Most people have heard the saying, “The
beginning is the end,” or have at least heard the Smashing Pumpkin’s song by
the same name. Needless to say, no truer words can be said about the first page
of “Batman Eternal” #1. Back in April, DC comics began its weekly series “Batman
Eternal,” which was followed by its second weekly series, “Futures End.” For
the sake of confusion, I’m just going to be talking about “Batman Eternal,” but
for those of you who have been hiding under a rock for the past 12 weeks, it
might be time to leave your Batcave and visit your local comic shop.
As I
mentioned before, within the first pages of “Batman Eternal” #1, we know
something is going to go terribly wrong in Gotham. The eerie seen of an
unmasked Batman, broken and beaten, chained to the Batsignal, with Gotham
ablaze in the background, can only hint that we are in for one heck of a year;
but hey, getting there is half the fun, right? Some may be thrown off by the
story because, although Batman plays a pivotal role, “Batman Eternal” involves
the entire Bat-Family. The premise so far, without spoiling it, is that Gordon
is caught on the wrong end of the law and it’s up to Batman and his partners
from all over the world to solve a mystery that could prove Gordon’s innocence.
Throw in the return of mob boss, Carmine Falcone, and the stakes are raised in
discovering what role he plays in Gordon’s prosecution.
For fans
of the Batman franchise so far, a weekly series involving the Caped Crusader is
a nice way to get your Batman fix while waiting on the monthly Batman titles to
release. Thankfully, “Batman Eternal,” is only priced at $2.99, which is
relatively cheap considering the average $3.99 price tag of other books. I
would recommend picking up the first 5 or 6 issues of “Batman Eternal” to at
least see if you like it, and then see if you are hooked or not. Personally,
where I stand with this book, I am really enjoying “Batman: Zero Year,” but
ever since the Death of the Family storyline, readers have been trapped in the
past with Batman in his earlier years. I much more prefer the mature Batman who
is experienced, and what’s great about Eternal, is that you can have the best
of both worlds. While Zero Year comes to a conclusion, you have Eternal to keep
you in the present, and the timelines will never cross.
(November solicitation for Batman. At least now we know why Gordon is in cuffs.)
At the
time of the submission of this article, we are already entering week 13 of “Batman
Eternal.” There is still plenty of time to grab the first couple of issues, and
for the collector, I wouldn’t be surprised to see, come week 52, that issue 1
might already go up in price. If issue 1 promises anything, this will be a
Batman story worth seeing how it plays out.
