lorien13's review
5.0
HOLY WOW THIS IS AWESOME.
Okay, okay, I need to type clearly and fangirl less, I get it. *ahem*
Batman Eternal is Batman at it's finest. While New 52 kicked off with Court of Owls, which was phenomenal, but this is one of the greatest trilogies in Batman History. I've said it's up there with Hush and The Long Halloween, and boy I meant it.
Batman really has no clue what's going on, and it's not until the last quarter of the book that I figured it out, but really, what you can guess isn't even right. There's one hint but it's not much of a hint cuz there's so many hints flying at you, and EVERY MEMBER of the Rogue's Gallery is flying around causing mayhem. It takes every member of the Bat Family and then some to keep Gotham from collapsing and more than one character wonders if they'll survive.
The hundreds of twists each bind-up goes through is INSANE, and I just can't tell what's going where and what's happening. It's brilliant and beautiful, and more than once I had to put the book down and remember breathe as the action and scenes took my breath away. This is fantastic and every Batman fan needs to read this. Seriously, New 52 has outdone itself and created a comic for the ages.
Okay, okay, I need to type clearly and fangirl less, I get it. *ahem*
Batman Eternal is Batman at it's finest. While New 52 kicked off with Court of Owls, which was phenomenal, but this is one of the greatest trilogies in Batman History. I've said it's up there with Hush and The Long Halloween, and boy I meant it.
Batman really has no clue what's going on, and it's not until the last quarter of the book that I figured it out, but really, what you can guess isn't even right. There's one hint but it's not much of a hint cuz there's so many hints flying at you, and EVERY MEMBER of the Rogue's Gallery is flying around causing mayhem. It takes every member of the Bat Family and then some to keep Gotham from collapsing and more than one character wonders if they'll survive.
The hundreds of twists each bind-up goes through is INSANE, and I just can't tell what's going where and what's happening. It's brilliant and beautiful, and more than once I had to put the book down and remember breathe as the action and scenes took my breath away. This is fantastic and every Batman fan needs to read this. Seriously, New 52 has outdone itself and created a comic for the ages.
dominicangirl's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cdkamat's review
4.0
3.5
The complete eternal story is a bit too long with a lot of threads. This volume is a good end to the story. The villain reveal does not disappoint. Vol. 2 is still the best of lot, probably because it is short and has a much more contained storyline.
The complete eternal story is a bit too long with a lot of threads. This volume is a good end to the story. The villain reveal does not disappoint. Vol. 2 is still the best of lot, probably because it is short and has a much more contained storyline.
howaverage's review
4.0
I won this book from a goodreads giveaway.
Enjoy excellent volume in the Batman Eternal series. One of DC's best at the time.
Enjoy excellent volume in the Batman Eternal series. One of DC's best at the time.
apageinthestacks's review
5.0
Amazing conclusion to a great series. Can't wait for Batman & Robin Eternal.
19lindsey89's review
3.0
I don’t even know what to say at the end of this monster series... It had some pretty great moments, but they were buried by red herring after red herring. And then in the end, I had no clue who the main villain was. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I guess I wasn’t a big enough fan to get it.
If they cut out all of the filler, this might have been an excellent series.
I also kept expecting Dick and Damian to show up. But Dick is Agent Greyson at this point, and Damian is... dead? But they are in Batman and Robin Eternal... Following continuity is impossible.
If they cut out all of the filler, this might have been an excellent series.
I also kept expecting Dick and Damian to show up. But Dick is Agent Greyson at this point, and Damian is... dead? But they are in Batman and Robin Eternal... Following continuity is impossible.
geewhizabbygee's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
disniq's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I like the conclusion but this one definitely felt dragged out. We go from vol 1 and 2 having one or two main villains to jamming every possible one in here and not in a good way. The batfam aren't really utilised even though Jason, Tim, Babs, Luke and Harper are all there while the city is falling apart and apparently doing nothing? Also I'm not sure if they just screwed up their own timeline again or if I missed a link somewhere, but where's Damian?
