Batman Eternal #1 begins with a shocking first page that tells you how this will all end. The thrill ride is how did Bruce get in this horrific state.
As part of the Dark Knight’s 75th Anniversary DC comics kicks off this year-long epic that will shatter the status quo of Batman and Gotham City. Batman #28 showed us major changes 6 months in the future including Selena Kyle ruling the Gotham underworld and holding Stephanie Brown hostage, Harper Row as new sidekick Bluebird, a medical crisis gripping the city and Alfred…where’s Alfred?
This week we saw the dark finale of an insane year ahead in Batman Eternal #1. Scott Snyder and James Tynion lead a team of all-star writers(Ray Fawkes, Tim Seeley) in this brand new weekly Batman series that promises to include nearly every character of Batman’s world and corner of Gotham City. If the first issue is any indication we’re in for a strange, thrilling trip.
Batman and Jim Gordon first appeared together in Detective Comics #27 75 years ago. In this first issue Bruce and Gordon are in a harrowing crisis trying to save lives but it’s Gordon’s life that will be changed forever by the final page.
I’m a huge fan of HUSH – the Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee year-long story that included every Bat-villan and ally. Batman Eternal feels similar yet darker and grittier thanks in part of Jason Fabok’s art.
At Emerald City Comicon a fan asked the Batman writers, “why would anybody want to live in Gotham City?”
This issue starts answering that question while exploring the rough politics inside Gotham City Police and sowing seeds for a possible conspiracy against Gordon and Batman.
With a title like Batman Eternal I suspect the architect of this year-long conspiracy against the Dark Knight is the immortal Ra’s Al Ghul. We’ll find out together. Snyder, Tynion and the team have thrown down the gauntlet, shown you the ending and dare you to join them. It’s a dare I can’t refuse.
Top talent at the top of their game, a game-changing story and the chance to explore every hero, villain, ally and dark corner of the greatest fictional city make Batman Eternal a fitting tribute to the immortal dark hero.
By Editor