MICHAEL DAVIS WORLD

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“Batman: Eternal #1” by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld

April 20, 2014 Marc Fishman 0 Comments

download (1)Written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV. Consulting writers Ray Fawkes, John Layman, and Tim Seeley.  Art by Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson.

I knew it’d take Scott Snyder for me to be swayed towards the light. For those following along? I’ve made mine Marvel more than the New52 for a while now. When you’re facing an atrocity like ‘Aquaman and the Others’ as I’d done last week? I was near out of patience for DC Comics. But, I saw good ole’ Scotty Snyder, and I thought “why not one last shot?” Suffice to say, I’m glad I placed the bet. Once again Batman remains perhaps the single bright spot on that side of the racks. “Batman: Eternal” is yet-another Bat-book that proves the weight and worth of the character; this time perhaps through the lens of those who surround him. Or so I thought. The introduction scene in the book, got me all kinds of excited. Of course not long after that, dark clouds began to form. Soldier on, I say.

 

I’ve no idea (nor am I looking it up) if this is to be another ongoing title, replacing an older one, or is in fact a mini-series. As presented? It certainly feels like a mini-series. We start, as with so much fiction these days, a little further down the line. Batman, uncowled, crucified on his signal, being monologued on something fierce. Behind him, Gotham, a burning and smoldering mess. Cue the title card, and a return tothe present. Professor Pyg, the new play-toy of seemingly too many writers of recent Bat-lore, is flying a bi-plane and firing needles of drugs on unsuspecting children. Because the internet, I assume. Chief Jim Gordon protects them from the onslaught of syringe-fire. Batman swoops in, and we’re off to the races.

Counter-pointed to the action, young Jason Bard starts his first night on the GCPD. Seems Jimbo recruited him from Detroit (which by now I guess is just a stand in for ‘Other Crime-Riddled City’), and let’s just assume it’s because he’s got a good soul. Of course it doesn’t take long for another GothCop to chime in on how ‘Gordon doesn’t get this city’… blah blah blah. Not to digress much here kiddos, but seriously… does this whole “Gotham is a corrupt cess pool, and only Gordon can save it” have to be hit on with every new iteration of Bat-book? As much as the well-drawn action enticed me into the book, it’s this early scene that started to feel like a piece of gristle between my teeth.

Of course it’s not long afterwards, we get to the pivotal scene, I assume, of this whole arc. Gordon fires his gun to disarm a fleeing assailant. But the man wasn’t armed in the first place. And the transformer box behind him was seemingly off as well. But it wasn’t. Explosions. Sparks. Chaos. And in comes a pair of trains that play patty-cake for all to see. No idea how many people are hurt, dead, or dying. Gordon, white knight that he is, admits his confused guilt, and cue the end credits. Next episode: James Gordon, Public Enemy #1.

Now, some of you will be angry I spoiled the whole book. Don’t be bothered by it. If any of that plot knocked you out of your socks? Send a self-addressed and stamped envelope to Marc Alan Fishman c/o ‘I don’t read much, and screw you’, 1060 W. Addison St, Chicago, Illinois. I’ll replace your socks without fail. The biggest mystery to me with Eternal is why it’s taking 2 writers, and 3 consulting writers to produce a book that feels like crib notes from any number of previous Batman stories! My most innocent hope lay in the notion that perhaps this was merely the predictably schlocky beginning to a much deeper and satisfying who-dun-it that leaves our caped crusader left with nothing but a burning city.Or maybe Snyder is slowly running out of blocks to smash into asunder.

Scott Snyder has built a career, as of late, by the deconstruction of Batman. From his time on Detective Comics, with Dick Grayson temporarily donning the cowl, through his Court of Owls, Death of the Family, and then Year Zero arcs. A common thread through all of them, far as I can tell, is the continual drive to push Batman down to near nothingness – to remove all hope, and leave him a broken mess that only seems to win the day through sheer force of will alone. Much like Geoff Johns though, I’m tempted after reading yet-another beginning to what appears to be a terribly grey ending, to wave a white flag. The comic book industry these days seems to find a single cash pinata, and proceeds to whack it until even the candy is crushed beyond recognition. DC’s boner over epic arcs by this point is just sad to me. I’m not even sure if staff members know how to tell a single story in 20 or so pages any more. If I gave them 32, might we get a lil’ closer?

Ultimately “Batman: Eternal” is another punch on Scott Snyder’s Bat-Dance Card. The stakes are never higher, the depths we’ll sink to will never be lower. The artists Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson deliver a grim and gritty set of visuals to match the dark plot and script. As a complete package, the book thus far is only going through the motions. After a decade of Bruce Timm perfection on TV, and then the strong but insane arcs of Grant Morrison have given way to Snyder’s now-near-patented God-Damned-Batman. Not quite a Frank Miller caricature yet, but well on his way. With this story revolving around Jim Gordon though – along with a cover that details the long cast list that lives in Gotham– perhaps there’s more than meets the eye to this opening salvo of exposition. Well, Mr. Snyder? You set your stage, and the production feels eerily similar to others. I hope your next issue does more than the first to keep me from feeling eternally struck with deja vu.

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