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Brave and the Bold comics – FIRE & WATER #63

Firestorm and Aquaman: The Fire and Water PodcastThe 63rd episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is the official podcast of FIRESTORM FAN and THE AQUAMAN SHRINE.

Join Aqua-rob and Fire-shag as they go for a swim in Bronze Age buttery-goodness! The guys dive into two classic issues of The Brave and the Bold featuring Batman! They cover one issue guest-starring Firestorm and another with Aquaman! Plus, they discuss the recent casting of Batman for the Man of Steel sequel!

You can find the 63rd episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may download the podcast by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (40 MB).

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme! This episode brought to you in part by InStockTrades.com!

Have a question or comment? Send us an e-mail at firewaterpodcast@comcast.net.

Here are the covers to the Brave and the Bold issues we covered! For more images from these books, visit our Tumblr site at fireandwaterpodcast.tumblr.com.

Brave and the Bold #172 with Batman and Firestorm by Gerry Conway, Carmine Infantino and Jim Aparo

Brave and the Bold #114 with Batman and Aquaman by Bob Haney and Jim Aparo

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12 Comments

  1. Woohoo! I have joined the elite Steam Award Winners. Thanks guys!

    Oh, and just for the record, I am not a watchmaker but I am, in fact, insane. I have to be to take making miniatures like that. Believe it or not, this was the first time I’ve done any miniatures/models successfully. But, and this is part of my insanity, I got the idea in my head and I just couldn’t leave it alone. I’m glad you like them.

    BTW, Shag, I had the same WTF reaction with the Batman casting. But, it’s not part of my “Comic Book Joy”(tm), so I really don’t care.

  2. Corey Hodgdon says:

    Shag if you’re looking for some fun Bob Haney stories with great Jim Aparo art (including the Aquaman story featured on the podcast) you can check out Legends Of The Dark Knight: Jim Aparo. I’m sure you could get it on Instocktrades.com!

  3. Kyle Benning says:

    I agree, that Ben Affleck is just too big of a name to pick up the mantle of these most recognizable and famous fictional characters. He can be a great actor, but when he takes the screen, I’m afraid that’s too big of a pill to swallow, or way too much suspension of disbelief to forget he’s Ben Affleck and accept him as Batman. I agree with the George Clooney analogy.

    As for the Views of the Longbox and following your comic book joy, I agree. In fact it that mentality, that recently inspired me to going back to my favorite of era of comics, for both Marvel and DC, which would 1975ish-1992ish. So I have been going back and re-reading old runs of comics, such as Byrne’s Fantastic Four run, and doing write-ups on them for my friend Matt’s weekly newsletter he sends out via email for his comic book shop customers. The goal of my write-ups were to spot light some past great series for people who may find themselves somewhat disenfranchised by the current Superhero comics, and hopefully help them find their joy. Matt owns a great comic shop in Des Moines, IA, called Cup Of Kryptonite, which has free coffee for its patrons. Matt also writes a column every week for the Outhousers Comic News website, the same Outhousers who are the keepers of the hilarious “Has DC Done Something Stupid Today” clock. Well his editor there say my write-ups and contacted me to see if I was interested in having my “Retro Reviews” syndicated and run on their website. Of course I said yes! My first column actually went up today! So if you don’t mind my shameless self plug, you can read it here:

    http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/reviews/123738-retro-reviews-john-byrnes-fantastic-four.html

    To supplement my weekly feature, I plan on starting a Facebook page block, with scans and more indepth information to go with the series I cover that week.

    You guys have definitely been an inspiration in this endeavor, so thank you!

    I’m surprised Rob doesn’t care for Typhoon, as discussed in a previous episode, he seems like a natural villain for Aquaman.

    As for the science, unless I’m misinterpretting the dilemma posed in the issue, it doesn’t make sense, but for a different reason. Atmospheric pressure drops as your elevation increases, or as you get further away from sea level. That’s why the atmospheric pressure in Denver is so low. That means the bomb if it was a low pressure trigger, should have detonated in the air. It seems like Haney had the situation confused. But again, that’s assuming I understood the plan correctly, that the bomb would detonate in a low pressure area, in this case a air field whose elevation was below sea level. Correct? But to rule that out as well, the answer would be, the plane never sees the atmosphere conditions below sea level, because it goes from above sea level in the air, to quite literally below sea, where it is higher pressure. The bomb never sees below sea level atmosphere conditions because it never reaches them. The waterline is sea level, so the air above it is above, below, they’re in the higher pressure water setting. I think that’s what he was going for, even though he had the science behind atmospheric pressure vs. elevation wrong.

    Another great episode, this really is the best Comics Podcast out there! Great choice choices today for mixing it up! Is it possible that we’ll someday be hearing you guys cover any of the DC Presents issues where Superman teams up with Firestorm (issues #17, 45, or 90) and where he teams up with Aquaman (issues #5, or 48)?
    That’d be awesome!