Spoiler
the cluemaster twist and batman as an ideal not just a guysherpawhale's review
4.0
Oh me, oh my!
So, disclosure, I got behind last October or November on almost all my comics, aside from Batman and Catwoman. I read all of this book pretty much in one go, and I think it was stronger for it. To be honest, there was not enough material in this series to stretch out over a year. I think it benefited from the long-running mystery of just who is the big bad (loved the reveal; it was perfect), but at the sacrifice of just wanting it to be over with. I follow a few review sites that were actually keeping up with the book on a weekly basis, and I know they were getting antsy. So the volume is the way to go.
Overall, favorite interactions in the series:
Selina and Killer Croc. It was great to see Selina step up and head off in a new direction (her new book by Genevieve Valentine is excellent, do give that a look) that really seems like a natural fit. And Killer Croc is a personal favorite underrated villain, and while I don't think he quite got his chance to shine, I think Tim Seeley did wonders with his tenous partnership with Selina.
Teen Batfamily. While I missed Dick Grayson's place in all of this, seeing Harper and Tim and Stephanie and Jason and Barbara was great. Kinda wish there was a specific book about the Batfamily, since they mostly all have their own books now.
The Spectre and Batwing. I wasn't particularly enjoying this arc, but after reading Gotham by Midnight and this last third of Eternal, I started really digging their interactions.
Julia Pennyworth was also a welcome addition/return. She adds a new dynamic to the cave and its stronger for it.
Bruce/Batman himself was kind of meh in this story, his typical surly, determined self. I could have used a bit more than the typical "drive Batman to the brink; oh, I can't touch him right now, he has to be at his peak."
Overall, I'm glad I read Eternal. I'm sure there's already something big in progress to pick up the pieces. My wish, if that's what going to happen, is that they focus on more personal stories and arcs that can be wrapped up in 5 issues or so, no more than 10 at most. Less big mystery, more ground focus. Despite that, it was pretty awesome to finally see the reveal after a year and it was someone who you would not expect. Pick up for that, if for nothing else.
So, disclosure, I got behind last October or November on almost all my comics, aside from Batman and Catwoman. I read all of this book pretty much in one go, and I think it was stronger for it. To be honest, there was not enough material in this series to stretch out over a year. I think it benefited from the long-running mystery of just who is the big bad (loved the reveal; it was perfect), but at the sacrifice of just wanting it to be over with. I follow a few review sites that were actually keeping up with the book on a weekly basis, and I know they were getting antsy. So the volume is the way to go.
Overall, favorite interactions in the series:
Selina and Killer Croc. It was great to see Selina step up and head off in a new direction (her new book by Genevieve Valentine is excellent, do give that a look) that really seems like a natural fit. And Killer Croc is a personal favorite underrated villain, and while I don't think he quite got his chance to shine, I think Tim Seeley did wonders with his tenous partnership with Selina.
Teen Batfamily. While I missed Dick Grayson's place in all of this, seeing Harper and Tim and Stephanie and Jason and Barbara was great. Kinda wish there was a specific book about the Batfamily, since they mostly all have their own books now.
The Spectre and Batwing. I wasn't particularly enjoying this arc, but after reading Gotham by Midnight and this last third of Eternal, I started really digging their interactions.
Julia Pennyworth was also a welcome addition/return. She adds a new dynamic to the cave and its stronger for it.
Bruce/Batman himself was kind of meh in this story, his typical surly, determined self. I could have used a bit more than the typical "drive Batman to the brink; oh, I can't touch him right now, he has to be at his peak."
Overall, I'm glad I read Eternal. I'm sure there's already something big in progress to pick up the pieces. My wish, if that's what going to happen, is that they focus on more personal stories and arcs that can be wrapped up in 5 issues or so, no more than 10 at most. Less big mystery, more ground focus. Despite that, it was pretty awesome to finally see the reveal after a year and it was someone who you would not expect. Pick up for that, if for nothing else.