Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Batman Eternal #2
DC Comics
Snyder, Tynion, Fawkes, Layman, Seeley & Fabok
Batman Eternal pushes the story from the opening issue forward in a couple of interesting directions. The comic veers away from much of what was introduced in the first issue, such as the appearance of Jason Bard, but the comic brings out some other new characters to the storyline to keep things interesting. At this point, the book is an entertaining read but it doesn't distinguish itself from any of the thousands of Batman stories that have preceded it.
The issue centers around the fallout from Gordon's actions in the opening issue. Gordon fired his gun at, what he thought, was an armed man. Turns out the man wasn't armed and the bullet set off a reaction to a power box that ended up killing a lot of riders on a train. The main plot here is very unbelievable from many points, especially the way the cops are treating Gordon. However, the fallout around him makes the story digestible.
Batman is doing what he does: investigating. While he's trying to track down the real story, he is also working to clear his friend's name. Batman pays Gordon a visit and it is one of the better scenes in the book. Snyder captures this relationship in classic fashion.
Another good scene in the book is when Catwoman shows up to talk to Batman. There isn't anything new here but it's nice to see the contrasting interactions between Batman and his various support system cast. The book ends by revealing the new threat and it's a familiar one and not one that I would gauge to be Batman's equal unfortunately.
The artwork is good. There's not a whole lot of action in this comic but the book still takes on a grand stage look. The comic really looks its best when Batman is interacting with Gordon or Catwoman. Somehow the intensity shows through the cowl. It's a good artistic book.
Batman Eternal has the luxury of moving the story along quickly because of the weekly schedule. However, the components showing in the first two issues don't really seem to warrant a weekly comic book. The ideas just don't feel that special. We'll see where all of this is heading. This will entertain you but will it entertain enough to keep your interest weekly? I'm not sure about that.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
