Batman Eternal #4 – Review

By: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman, Ray Fawkes, Tim Seely (story), Dustin Nguyen (pencils), Derek Fridolfs (inks), John Kalisz (colors)

The Story: Never get between a girl and her dad.

The Review: The downside to a weekly comic is the same as its upside: getting four (or five, depending on the month) comics a month. You’re talking about a quad-/quintuple investment than your ordinary monthly comic. So it had better be good! I don’t mind if one issue is slower or less substantial than another, but I won’t be able to abide a weekly series if it’s badly or even just blandly written. Contrary to the impression I give on this site, I am not made of money.

That’s why I’m a little iffy about the multiple-writer situation on Batman Eternal. While I have the utmost confidence in Snyder’s plotting, I have less when it comes to his co-writers’ abilities to execute it. Having read the superhero works of Tynion (Talon), Layman (Detective Comics), Fawkes (Constantine), and having unceremoniously Dropped them after relatively brief periods of time, I’m naturally wary about the idea of reading them week after week. Unfortunately, this Layman-scripted issue does little to alleviate that concern.

Batman Eternal #3 – Review

By: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seely (story), Jason Fabok (art), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: When your dad spoils your fun, it’s only proper to spoil his back.

The Review: And now the moment of Batman Eternal I’ve been waiting for: the return of Stephanie Brown, a.k.a. the last pre-relaunch Batgirl. Of course, part of the charm that made her so popular (and thus her exclusion from the DCnU so reviled) was Bryan Q. Miller’s specific take on her, which was taking Buffy Summers, removing the angst, and tweaking up the playfulness. In a comic book world of increasing grimness, Stephanie was unbeatably upbeat—which made her special, damn it.

Excited as I am, I’m also a little apprehensive as to how she will fare under another writer’s pen. Right now, it’s difficult to say. What we see in this issue is not the confident, put-together Stephanie who wore the Batgirl mantle, but a Stephanie predating her more annoying Spoiler days. As such, much of her sparkling wit is replaced by your commonplace teenage sarcasm, both withering and not a little mean-spirited. Blowing off her mom’s concern about dropping in unexpectedly on her dad: “Oh, no! I’m going to spoil his puzzle night with his loser friends!”

Batman #28 – Review

By: Scott Snyder & James Tynion, IV (writers), Dustin Nguyen (pencils), Derek Fridolfs (inks), John Kalisz (colors) and Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: What’s Batman without a young assistant?

The Review (with SPOILERS): This is another of those interstitial issues of Batman where we get a guest artist to allow Greg Capullo to keep up the regular monthly schedule.  What I’ve enjoyed about these issues is how they’ve told us a coherent story of a young girl named Harper Row, how she’s come to know Batman and – in this issue – how she became the new Robin (or Robin-like character since they call her Bluebird).

I have a weird perspective on the Batman and Robin relationship because – with the advent of the New 52 – I went from reading ALL Batman titles to just the “main” Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo title.  I literally haven’t cracked the cover of any other Bat-book in two years.  I missed the Death of Damien, haven’t read the new iteration of Dick Grayson as Nightwing and haven’t seen this new Tim Drake in whatever title he is in.  Therefore, I haven’t seen a “Robin” in over two years.

And that’s sad because I’ve always enjoyed the Batman – Robin relationship.  So I am tickled to see Batman with a new protege to team-up with.  If Zero Year is supposed to be an origin story for Batman, it would be awfully incomplete without a “Robin”.  In fact, if you want to continue comparing Zero Year to Year One, the biggest flaw in Year One is that it neglects the importance of Robin.

Batgirl #2 – Review

By Brian Q. Miller (writer), Lee Garbett & Trevor Scott with Sandra Hope (artists), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Young Stephanie Nolan is breaking promises again, putting herself in over her head as she follows the trail of drug dealers in Devil’s Square and at Gotham U. Barbara Gordon has forced herself into Stephanie’s life at home and in costume, but doesn’t have much more luck than Stephanie’s mother at talking some sense into the girl.

