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
By Luke Abbott
If every issue of Batman Eternal was like this, I would be a happy reader.
In fairness, it has been a while since Eternal has had a truly bad issue. There was fun to be had last time and the few issues before that added a few more layers to the mystery, hooking us right into the conspiracy of the story. However, it still felt a little inconsistent and jumbled. The eighth issue settles into what I thought Batman Eternal would be: inching closer to the answer hidden behind Gordon’s incarceration. This issue forgets Dr. Phosphorous, forgets the mysterious nano-technology and forgets the reveal of Joker’s daughter that has been mysteriously brushed away for the time being. We are back to the square roots of the Dark Knight: Batman, Falcone and a helluva amount of corrupt cops in between.
What I liked about this issue is that it focused on Batman beating up Falcone’s goons, but it seemed like it was more of an issue devoted to the supporting cast. We were still spending an issue with Batman, more than we’ve had in a long while, but it was through the eyes of other people. Jason Bard, the man who opened this whole story for us, gets a lot of development. His motives and personality are put on the table, hammering home to the point that he is a good cop in a bad town. We’ve seen this story before, but in Gotham, this plotline never seems to run out of material. Vicki Vale also makes a return, the feisty reporters character earning every streak of dialogue. Her scene with Bard was smartly written, Vale turning to her womanly charms to get the story out of Bard. Is a romance blossoming or is Vale up to something? It’s a small sub plot, and most might think it wastes precious frames, but, in my mind, it adds depth and lifts the story arc higher.
Stephanie Brown gets a mention too. She remains my favourite strand of storyline here, because it is so disconnected from everything else that I am left scratching my head at where the Cluemaster fits into everything. I am waiting for the twist with great anticipation. The story isn’t even brought up too much. We just see a shattered phone booth, two days after we last left Stephanie, covered in blood and bullet-holes. The following scene plays out really cleverly and I cannot wait to see where this leads.
I am still lost at how time fits into all this. Vicki Vale went from witnessing a twist with the nano-bots, another storyline that was harshly dropped, to appearing at a crime scene, as though she was making a first appearance. A character who popped up last issue is now in Hong Kong, in the space of a day. That will need explaining. It vaguely works at the moment, but seeing as Batman is heading off to Hong Kong, time needs to be planned a bit more carefully than it has been in past issues.
Quote of the week:
Tiger Shark: Do you want me to get rid of him, or get rid of him?
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on May 31st, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman Eternal #8 Review, Bruce Wayne, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, James Tynion IV, Luke Abbott, Scott Snyder, Stephanie Brown, Vicki Vale
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