BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD - SEASON ONE, PART ONE

Warner Home Video continues its rather unfortunate practice of splitting up seasons and releasing multiple editions of the same episodes instead of complete season box sets with Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Season One Part One.

Make no mistake: there will be a complete season Brave & the Bold box set one day. Until then fans have to either wait to make do with Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Vol. 1, 2, 3 and now Season One Part One. (Warner follows the same release policy with the recommended CG animated Star Wars: Clone Wars TV show.) Confusing? Yes.

Our advice is to sit it out and wait for the complete season box set to appear one day. Brave and the Bold simply is one of those shows that is worth holding out for the complete season box set. If you're a fortysomethinger and older, then the chances are good that the original Brave & the Bold comic books formed a memorable part of your childhood. Brave & the Bold was the DC comic book in which Batman teamed up with a different superhero each month: Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman - you name it.

Brave & the Bold the TV show follows the same formula. Each episode Batman teams up with a new partner for that 20 minute-long episode. The tone is much lighter and whimsical than previous animated Batman shows - and also more far-fetched! But it's all in good fun and the art work - all thick lines and bold colors - are a treat. The show however never veers into annoying camp like those dreaded Joel Schumacher live-action movies did.

On this disc Batman teams up with obscure superheroes such as the Blue Beetle, Wildcat and Deadman (a Deadman live-action movie is being planned - believe it or not!) amongst others. Fans will also be delighted to see Batman team up with Kamandi - the Last Boy on Earth, a Planet of the Apes-inspired DC Comics character created for the publisher by the late, great Jack Kirby. Unfortunately Kamandi isn't accorded a full episode, but the segment in question actually goes to the trouble of recreating Kirby's distinctive visual art style.