By Luke Abbott
I love how this issue advertised the fact it was delving into Carmine Falcone’s past to explain why he does what he does and we are given a quick flashback where he is scratched. Cut back to modern day. That is not an explanation or even character development. On the Falcone side of things, we are given a neat, little twist, but it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. In fact, it was more a ‘when is this happening’ rather than an if.
However, where Falcone fails, Professor Pyg excels. I knew nothing about this villain before starting Eternal and in the opening issue, he seemed like a thrown-together maniac. Pig mask: moderately creepy, go for it. Child abduction: that gets under the skin, write that in. Tie it up with the compulsory mad ramblings that almost every Batman villain has, and you have your own Batman nemesis to add to the pot. However, this issue sees Pyg really come into his own. He is just so damn eerie. I liked that the action was kept to the very end of the issue, because I was having so much fun with the character presiding over his own hostage situation. His goons are terrifying, grotesque and gothic animal figures. He looms over his hostage, threatening to transform them into something beautiful with surgery. This is how I like my Batman villains. There is something unattainably creepy about them, making Batman more gritty and real than any other superhero. Pyg is a man suffering from violent mental illness; he could essentially be someone in real life and that is why I respond so well to his character. He is a fantastic villain.
Again, I must touch upon how Batman Eternal is able to distance itself from the bigger story, but touch upon it lightly, so each instalment doesn’t feel like a waste of time. It is a nice trick for the mid-point in the series, but needs to evolve before long. For now, I am just happy that character development can happen under the wing, so no one is forgotten in the busy storyline of Eternal. Stephanie Brown and the Cluemaster appear for two pages, but we learn vital information in that short space of time. A forgotten Batgirl is brought up again, and hopefully when she actually reappears we can get some sort of explanation of why her side-plot has been so stalled. Even Vale and Bard get a fun moment. They are easy characters to forget, so it is nice that the writers want to spend time building them up.
My one problem here is the art style. Don’t get me wrong, I like it. It is great to look at and some of the characters look very gothic. Pyg’s henchmen look like nightmares coming right out of your darkest dreams. There is just something a little slap-dash about it. The fight scene is a tad messy and doesn’t make a connection. I feel that this is something I go against the norm with my comics; I like a grounded, realistic style (Hush is a good example of how I like my art.) Yes, there is some more interesting and prettier Gothic styles in other issues (Long Halloween, Year One), but I think that sometimes I connect more with the story, when there isn’t this outside-the-box art style distracting me. This is more a personal preference than a criticism however, because as individual frames, they are very beautiful to look at.
Quote of the Issue:
Pyg: I’m going to the market. I’m looking for some roast beef. And I’m going to go wee wee wee all the way home.wee wee wee all the way home.
Posted on June 14th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman Eternal #10 Review, Carmine Falcone, DC Comics, Luke Abbott, Professor Pyg