Synopsis: The last time Deacon Blackfire took control of Gotham City, Batman nearly died…How will the city fare now that he wields unspeakable power?
This week’s issue of Eternal is better than last week’s, yet not up to par on some of the series’ best. Deacon Blackfire takes center stage for a (small) portion of this issue and just like that he’s gone. Batman gets to da choppa and one character’s story is put to rest….in peace.
If you read last week’s Arkham Manor (read my review here), you knew what you were getting yourself into this week. The only problem with the issue is it took 20 pages to get to what we already knew… Arkham Asylum is destroyed. That’s the end result, but I still don’t fully understand how it came to this, hence my dissatisfaction to this part of the Eternal epic. Hopefully, due to certain aspects I won’t reveal in case you haven’t read the issue, this story line is complete and we can move on. I really have not enjoyed the inclusion of the Spectre and/or Batwing. Maybe I’ve been Nolanized and just don’t care for the supernatural elements included in Batman stories these days. Yet, I can still enjoy Man-Bat, Killer Croc and other odd villains. I don’t get it.
Ray Fawkes again takes over scripting duties while Fernando Pasarin does the doodles. Again, Eternal continues to rock it at art. I love how they keep introducing us to newcomers that I will begin following on other books.
Overall, not a bad issue yet not a great one. But just when things are looking bad in Gotham, they are looking good for us.
Rating: 6.5/10
