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A review by iffer
Batman Eternal, Volume 1 by Scott Snyder, Tim Seeley
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this, but it's a hot mess. There are so many (kind of) intertwined storylines, Bat family members, and villains, flipped through so quickly, like someone is scrolling through an analog radio (if you can remember those), that it's hard to concentrate on anything. The quality is also all over the place, because, although the entire story was conceived by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV, they didn't write all of the scripts; also, the art in some issues is better than others.
There were certain storylines that held my attention that I wished had more time, such as those of Jim Gordon and Alfred, but there were other parts that I could've done without, like all the supernatural bits, and what felt like an excessive number of pages of Barbara/Batgirl being on an irrational rampage. (We get it already; she'll do anything to exonerate her father and kick anyone's butt.) For a Batman title, it also seemed like Batman was merely the glue to hold the story strands together rather than a character in a title with his name in it.
Although the stories were loosely tied together, with some effort at transitions, and labels of time and place for clarity, even after 480 pages, a clear picture doesn't emerge. Although this could be due to the fact that there is still more story to tell, I still felt like there should've been a little bit more closure, even if there is a larger, very ambitious, overarching story arc for Batman Eternal.
P.S. If I weren't already somewhat familiar with the Bat family and associated villains, I might have become completely lost and frustrated. On the other hand, veteran Batman/DC fans might enjoy that basically everyone gets at least a cameo.
Thanks to Goodreads and DC comics for the Goodreads giveaway copy.
There were certain storylines that held my attention that I wished had more time, such as those of Jim Gordon and Alfred, but there were other parts that I could've done without, like all the supernatural bits, and what felt like an excessive number of pages of Barbara/Batgirl being on an irrational rampage. (We get it already; she'll do anything to exonerate her father and kick anyone's butt.) For a Batman title, it also seemed like Batman was merely the glue to hold the story strands together rather than a character in a title with his name in it.
Although the stories were loosely tied together, with some effort at transitions, and labels of time and place for clarity, even after 480 pages, a clear picture doesn't emerge. Although this could be due to the fact that there is still more story to tell, I still felt like there should've been a little bit more closure, even if there is a larger, very ambitious, overarching story arc for Batman Eternal.
P.S. If I weren't already somewhat familiar with the Bat family and associated villains, I might have become completely lost and frustrated. On the other hand, veteran Batman/DC fans might enjoy that basically everyone gets at least a cameo.
Thanks to Goodreads and DC comics for the Goodreads giveaway copy.