James Tynion IV

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Batman Eternal #41 Review

Hey, Tim… Tim… uh, you got a little something on your face…

A bird of blue debuts, nanomachines imbue, the Bat-Family looks screwed, and Steph gets out-kung-fu’d in this forty-first entry in DC’s ongoing weekly Batman parade. We finally see what that final push that makes Harper Batman’s newest partner is. We get the inclusion of yet another Batman rogue (who I should have seen coming), the comradarie and contentions both between Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon, and Jason Todd, and Harper’s fateful decision. What we don’t see, however, is Batman! Eh, it’s all right, we’ve seen a lot of him lately. read more

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Batman Eternal #40 Review

Batman plays in the snow, Selina’s car blows (up), there’s something Warren knows, and Corrigan makes Maxie glow in this fortieth issue of DC’s weekly Batman series. Even though the direction the story has taken is a major improvement, I still can’t help feeling the writers are dragging their feet here and there to fill in 52 weeks of content. They really could have combined most of what happened from this issue and the last one into one issue that was just a couple of pages longer, if at that. But this could just me being impatient while waiting for the big reveal of who’s behind it all (Lincoln March). read more

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Batman Eternal #39 Review

Subtle.

Riddler drops some hints, Batman might need a splint, and we see the death of print in this thirty-eighth canto in DC’s weekly Batman epic. The past few issues have been a really bumpy ride, with some unaddressed avenues in the storyline and some truly disgustingly terrible art. We saw how bastardized Bane could get, spent more time with that loser Jason Bard then I’d care to, and were thrown into the temple of Selina Kyle, who doesn’t jump rooftops anymore, preferring to stand around being boring, barking orders to gangland cronies. So, will this issue bring us back to the nanomachine virus, Jim Gordon’s situation, and the rise of Harper Row as Bluebird? Well… uh… no. But we do get the glaringly obvious references that should help us decipher the dastardly figure behind all this chaos! Because I totally hadn’t figured it out a long time ago, right? Well, at least we get The Riddler. The art’s not bad, either. Most of the time. read more

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Batman Eternal #38 Review

 

There’s a fight in a pit, Bane gets bit, and the artwork is awful shit in this thirty-eighth issue of DC’s weekly Batman (dis)appointment. Batman takes on several of his rogues gallery at the Willowwood Home for Future Villains, Croc gets vengeance for a previous slight, we see that Jim Gordon and The Lion still exist, and I die a little inside reading this once great series now completely in the shitter because of the meandering plot and horrendous artwork.

Fire the fucking terrible artist, DC. Fire this artist, out of a cannon, into the sun. Who the hell is this scribbler? This lopsided, off-model crap looks like the characters look the off-brand bootleg toys of the Batman series. That have been halfway melted under a heat lamp. This is some of the worst art I’ve seen in comics since Jon Bogdanove’s Superman comics in the 90s. It hurts my eyes to look at this. It’s so bad, I don’t even feel bad about hurting feelings saying this. There is no justification for art this bad. Oh, it’s the holidays, so let’s just have terrible art because nobody’s reading this month’s issues until the trades? Well… actually, that’s pretty clever, if that’s what they’re doing. But the art still sucks. At least the next issue looks like it might be a little better, artwise, with a new artist. read more

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Batman Eternal #37 Review

Selina needs new drapes, Batman hunts down the escaped, and the story loses shape in this thirty-seventh installment of DC’s weekly Batman jamboree. Batman’s just now getting to tracking down the Arkham inmates that remain at large after the asylum collapsed. I guess you can only look at Hush in that big fish bowl for so long before getting bored. Meanwhile, Selina is living the high life of criminal kingpin, Jason Bard is too little too late, and Batwing’s armor is haunted (yawn). It’s all very impressively unimpressive. read more

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Batman Eternal #36 Review

Dripping with blood, Bard’s relationship’s a dud, and his plans landed with a thud, even though Batman’s name’s still mud. All this and more in the thirty-sixth issue of DC’s weekly Batman series. It’s gratifying, satisfying, illuminating, and aggravating! Harper and Cullen! Red Robin! Red Hood! Babs’ new threads! And speaking of threads, what super villain burns at both ends, and counts Joker, Two-Face, and Scarecrow amongst friends? It’s our hipster-fashioned Sphinx as crafty as any lynx, Edward Nygma! read more

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Batman Eternal #35 Review

 

Jason Bard becomes a destroyer, Lucius Fox has a new employer, the Batmobile plows through a foyer, and Bruce Wayne could use a good lawyer in this thirty-fifth episode of DC’s weekly Batman serial. Things are crashing down badly for the Caped Crusader, who, despite help from Julia, is having a hard time keeping his head above water. Hush might be defeated, but his Bard is worse than his blight. They do a little Batman Returns retread and the Batmobile is remote controlled for chaos leaving Batman going fast and furious into oblivion. read more

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Batman Eternal #34 Review

Batman and Hush clash, Julia gets a trashed, and Bruce Wayne loses his cash, all in this thirty-fourth issue of DC’s weekly Batman hootnanny. This seemingly ends the Hush portion of the story, with the bandaged baddie’s defeat after several issues of encounters. However, things are only going to get worse for Batman because Hush’s plan to cut him off from his resources has been a resounding effect. The city has taken control of Wayne’s assets, Julia is down after being injured by Hush, Alfred grows ever wearier, and there’s an even more startling revelation. read more

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Batman Eternal #33 Review

An arsenal up in smoke, Wayne Enterprises might go broke, and Julia might croak in this thirty-second episode of DC’s weekly Batman free-for-all (but you have to buy it). This does seem a little padded out since it only concentrates on one branch of the story, but everything in here is pretty solid material, and it’s good to see that Batman is actually a character in the book with his name. in the title. Though it seems like the real star here is one Julia Pennyworth, even if she may have bitten off more than she can chew. read more

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Batman Eternal #32 Review

The key is blood, Bard should have gone "thud", and the Batsuit has crud on this thirty-second chapter of DC’s weekly Batman hullabaloo. The new Commissioner of Gotham apparently hasn’t learned his lesson and is still working with Hush. Batwing is finally rescued from the hole that was once Arkham Asylum. Julia is reunited with her father. Finally, Hush exploits Batman’s own devices in a scheme to frame him. But the issue doesn’t feel too jam-packed with events. read more

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