Batman Eternal

Red Hood spills beers, Jason Bard's almost smears, and there's a whole lot of tears, in this twenty-eighth episode of DC comics' ongoing Batman saga. Jason Bard pays a price for his betrayal, Croc loses a friend, Batman arrives too late, and Catwoman gives in to the family business. I mean, moreso, I suppose. This issue will see big consequences in Catwoman's solo title, and I'm sure probably some influence on Batgirl's new arc.

"I'm Batman and I hang out in graveyards."

Ahhh, it's Schwarzwald! BIG O!

Selina rejects, Steph directs, Barbara aims to correct, and Croc? Croc just wrecks. All this happens in this twenty-seventh installment of the weekly Batman escapade. A new player called the Ferryman, or "Mr. Bone", appears, hoping to punish Catwoman for past encounters. We also see the return of a Grant Morrison villain, Eduardo Flamingo, a face-eating maniac with flamboyant tendencies. But the bulk of the issue deals with a crime boss looking to leverage what a child knows about Catwoman to get his own vengeance against her. But honestly, he's not a very compelling character.

Bruce's wounds gush, the origin of Hush, and Steph's bravado is crushed, all features of this twenty-sixth entry in DC's weekly Batman series. Batman's about as good at keeping track of Alfred as he is the evidence he gave Jason Bard to clear Jim Gordon, because damn, poor ol' Al ends this issue in some deep trouble. But Batman is a busy guy taking on the chaos all around the city thanks to Hush and Bard's machinations. Will Batman find his nemesis in time to stop him from his greater plan? And more importantly, is he even the grand mastermind behind this all?

Hush taunts, Harper vaunts, and Bard plays commandant in this twenty-fifth chapter of DC Comics' weekly Batman affair. With Alfred hospitalized and the city in chaos, our Caped Crusader makes a bold move, but his emotional state causes him to slip up. Meanwhile, Julia discovers how frustrating playing Bruce's operator is, Tim and Jason come this close to bonding, and Babs is confused as to why her father hasn't been cleared yet. The Bat-Family is gathering in Gotham, but is Hush too many steps ahead by now?

Spoiler makes jumps, Cluemaster's a chump, and Batman's in a slump in this thrilling twenty-fourth installment of DC's weekly Batman tale. Behind the scenes of Hush's master plan we see the rest of the C-listers work their magic to escalate the disaster, but one plucky purple pubescent stuns her super bad dad as well as me in her efforts to derail his part in the greater scheme at work. Am I really reading a comic with Stephanie Brown in it and actually enjoying her in it? Wha? How is that a thing?

Pictured: Awesomeness

What's new, pussy cat? Woah, woah, wh--oh, you're dead.

Selina's feeling shitty, failed to save a kitty, born to rule the city, and things aren't looking pretty, all in this twenty second entry in DC's weekly Bat-epic, which sees The Architect's inadvertent (?) victory, Jason Bard making his next move, and Selina crawling through a quarter mile of poo-smelling foulness I can't even imagine. (Maybe I just don't want to.) Nguyen is full-on Nguyen with his uniquely stylized art and it's almost like I'm reading Heart of Hush again. Well, actually I have been rereading that recently, coincidentally.

Gotham's pickin' up bad vibrations, buildings are getting excitations, Julia has a shocked sensation, and Hush is feeling such elation in this twenty-second installment of DC's weekly Batman yarn. The crazed suited terror, The Architect is back to his old "Got to destroy Gotham landmarks for my dishonored family's honor!" using what is essentially the Patlabor: The Movie scheme. Julia is shocked and dismayed that Bruce Wayne is, in fact, the vigilante called The Bat-Man, and Hush does another "stepping out of the shadows" thing that makes me think he's just desperate to ape Batman's style at this point. What's next, the Hush Signal?

The issue is just as much awesome as this cover, a rarity in comics.

The court adjourned, a long time villain returned, information was learned, and the plot took a huge turn in the alcohol-aged installment of DC's weekly Batman hubbub. Continuity probably took one on the noggin, given that some of the events the villains present here happened with characters either no longer present in the DC universe (as in, never existed according to new continuity) or are much different. Are we all sure Batman's only been around for six years? Ah, hand wave it, because this is the best issue in a long time, and it might be the best issue ever.