Batman: Eternal #26

Another week, another good read to complete the first half of this epic run. Are you ready for the rest? Read Full Review

Batman: Eternal #26 gives us Hush's origin story and so much more.  Tynion gives us more Bat Family moments and Spoiler is in more trouble, but it's what Hush does that will stick with you after you read the last page.  I wasn't a fan of R. M. Guera's art, but overall, I liked this issue. Read Full Review

The art in this book was solid. Some cool page layouts including the declaration of martial law in Gotham, and the Hush flashback, which had some great coloring. Real highlight of the issue. Read Full Review

This week were reminded of Alfreds importance to the team and how much Hush really knows about Batman. Bruce isnt alone in his mission to save Gotham, but the odds are still very much stacked against him. Read Full Review

Batman Eternal is really turning into a story that will be remembered for a very long time. I am really liking the direction that this title is taking. I am overall enjoying the inclusion of the entire Bat-Family in this book. Stephanie Brown continues to be a high point of the series. Overall, this book was average but not every issue in a weekly series can be jam packed and perfect. Read Full Review

They both head back to the cave, trying to figure out where Tommy would be, when we see what's going on at the hospital… Alfred is gone. Tommy Elliot has had him taken to a facility that will suit his needs – Arkham Asylum. Where Joker's Daughter has found him. Could this be the reason Arkham is moved to Wayne Manor? So Bruce can keep watch and protect Alfred? Or does Tommy do it to torment him? We will probably find out next week. Read Full Review

The BatFamily working together, plenty of humor, and the all too realistic prospect of government sanctionedsurveillance and the loss of basic civil rights. Sounds like a pretty awesome issue, and it well could have been, except for the fact that the art was sub-par and the new Hush origin story was even more so. Basically, there was as much to like, as there was not to. I really wanted to go a lot harder on this issue than I did, so that five is me being generous. I have not seen Eternal deliver more than two “bad” issues in a row so far, so here is to hoping that the next one hits it out of the park! Read Full Review

Batman: Eternal #25 does a terrible job of changing Hush's backstory, taking his jealousy and twisting it into something obsessive and creepy. Despite this there were some interesting developments that have me intrigued for the next issue. Nevertheless I can't recommend this issue on its own. Read Full Review

Overall, while there are several great moments " especially when the family rallies around Batman in an incredibly inspirational way " they ultimately fall short compared to the rest of the issue. Read Full Review

The thing that strikes me the most about Batman Eternal is that it's the best argument for why the Arkham video games should stay video games. Those games have basically all these same problems: weird masterminds that don't make sense, horrible villain redesigns, story points that are essentially less meaningful retreads of Batman's greatest hits, but that's okay because it's a video game. A game can work on other levels beyond narrative and character design, levels like emergence and agency, two qualities the Arkham games have in spades, partially because of how much of a pastiche their Batman aesthetic is. Comics don't have those qualities, they rise or fall on narrative, depth of ambition, innovation, and character, and Batman Eternal sucks at all of those elements. There's no reason anyone should be reading Batman Eternal instead of the myriad of other, better stories it borrows from: not recommended. Read Full Review

Batman Eternal has descended into madness, but not the madness the creative team is expecting. The comic is just a mess. None of the plot threads tie together, no time is being spent on the characters, and the art has just gone off the rails. This is a series that wishes it was some big, grand Bat-tapestry, but really it's just a failure at basic storytelling. Read Full Review

TomSQUAREy

Mar 25, 2015

Good stuff!!

WhiteLantern

Oct 02, 2014

As much as I've loved every issue of Eternal so far, this one doesn't do as well as the first 25. The script is fine, and even great is some areas, with some great storytelling. While the reboot of Hush's origin is changed from what Jeph Loeb originally wrote, it's an interesting take on the character, if a bit weird. The characterization is done really well, and the story moves along at a good pace. What drags this issue down is the artwork. R.M Guerra isn't a bad artist, but I think the strain of doing a weekly comic (and pulling back to back weeks on the series) resulted in a lot of rushing, leaving a lot of the details needing a lot more work. Also, Tommy as a kid looks like the kid on the cover of Mad. It's weird. I still recommend the issue, but don't expect artwork up to par with the cover, or previous issues. more

Batfan

Oct 01, 2014

Interesting progression in the story and some cool but probably pointless changes to the villain's back story are not enough to redeem the atrocious artwork.