Twenty-three issues after a sure-fire team-up between Batman and Green Lantern, "The Brave and the Bold" showcases Static and Black Lightning. Wow. Not exactly gonna drive in the foot traffic with a line-up change like that. Still, both characters have strong, vocal fan bases. Both characters are recognizable to even the most pedestrian DC Comics fans. Neither character has a series currently, although each has headlined his own title more than once. On the surface, this seems like a good match. What about between the covers?

Between the covers, Matt Wayne delivers a light-hearted romp. Seems that when he was in Lex Luthor's Presidential Cabinet, Jefferson Pierce -- Black Lightning -- may have done wrong by Holocaust (yeah, I thought the name was lame, too) who just so happens to be speaking at the high school of teen hero, Static. The story is as typically predictable as can be, with the young turk saving the old man's fat once, right after the old man gives said turk a piece of his mind. Wayne gives us an enjoyably light-hearted, but extremely predictable, adventure between these two heroes.

Porter's art is as solid as it has ever been. His style is well suited to the heroes at play in this issue and the visual interpretation of their powers. There's nothing earth-shattering in these pages from Porter, who provides journeyman's work but, like the story, the art is appropriate to the task of this issue.

All in all, this issue of "B&B" isn't the best that this title has given us, but it is also far from the worst. In spirit and execution, this is a good template for "The Brave and the Bold," but it needs a little more pizzazz and few less cliches.