By Luke Abbott
Not a fan of this issue. Just didn’t work for me.
The biggest shame here is that there are a lot of storylines being brought back up, which I was waiting for with anticipation. This means that the return of these characters is met with a strong feeling of disappointment. Batgirl, missing ever since Issue #4, finally tracks down her lead, a Brazilian actor who was at the subway when Jim Gordon was set up. Sadly that actor has his own problems to deal with when the Club of Villains send an assassin after him. Stephanie Brown takes a bigger role than before and we learn a bit about the origins of the Cluemaster. We also step back from the action and explore the relationship between Alfred and Julia Pennyworth. While their part in the story is a little distant and seemingly irrelevant to the bigger picture, I am sure that this is the groundwork for another intriguing element to Batman Eternal.
The main problem is the Batgirl section falling flat. In Issue #4, it appeared that the character arc for Batgirl was going to be excitingly parallel to Batman’s. Sure, we have had this storyline with almost every Robin, but because Eternal’s crux lies on the shoulders of Jim Gordon, Barbara’s character development keeps the reader invested in the central part of the narrative, desperately needed with several side-stories in the mix. I wanted the writers to really depict Barbara as a vengeful woman, desperate to protect her father, but getting lost in the anger that almost consumes Bruce Wayne on a daily basis. This is not conveyed here at all, mainly because someone decided that this issue would be a perfect area for some comedy. We are treated to a frustratingly slapstick chase around a film set, like something out of a Scooby Doo cartoon. The suspect is a male bimbo, convinced that he is being targeted for his looks. Scorpiana was looking like a great villain (the Scorpion snake monster that attaches itself to her back looked terrifying), but she was reduced to terrible lines and little action. She felt like the usual ‘hot girl that likes dominating men through violence’ stereotype that gives comics a bad name. It was hard to take this storyline seriously, which is a shame, because there would have been a lot on offer here otherwise.
I didn’t like the art style at all. There were moments when I appreciated it. The first page sees a mystery figure in a graveyard with the rain hammering it down. I cannot fault the artistic nature of the piece, but I felt that it didn’t have its place in this comic. Characters looked grotesque and messy. It was hard to take anything seriously when the people in the story looked like cherubs. I appreciate that this issue was trying to break out of the norm that Batman Eternal has got itself stuck in. While I have been enjoying the series lately, it does occasionally slip into borderline routine. Somewhere along the lines it may have seemed a good idea to try an outside-the-box art style and throw a bit of humour into the story. However, it was too distracting and it has distanced me from the story, which ruins the immersive capabilities of some of the earlier issues. Hopefully, this style doesn’t crop up again too soon.
Also, Batman was kept to a bare minimum. Not OK, people!
Quote of the Issue:
Julia Pennyworth: You used to serve the greater good, but now you just serve tea and biscuits!
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on June 20th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batgirl, Batman Eternal #11 Review, Cluemaster, DC Comics, Julia Pennyworth, Luke Abbott, Stephanie Brown