Batman Eternal #3

The Good

The one thing you cannot say about this series is nothing happens. Starting out with the first thing people will likely be talking about, we have the return of Stephanie Brown. While we've seen her in BATMAN #28, this is her proper "first" appearance in the New 52. It's a great introduction and gives newer readers a good first introduction to the character.

The main focus of this issue is what's going down in Gotham City. With the recent disaster and Jim Gordon's role in it, there's a lot hanging in the balance, especially with the GCPD. Seeing characters like Harvey Bullock, Maggie Sawyer, and Jason Bard step further into the spotlight is great. These characters rarely get the chance to fully shine when the focus is usually on Batman. With the revelation of the return of another character last issue, Batman is on a very specific mission. There's a quick escalation as what's in store for Gotham is becoming evident.

Even though we saw cameos by other members of the Bat-Family, it was nice to not see them forced into this issue. It's clear they will all have their roles to play and it's cool to see each piece of the story allowed to play out naturally.

Jason Fabok continues to deliver in the art department. When did he start working on this? He manages to capture the right tone as things continue to get darker in Gotham.

The Bad

It's understandable that as a weekly series, we're going to see more happen at a quicker pace. There was the fear that we'd see things play out too slowly in order to accommodate the weekly schedule. It's almost the opposite. Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and the others are not holding back. It is exciting to think about where this story is headed, thanks to BATMAN #28, but the shift in the power structure feels like it's happening really really fast. This isn't to say we'd want weeks and weeks/issues and issues to wait for something to happen but the atmosphere in Gotham has quickly changed.

The Verdict

Gotham City has always had its share of problems and the writers of this series are cranking them up. In the third issue of this weekly series, we're getting to see a lot happen without any lag time. There is the slight feeling that things are escalating a little too quickly but we can easily assume the writers have a lot of story to tell, which is a great thing. New characters are seen and there is a big power shift in Gotham. Batman is going to have his hands full and will definitely need some help from the rest of the Bat-Family. Don't dismiss this as a simple filler weekly comic. Things are happening in big ways. This is definitely affecting the Bat-Universe and shouldn't be missed.

I can't believe that it slipped my mind that this issue was coming out today! Oh well, even at issue 3 I'm in love with this series.

Loving this book! Two thoughts:

1. It kind of annoyed me how everybody kept reminding everybody else about their ranks: "That's captain to you son... you can call me lieutenant... thanks for that officer"

2. I've decided that the Penguin is actually the smartest out of ALL the Batman rogues. I mean he's clearly living the high life off of his criminal enterprises, he's got most of the city in his pocket, most other big criminals won't mess with him and Batman leaves him alone as long as he feeds him some info every now and again. As far as Gotham criminals go the guys got it made.

@jonny_anonymous: mind = blown.

It's weirding me out seeing a review for this every week. I can't believe we're already on issue 3.

Was anyone else bothered by the fact that Mayor Hady and Major Forbes stepped forward too soon as villains? (in the eyes of the characters, I mean) They could have at least used a bit more subterfuge. Do they really think it's a great idea to let Bullock, Sawyer, and Bard know they're in Falcone's pocket? If the characters don't realize by next issue, they'd have to be pretty stupid.

@timelordscience said:

You should probably spoiler tag some of this stuff. As to whether or not it was too soon, I don't really think so. They made it pretty clear from the first issue that Forbes was going to be a villain. He was pretty bravenly outspoken about how he thought the GCPD should be running.

@timelordscience: this was what I referring to. Things are happening quickly. That's good and bad. I'm sure they have a lot of story they want to tell.

3 issues in and Batman Eternal is already exceeding expectations. When they lowered the boom in this issue, I realized this was going to be wild ride. Also Fabok is doing an incredible job.

@kennyshat: thanks for pointing that out, I fixed it. And yeah, I agree it was obvious to the reader right away, but the extent of his "villainy" wasn't revealed to the characters at first and probably should have remained a bit less obvious to them for a bit longer. If I were Falcone, I would be pissed.

@g_man: Sorry, I wasn't positive if you were referring to that specific instance. I agree, it's a good and a bad thing, because at least the comic isn't dull. We'll have to see how it plays out, I guess. I don't want to jump on the writers too hard too soon.

Skimmed the review as comics in England aren't out till tomorrow (Thursday) because of Easter which sucks but I wouldn't mind if this book focused mores GCPD

can't wait for the red robin issue

@g_man: As someone who reads manga comics pacing feels ridiculously slow to me. So it nice to see nice to see a quicker book. I'm sure by the end of this story you'll be used to it.

Happy to see Steph is back in the fold, I'm wondering who is it that hiding in the shadows that planned all of this, or even what's he planning. It's happening fast yes but I figure it like this, comic time most faster, days and hours to them is minutes here so yeah. Besides you don't beat Batman by taking your time, You do it quick, fast and in numbers. All right under his pointy nose before he has a chance to think of what is going on around him and how the puzzles fit.

I'm predicting I'm gonna be bored with this series very soon. Weekly comics are too much for me.

This issue was sweeeet! 3 issues in and loving it. Fabok draws a great looking Penguin.

i was bother by tow things in this issue one Steph getting away was way to easy i mean we are suppose to see these c-list bat villains as a treat but a little girl got away from them and second what the hell has Maggie done in the 6 years she has been in Gotham that makes her the next in line to be Commissioner i mean Strobe has done more in the course of the books. The most Maggie has done has been being Batwoman girlfriend

I had not planned on getting into this weekly series, but I cracked this past weekend and got the first two issues. I'm glad I did. Picked up this one today and added it to my pull list. It's definitely been fast out of the gate, but so far, so good.

@obsidian_raindrop1: Not sure if you were aware, I've read plenty of manga too. I actually help start AnimeVice.com when it launched at Whiskey Media. I added several pages to the database and even posted several news pieces.

Great issue, as always (I hope I can say that after a year's worth of comics). I love how fast paced this is, we're diving right into the thick of it. Nothing is being held back.

It is easier to pump out Manga because they have teams of artists draw the comics and they do not include coloring or an excessive amount of shading. Additionally, it is perfectly acceptable in Manga to have a blank background for several panels each page, where as in American Comics that is generally frowned upon. American comics usually rely on a single person to draw, a single person to ink and a single person to color. Most artists say they cannot do much more than a single comic a month, hence why we have monthly comics now-a-days. The only way Marvel (and presumably DC going forward) have the ability to pump out comics on a faster schedule (and maintain quality) is to give artists set story arcs to draw, then swap between two or three of them.

Good issue but I fear for the future of this series in that it might fall into a trap of too many story threads happening at once

How many issues is this going to be? 52? Damn i really like the series but i spend up to 30 dollars at the comic store a week i'm happy when some slow weeks come and i only have to spend like 15 then maybe get a book or try a new series but this is like a guranteed 3 dollars spent every week for another like 49 weeks? Or is it not 52 weeks?

Another excellent issue!

@scarletbatman: yes i know that I was just saying that i'm used to this kind of pacing for a book.