New BRAVE AND BOLD Figures: Friends Like These...

Batman team-up comics were a sure hit with me as a kid.  My favorites were likely popular with many, as Batman had a short list of recurrent guest stars.  We've already featured Aquaman and Plastic Man "upgrade" figures, so today we focus on three more characters that often appeared in the Brave & Bold comic and made it to the show!

Some of the best Brave and Bold comics featured these Bat-friends!

Deadman

Neal Adams was on fire when he drew these features and Batman teaming up with a ghost to solve his murder is the perfect B&B story.  I made this figure for last Halloween and had to bring him back out for this.

Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino's DEADMAN

A Plastic Man figure with custom head sculpt

Green Arrow
 What's there not to love about a guy who copied both Batman and Robin Hood?  Green Arrow has a playful rivalry with Batman in the Brave and Bold TV show.  The idea that Batman has friends would make WB film execs cringe...

Weisinger and Papp's GREEN ARROW

Green Arrow was heavily modified from the MATTEL toy.  After removing the hex bolt holes, I sculpted his shirt sleeves and added boot cuffs.  A section of quiver from a DC DIRECT Red Arrow figure was added and the bow is the one from the GA figure, although significantly redone.  His quiver strap is now a separate belt, as opposed to a paint application.

With apologies to Sir Neal, I still love this costume...

Wildcat

I am a huge Wildcat fan and his Brave and Bold comic appearances need a little explaining.

Wildcat was created in 1942 by Batman co-creator Bill Finger and illustrated by cartoonist Irwin Hansen (DONDI).  He is a prize fighter.  His super power is that he puts on a cat costume and hits people.  He was a some-what popular feature and eventually joined the Justice Society of America, making two-appearances before the end of the Golden Age of comics.

When Sixties comic writer Gardner Fox brought back the WWII-era Golden Age characters, he went to great lengths to describe the science fiction basis for how these characters lived in a another universe "Earth Two" and how they weren't from Batman's world "Earth One" and how they could visit each other, etc.  These appearances were popular and became a summertime tradition, with each publication repeating this bizarre elaboration...

... except for the Brave and Bold issues.  Wildcat would just show up and Batman would act like he was always there and off they would go to have an adventure.  THIS WOULD FREAK OUT THE READERS!  They would write in and demand explanations, insisting that these issues were "existing" on some "new world".  It was very troubling to comic book readers of the Seventies.  

The comic book company pretty much ignored them.  Good thinking.

WILDCAT, by Batman-co-creator Bill Finger, drawn by Irwin Hasen!

A modified Batman figure, with a modified Sportsmaster head

 Join us next episode when we examine the color... of evil!