  4. Hearing Rob’s epitaph for Bob Haney brought a huge smile to my face because I completely agree with it. I read the LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: JIM APARO volume 1 hardcover, which collects a whole lot of B&B tales from this era. And while I love Aparo’s art, there were quite a few stories in the bunch that were laughably bad, and it was clear that Haney just did not give a flying-fish #@$% about what happened in previous pages, let alone previous issues.

  5. As to the bomb question, I was thinking that the bomb would arm itself at flight level pressure (low) and then blow when the pressure increased to sea level, otherwise it would have blown up on take-off. However, it still doesn’t work out being under water since the pressure switch would have had to pass the ignition point on the way down, however it was accomplished. But that’s a small thing to have an excuse to see the Golden Double Dolphin. :)

  6. Also, thanks to Shag for pointing out the “Taking Flight” Robin podcast. I’ve been listening to episodes all day and it’s great. Good referral!

  7. Siskoid says:

    Yay! Salty!

    Good ‘cast guys. I’d write more, but I’ve got a lot of writing to do tonight. It might even be Shag’s fault (ominous!).

  8. Keith Samra says:

    I like the casting choice of Affleck for Batman. I think he’ll do a good job!
    Apparently Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad has nabbed the role of Lex Luthor?!?!?!

  9. Anj says:

    As a huge fan of these team-up books and especially Brave and Bold and DCCP, I really enjoyed this episode. For me, in the pre-Who’s Who days, this was how I really learned about the dustier corners of the DCU. In particular, I really loved the weirder team-ups. I met so many characters in Brave and the Bold – the Creeper, Metamorpho, the Phantom Stranger, Wildcat, etc.

    And these were almost always a ‘one and done’ sort of story. I was hoping Rob would pick Brave and Bold #142 to review. I can remember when I bought that issue I was amazed that there seemed to be a longer plot that had woven through the prior issues – the sinking of a boat called the Alahambra (sp?). I haven’t read the issue in forever, but I think the boat was involved in some crimes and Aquaman was worried his father was somehow involved (maybe in how it sank?).

    As for the Firestorm issue, I never read that one but I understand the feelings about Infantino art. At times it felt like he was mailing it in on the Supergirl book.

    Supergirl was lucky enough to appear in Brave and Bold twice, reviewed on my site here:

    http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2011/12/back-issue-box-brave-and-bold-160.html

    http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2008/06/it-came-from-back-issue-box-brave-and.html

    The Aparo art is just sweet. Both stories were written by Cary Burkett so I never got to read a Bob Haney Supergirl story.

    I was also a Marvel Team-up guy Shag and read a bunch of the issues written by Claremont and drawn by Byrne. In fact 2 of my favorite stories from my youth are in that book – Spidey teaming up with Iron Fist and the Daughters of the Dragon to fight Steel Serpent; and Spidey with Human Torch and then Ms Marvel fighting the Super Skrull. In much the same way, those books taught me about the MU.

    I do hope a DCCP episode happens and includes DCCP 17, Firestorm’s first reappearance after his solo title being canceled.

    Lastly, I know all about the good (and bad stuff) Ben Affleck has done in his career. But I don’t think he is the right choice for Batman. I liked Keaton because I thought he could channel the insanity needed to be Batman. He was certainly the best Bruce.

  10. Luke says:

    Shag saying that Batman better hope that Firestorm flies over a major highway made me laugh; all I could think of was the old bit I saw once about the other members of the Justice League annoyed that they can only fight crime a few blocks from the Hall of Justice because Batman has to drive there.

    Rob’s joy at the Aquaman story was completely self evident. Of course, the Atlantean Switchboard is right up there with Aquaman’s “clamshell cellular phone” from the Supergirl strip in Wednesday Comics!

    I want to get these Batman Team-Ups in Showcase Presents format, but I made the mistake of organizing my comic phonebooks the other day and OH MY GOD I HAVE SO MANY OF THESE THINGS TO READ.

    PS: Typhoon is a STORM OF THE SOUL!

  11. Shag, that reaction to the Ben Affleck casting might have been the best thing I’ve heard in a while. I had to pause the podcast because I was laughing so hard.

    That said, I’m going to have faith in Warner Bros. and in DC Comics, and whoever else was involved in the casting call. Before Nolan’s flicks, I heard a lot of angry people about how Christian Bale would never pull it off, and about how Heath Ledger could only do silly stuff and would never be a good Joker, or about how Henry Cavill being British meant that he couldn’t/shouldn’t be Superman.

    Great episode, guys! Now that I’ve heard about these issues from you guys, I want to pick the Aquaman issue up if I ever see it!

  12. Siskoid says:

    Hey, are you guys going to do a similar episode about DC Comics Presents some time? Superman teamed up with both heroes, after all.

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