DC takes a plunge into the multi-shipping game, as a cavalcade of Gotham’s finest creative minds come together to launch the weekly “Batman: Eternal”.
Written by James Tynion IV & Scott Snyder, with Tim Seeley, Ray Fawkes, and Jonathan Layman
Illustrated by Jason FabokDon’t dare miss the start of the Bat-story so big it’s going to take every week of the month to tell! A massive cast of Gotham City’s best (and worst) examines the relationship between Batman, his allies and his city. In this debut issue, Commissioner James Gordon is caught on the wrong side of the law!
The one issue per month shipping schedule has always been one of comics most rigid rules, right up there with Batman not using guns (anymore), and Superman not snapping the Joker’s neck for some reason. Even a brief trial run in the 1980’s with “Action Comics” running weekly lasted less than a year and was not enough to change the industry model. Marvel started double dipping their series a few years ago, publishing “Amazing Spider-Man” twice a month, followed by “The Avengers” and “All New X-Men” during the NOW relaunch. DC, anxious to maintain their market share, created four new weekly series’ and launched the first, “Batman: Eternal”, this week.
Taking a more street-level view of Gotham, “Eternal” begins with Lieutenant Bard, a new transfer from Detroit, arriving in Gotham City and scheduled to meet with Commissioner Gordon. The pug-like Harvey Bullock arrives instead, and informs Bard that Gordon is otherwise occupied with the latest villainous mastermind causing problems in Gotham. Gordon is deep underground, confronting Professor Pyg after he kidnapped children to turn them into villainous Dollotrons. Gordon is making a valiant effort to fight the swine based villain, but the timely arrival of Batman makes everything a little simpler. After securing the hostages, Gordon and Batman split up to chase down Pyg and his henchman, and the commissioner charges down the subway tracks as trains are approaching. Gordon manages to corner the bad guy, but everything goes straight to hell. Soon hundreds are people are hurt or dead, trapped inside fiery wreckage, and the new Lt Bard leads away Commissioner Gordon is handcuffs.
The greatly accelerated pace of a weekly series has made it necessary for a new type of creative team to craft the book. Regular “Batman” scribe Scott Snyder co-writes the first issue with frequent collaborator James Tiny IV, while also acting as head writer for the entire series. Ray Fawkes, Jonathan Layman, and Tim Seeley, are credited as contributors, and will each write future weekly installments. With this many cooks in the kitchen, it’s quite impressive that the issue feels very streamlined and focused. At only 20 pages in length, the issue is very well paced, with a great balance of character and action moments. The series presents itself as a more street level view of the city, harkening back to the seminal “Gotham Central”, and placing the focus on the police is a very smart way to differentiate “Eternal” from the many Bat-books on the market. The conflict between the corrupt and less-corrupt cops manages to avoid traditional cliches, and presents on intriguingly grey view of the Gotham’s protectors.
When a weekly series was first announced, and one set in Gotham to boot, it had the potential to be very gimmicky. Instead the first issue of “Eternal” makes it clear that the creators are actually trying to do something that is different. The choice of villain seems to reflect this goal, as Professor Pyg is far from being one of Batman’s most famous adversaries. It would have been easy for the authors to plug in Bane, Scarecrow, or Two-Face and gets some big headlines, but the modern and downright strange choice of Pyg suggests that they have more peculiar intentions for the series. The opening and closing bookend scenes featuring a bloodied Bruce Wayne strapped to the Bat-signal are definitely attention grabbing, if a bit typical of flashfowards to dystopic Gotham.
Jason Fabok is a relatively new addition in a long line of Gotham artist, but he has quickly made a name for himself with his year long collaboration with Jonathan Layman on “Detective Comics”. As with the large writing team, the rapid production pace means that Fabok will only draw the first three issues, all while under a heck of a deadline. Despite the large amount of pressure, Fabok’s art doesn’t appear rushed or haphazard. His style does fall on the more traditional side of things, so the issue is not out to reinvent the visual wheel here. Fabok’s Gotham is realistic and gritty, keeping with the New 52 house style, but the artist’s experience on “Detective” has given him plenty of practice with the back alleys and underground passageways of Gotham. The result is art that remains visually interesting, despite the abundance of grit at DC right now.
The issue takes place at night, and almost entirely underground, so Fabok doesn’t really get the opportunity to show off with fancy or colorful backgrounds. The issue’s explosive climax, however, allows him to draw a number of emotional and harrowing scenes. While it’s normally Batman who gets raging and screaming closeups, seeing regular people, and Batman’s allies, in such terror and anguish is very effective. The unexpected emotion sets it apart from the frequent scenes of destruction in Batman comics, and Fabok’s art adds a tremendous amount of depth to the issue.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy. What could have been a gimmick actually appears to be something different and intriguing in the Bat-universe. Tune in next week to see if Batman gets out of this one!
