. if there was some sort of rift or conflict between them, I believe Diana would still seek out the World’s Greatest Detective. I wasn’t so keen on the Diana/Steve Trevor tryst, but it didn’t really distract from the story.
What are your thoughts on the Celtic/Irish myth? Any previous knowledge of any of it?
I have very little knowledge of Celtic/Irish myth. What i like is by using another culture’s mythology/pantheon as a framework that our heroes have to navigate, all the while learning its rules. E.g., Batman looking for and finding a hag stone. my biggest issue is more how to pronounced some of the words such as Sidhe. i made a point to use a hard K when reading Cernunnos.
Which other pantheons/mythological worlds would you like to see Wonder Woman involved in?
The Norse pantheon would be interesting; evidently, another universe has cornered that market. Japanese and Hindu mythologies certainly show promise. Even Arabic, as in Sinbad the Sailor (pre Islam).
Were there any new characters that you’d like to see make future appearances?
Ethne, but i seem to be a sucker for exceedingly tall women.
Typically, how do you feel about a comic being written and drawn by the same person? What did you think of Liam Sharp’s work specifically?
I always forget to keep the writer and artist in mind, or rather have those names attached to the comics i read. It is much like keeping in mind the director of a movie. I would think if it’s one person doing the art as well as the writing, the vision is far more clear because the artist part knows the text and the writer part knows what to show vs what to tell. However, it is a closed loop and without feedback, what might seem genius to the author/artist might not necessarily be so, or would be better fleshed out without said feedback.
In general, i liked the art in this run. Men’s faces, particularly Batman, were drawn with more lines to show a hardness, vs women’s faces being softer (Ethne and Diana in particular). There were a lot of body panels, such that the panel would feature the character from his/her head, almost to the thighs or knees. Batman’s cut abdomen is the center of the panel when featured. same with Elatha, once he finally escaped Tir Na Nog. Diana had a few, more so depicted in battle. And with her, there were more lines in her armor than where skin is exposed.
DISCUSSION TIPS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: BATMAN AND WONDER WOMAN (2018-) #1-6 
Share your thoughts on the reading overall and let’s discuss 
