Batman #23
Batman #23 (May 2017) stands apart from the surrounding arcs of Tom King's DC Rebirth run as a complete, self-contained story — 'The Brave and the Mold' — that paired Batman with Swamp Thing in a Gotham murder investigation built around themes of grief, vengeance, and the divide between justice and nature. The issue arrived just weeks after the passing of Swamp Thing co-creator Bernie Wrightson, and was formally dedicated to his memory, lending the story an emotional weight that reviews of the era recognized immediately. As a one-shot interlude bridging 'The Button' crossover and the massive 'War of Jokes and Riddles' arc, it demonstrated King's strategy of using standalone guest-artist issues to deepen the texture of his long-form run while giving Mitch Gerads a showcase that critics cited as one of the finest single issues of the entire Rebirth period.
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DC approached King and Gerads as a team after their critically acclaimed Vertigo series The Sheriff of Babylon, slotting them into Batman #23 as part of King's rotating artist structure — where David Finch and Mikel Janín alternated on longer arcs while King reserved interludes for close collaborators. In a contemporaneous interview, King confirmed the pairing was arranged by DC, which had broader plans for Swamp Thing at the time, and that he and Gerads were between Sheriff of Babylon's first season and their next project, Mister Miracle, when the opportunity arose. Gerads began drawing the issue only days before Wrightson died in March 2017; in his own words, he was at his drawing table rendering Swamp Thing when the news broke on Twitter, and he consciously shaped his artistic choices into a personal tribute. King also cited Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing and Frank Miller's Batman and Daredevil work as major creative touchstones for the issue's tone and structure.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Story title: 'The Brave and the Mold' — a wordplay riff on the classic DC team-up title 'The Brave and the Bold.'
- Written by Tom King; full art (pencils, inks, colors, and cover) by Mitch Gerads — their third collaboration on the Batman (2016) series after Batman #14–15 ('Rooftops').
- Published by DC Comics on May 17, 2017, as part of the Batman (2016) Vol. 3 / DC Rebirth series.
- The issue is a standalone one-shot positioned between the 'The Button' crossover (Batman #21–22) and the beginning of 'The War of Jokes and Riddles' arc (Batman #25–32).
- The issue is formally dedicated to Bernie Wrightson — co-creator of Swamp Thing with Len Wein — who passed away in March 2017 from brain cancer; Gerads confirmed in an interview that the dedication was a deliberate personal tribute.
- The plot centers on the murder of an elderly man revealed to be Swamp Thing's (Alec Holland's) father; Batman and Commissioner Gordon investigate while Swamp Thing materializes from mold at the crime scene.
- Tom King cited Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing as a major influence and stated he wanted the issue to be 'in communication with' the earlier Alan Moore Batman/Swamp Thing crossover.
- The issue features a brief Kite-Man cameo — a recurring King-era background figure who would receive a major spotlight in the immediately following 'War of Jokes and Riddles' arc (Batman #25–32).
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Reprinted in Batman #3 (2017), Batman: Renacimiento #12 (2017), Batman #12 (2018), Batman #12 (2018), Batman Rebirth #12 (2018), Batman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition #2 (2018), Batman by Tom King #2 (2025)
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