What’s Good: Barbara Gordon is a strong adult figure who still kicks butt through her intelligence network into the underworld, her access to big-time resources like the Bat Cave, or by throwing the occasional battarang. Barbara is the perfect hero to tell Stephanie that this isn’t a game and point out that people will be out to kill her just for bragging rights. The art team does a great job at the mood of Gotham, the action scenes and the expressions; everything you need to tell a great Bat family story.

What’s Not So Good: This is less a flaw than perhaps a deliberate choice on the part of the writer, but the story is a bit jumpy. I found myself working to follow the plot threads as we went from one scene to the next.

In terms of character work, Stephanie’s trouble fitting in and her naiveté felt a bit tinny at times, and even hard to believe. For example, why would any teenage freshman be surprised to find a farm-themed party at a University, or that someone would spike the punch? It’s hard to reconcile that contrived innocence with the fact that as Batgirl, before that as Spoiler, and also just as somebody who grew up in Gotham, Stephanie has already seen the seediness that seems to be surprising her now.

Some of the surrounding characters also came off feeling a bit unoriginal too, especially Jordanna, who seems to be just another bully without motivation. Maybe Stephanie really is a socially awkward dork (it’s hard to tell from just two issues), but you can’t treat the nerd Stephanie Nolan in the same way as you would treat the nerd Peter Parker. There is a double standard in life. The reality is that most guys would be falling all over themselves to be with someone who looks like Stephanie, no matter her oddball worldview or her quirky, awkward conversation. So the whole bully set up falls a bit flat.

Conculsion: Despite some growing pains in finding the character, the addition of Barbara Gordon makes for a strong story with powerful resonances.

Grade: B-

-DS Arsenault

Batgirl #1 – Review

By Bryan Q. Miller (writer), Lee Garbett (penciller), Trevor Scott (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: In the bad parts of Gotham (are there any others?) some extreme street racing take place. A mysterious Batgirl steps in and we are introduced to Stephanie Brown, formerly the superhero Spoiler. She’s got a lot on her mind. She promised to get out of the superheroing business and start the college life. She promised her mother. She promised Tim Drake. Why is such a simple promise so hard to keep? Spoiler is gone. Batgirl is here. And Barbara Gordon is weaved into the mix for good measure.

What’s Good: This is not a bad book. I think it’s a challenging thing to pull off a teen’s point of view without sounding condescending (Rick Jones) or super-genius (Kitty Pryde). Miller has made Stephanie likable, genuine, and real. She’s struggling with a choice and we get to watch her try to stay on the straight and narrow. It’s an entertaining show. I also have to take my hat off to Miller for his easy use of parallels and symbolism. Stephanie is going through one of those “Who am I and what should I do” periods we all have/ had, except Miller shows her in this period right in the middle of first year philosophy while the professor is discussing free will. Also, every other student has a laptop, and Miller shows her isolation and the lunacy of her trying to be normal, by having her come to class with just a pen and paper. Very effective. The art team complements the writing competently. They deliver action, mood, setting, and some pretty good faces that express what the writer needs them to express.

What’s Not So Good: There’s nothing overtly negative about this book. It is a competently-told tale of a C-list character who’s main draw is that she is part of the Bat-family. However, the story of an angst-ridden first-year university student is not going to light the DCU on fire. The story and the art are good enough. If there’s any that fails is that there is nothing remarkable about this book. The new Batgirl saves the lives of a few people I didn’t care about. She considers breaking promises that I consider a little foolish. She agonizes over identity and self, but there’s nothing really at stake. She’ll either be a superhero or she won’t. Either one is fine with me.

Conclusion: This is an enjoyable book, but entirely average. I think something remarkable will have to spring from this title, something that makes it relevant to the DCU or unique enough to be its own draw, or Batgirl will have an easily forgettable short run.

Grade: C

-DS Arsenault