By Chris Fenn
Now I know @LukeBbtt has been reviewing Batman Eternal but I thought I’d give it a read this week and see how my thoughts compared to his.
I reviewed the first issue of this series and thought it was really good with a very promising future for Gotham City. Since reading it though I have to say I have been disappointed.
My favourite issue to date has been the Batgirl one, with Red Hood and El Gaucho, because it felt like a Batman comic with a clear story and character work instead of just a cluster of loose ends and characters. This issue, to me, felt like another collection of characters doing meaningless stuff.
Now let me throw this out there before people get upset or angry; I like Scott Snyder. I really liked The Black Mirror. I liked the Court of Owls. I mostly liked Death of the Family. Scott Snyder is a good writer…
… But Scott Snyder needs to stop doing story arcs that require a million issues. I’ve complained about Zero Year before for being too long, but Batman Eternal is estimated to run for Sixty issues. Sixty! From start to finish that’s fifteen months. This story will finish in around July 2015, and I cannot fathom why this story needs sixty issues to tell.
Based on the Batman #28 preview/filler issue we know that Steph is going to be spoiler and we know that Harper is going to assume a more active role in the plot as Bluebird and we know that there is going to be a sort of police state in place, so until then it’s almost like we’re going to tread water.
I also now totally agree with what the @intercomicspod gang (@gizmo151183 specifically) have been saying about destroying the character of Gordon, only now it feels that nobody ever except for Batman is allowed to be good and try to not outright murder people. At first I thought Snyder and Tynion IV were going to build Bard up as being squeaky clean and the Jim Gordon people want in the New 52 so his inevitable heel turn would have more impact, but in this issue he reveals he’s cool with a dozen people dying.
Also why is it trendy to make the Scarecrow an awful character? He was awful in Arkham War, he was awful in the Gothtopia storyline and he’s awful in this. Oh, and The Joker’s Daughter is in this too; so far she has popped up twice for no real reason and in no relation to any other events of the story; but she has Joker in her name so cool beans, right guys?
I feel like this book is struggling and could be due to end any time soon, but we are less than 25% into the event. I just really want some nice short stories; a few one and done comics, some two or three issue arcs, with interesting characters that don’t need to change the face of the DC Universe forever.
I don’t understand what Batman Eternal is trying to do; why is Carmine Falcone built like a WWE Superstar, why did The Penguin pierce the throat of his henchmen for being helpful and why don’t we see Batman in a Batman comic?
I don’t want to read Batman Eternal any more, but I feel obligated to considering everything has to tie into everything else and I’ll probably not be able to read any other Bat title soon if I dare to miss a single issue.
All in all I find Batman Eternal as a whole, and Scott Snyder, to be overly indulgent, with too many characters, not enough direction and far too much of a desire to be remembered forever instead of giving readers a good story.
All in all, I give Batman Eternal #14 a 9.5 out of 10.
That was a joke by the way.
I think I’ll leave this series to @LukeBbtt in future!
For more comic views and reviews follow Chris on Twitter at @fenneth1989
Posted on July 10th, 2014
Category: OUT OF THE LONG BOX, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Batman Eternal #14 review, Chris Fenn, Jokers Daughter, Penguin, Scarecrow, Scott Snyder
By Luke Abbott
Previously on Batman Eternal, we saw Jim Gordon go from hero to villain, when he fired at an unarmed suspect, resulting in a catastrophic accident in the Underground. Batman is hot on the trails of the culprit, seeing as the police aren’t asking too many questions. Last issue ended with Batman realising that Carmine Falcone had one of his men on the scene, and the reader learns that that same Falcone is now getting close to the Mayor, which is bound to cause some trouble for Gotham in the next, few issues.
The good thing about Batman Eternal is the weekly series element. Even if one comic is slightly mediocre, we are willing to wait a few more issues to see the bigger picture. Other comics, like Harley Quinn, need to impress us time after time, as there are only out once a month, but there is a massive amount of freedom for the writers with Eternal. For example, the reveal of Falcone was a little unsatisfying for me (the way Batman trembled, you assumed it would be someone bigger), but it didn’t phase me too much, because Issue #3 was out before I could let the disappointment linger too much.
Issue #3 is still setting the scene really. We see Falcone make a move on Gotham and how everyone reacts to this. Batman is struggling to keep up with the onslaught of crime erupting from Gotham, the few remaining good cops are caught in a sea of corruption and a famous figure from Batman’s rogue gallery struggles to hold his dominance as Falcone turns up the heat. Looking back, this issue is little more than moving chess-pieces into position, but it still is an exciting read. The suspense and tension is dialled up to the maximum and we are clinging onto every thread of the story.
My favourite moment in the comic was the addition of the Cluemaster. Everyone has a good, little chuckle, as Cluemaster’s teenage daughter accidentally walks into one of his secret meetings. It is a very funny moment. And then that scene gets dark very quickly, in a way that only the Noir world of Batman can get away with. I know very little about the Cluemaster, but he seems very interesting, especially with some of his actions here. He doesn’t seem like a massive threat, but he seems an interesting character to explore at the very least.
Quote of the Week:
Great introduction to a favourite villain. (REDACTED VILLIAN): Oh, my dear, sweet girl. What kind of monster do you think I am? I fed him to an elephant seal three hours ago.
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on April 26th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Batman Eternal #3 Review, Comic Blog, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, James Tynion IV, Jim Gordon, Luke Abbott, Penguin, Scott Snyder
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