Gotham is going back to Hell and Falcone is looking to cease the opportunity of taking back the city.
If you haven't already; here's the prelude, issue 1, and issue 2 reviews! The year long story continues! Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley, and Jason Fabok journey back into Gotham's soul to continue with this epic story.
In this issue we get to see how Gotham is slipping back into the hands of Carmine Falcone. While he isn't the larger threat that Batman will have to face soon; we know that Batman is going to have a huge problem with getting his city back and his reputation!
The writers did a really good job with this 3rd issue. Issues 1-2 were ground work issues. They were created solely for the purpose to strengthen this one particular issue. We know already that Gordon is being accused of manslaughter and that Carmine Falcone is back to claim Gotham City; those were two main things that happened in the prior issues. However now, the writers are like "ok guys, we need to boost the future issues; so lets really dig hard", that is how the writers treated this 3rd issue.
They did everything right! From the characters to the story elements, we get to see Batman slowly losing his grip on his city. And that's a beautiful thing. Seeing how (assumedly) one guy is taking away Batman's city and turning the cops on him; really adds to the mystery of where this series is going and what's going to happen in the coming issues. If the writers can pull that off without it seeming dry or copy-and-pasted from a story arc, or series, that did it better; then you can know that these writers are doing their BEST to create a Batman story that appeases to the things that each reader has when reading a Batman story.
For me personally, I like a Batman story that has a compelling story that makes sense in the world of Batman. And doesn't have me scratching my head and saying "um, how in the world does that work -- when -- ah nevermind", thankfully the writers have hit this 3rd issue's story hard and makes me excited for what is next! That is what is great about this story arc! Other readers find something that appeals to the Batman story that THEY want, and in the end, everyone is happy!
One thing I'm really looking forward to is; Stephanie Brown! Stephanie as many fans know, has not been in the New 52 since it's conception. Thankfully now, she finally returns! I like how the writers helped create the story to make it feel like Stephanie Brown was always in this world of Gotham; just waiting for her chance to make an appearance! Having Batman: Eternal's story involve a bunch of villains and a Gotham that is apparently going back to Hell; no thanks to Falcone, it really makes sense for Stephanie to have criminal connections via her father. So it's really going to be interesting how the writers play around with this idea and how she'll eventually join Batman in the coming months.
Another thing the writers should be credited for is taking out unnecessary characters. Obviously we are going to have a crap load of characters between now and issue 60; so keeping each character in every-single-issue would make it feel crowded. While having a bunch of characters in every single issue has been done before, I'm holding my breath that each new character that is introduced doesn't take away from the story. Ultimately, I want the characters to have a meaningful purpose in the series; howeverI don't want to forget about characters like Jim Gordon for example (whom is in jail). I do feel like Jim Gordon has been forgotten just a little bit with the big events of this issue, however I feel like the writers might go down a path that adds too many characters at once and they forget to have their connections [well rooted] in the story.
Jason Fabok's artwork has been perfect for this series. It's helps draw the picture in our minds that goes along with the writers' story. Fabok continues to do an outstanding job and I'm glad that he can capture Gotham's look perfectly.
Batman: Eternal is still new and can be read at any point for now. However, if you don't jump on soon; you'll miss the opportunity of a great story. So far you can pick any issue and understand the events that are happening; so I recommend you take that opportunity and pick up any or all issues that have been released so far. You won't be disappointed as this series is doing a great job at creating a Batman story that appeals to us all in some way. 5 out of 5.
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