Laura McCarthy reviews Batman Eternal #13…
A demon from Jim Gordon’s past comes to haunt him in Blackgate while the Gang War threatens to rip Gotham City apart! Can Jason Bard keep the order without coming head to head with Batman himself?
Hey, I didn’t regret opening this issue! It’s a Christmas miracle! Maybe my luck is finally turning around. Thank you, James Tynion IV. Thank you, Mikel Janin and Guillermo Oretgo. Expect hugs at NYCC if you attend.
Since we’re touching on four (or five-ish?) different stories here, and all of them were pretty interesting, I’ve decided to look at each part as a separate component before putting them together as a whole.
Much of this issue focuses on two stories. The first is a conversation between Commissioner Gordon and James Jr., where we see a clash in morality. The dynamic between this father and son pair has interested me for a long time and I love seeing them interact, it’s obvious that Tynion is taking a lot of cues from Snyder’s interpretation of James Jr., so this storyline feels like a natural progression from the one started in “The Black Mirror”, which is personally one of my favorite Batman stories ever. The whole time we’re left to wonder if the Commissioner is really cracking under pressure or if James is just freaking crazy and talking out of his ass. James gives his father an ultimatum that is sure to be touched on in the next issue and will definitely make waves no matter which choice he makes.
The second biggest story centers around Gotham’s gang war and goddamn was it nice to see Forbes finally start getting his just desserts. I’ve seriously wanted to punch him in the face since he first showed up and it just feels so good to see the “bad guy” start to break down. Lt. Bard has quickly managed to become one of my favorites in this series, and the epic plan he used to slow down the gang war just made me giddy. A good portion of this plan also incorporates Vicki Vale and the Gotham Gazette, which is why I don’t really consider it much of a separate plot. After Commissioner Gordon’s story, the gang war in Gotham has certainly become my second favorite story so far.
Our two smaller stories only take up a few pages. One has Harper Row sneaking into Tim Drake’s hidey-hole, which I probably would be excited about if this was actually…well not New 52 Tim Drake. I’m very, very bitter if you haven’t noticed yet. Sure, I’m excited about Harper and I would have love, love, loved to see her butt heads with pre-boot!Drake, but alas. We also see the return of Stephanie in this issue, along with her dumbass friend that manages to get blown up. Survival 101 in Gotham – someone sends you a package: don’t open it and throw it as far away as possible.
Everything about this issue from start to finish just felt so exciting – it really seems like all of the plot points are starting to move on from just a set-up to and actual story, which is actually more than I expected at this point. Sure, Batman Eternal doesn’t have the pacing of say Brightest Day or Justice League: Generation Lost where it felt like readers were jumping into full story right from the get go, but it is picking up speed and actually going somewhere. Of course, this could just be nostalgia talking – I was a bright eyed, optimistic novice to comics when I read those series. Still, I could probably name a couple of monthly series and events that took a lot longer to pick up than this is. (*coughFlashpointcough*)
Art wise, this issue is definitely one of the better ones. There certain panels that really impressed me, especially Steph’s expressions and the extreme close-ups. Also, as someone who presents and can be perceived as a woman – I really appreciate the fact that Janin and Ortego aren’t playing up the cheesecake on any of the female characters. Vicki Vale looks like a serious journalist and Steph and Harper actually look like teenage girls. Can we please have more of this in comics?
From my point of view, I can definitely give this issue two thumbs up and I’m really excited to see what’s in store next week. Especially since there’s a certain…other book coming out that week that might give me an ulcer.
Laura McCarthy spends more time crying about fictional characters than being a productive member of society. Follow her on Twitter and Tumblr.
Originally published July 4, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
