Batman and Robin Eternal #1 (DC)

CREDIT: DC Comics

Rating: 4.5/5 – Who Is Mother and What Will She Do to the Bat-Family?
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.

DC has done weekly series before and for the most part they’ve been strong. “52” kicked off the weekly series events to praise and critical acclaim, but DC has also published Countdown, Trinity and Future’s End which didn’t connect with the readers and fans. A weekly series could be quite the risk for DC when it doesn’t connect, thankfully though last year’s Batman Eternal did, which prompted a second weekly Batman series titled Batman and Robin Eternal. With Bruce Wayne still having no memories of his life as Batman, it’s the Bat-Family who share the starring roles here and just like Eternal’s first issue last year, this is a strong opening that drew me in and left me wanting more.

Batman and Robin Eternal mysteriously introduces a new villain into Batman’s world called Mother. Just who she is and the role she plays in the lives of all Batman’s sidekicks looks to be the central plot point of this weekly book. Writers James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder have done a great job of balancing the large cast of sidekicks that include all the previous Robins, Bluebird and more, including the return of a fan favorite character and her first appearance in the post Flashpoint DC. Although Batman isn’t in the book in the present, he does star in the flashback scenes, so fans looking for the Bat will not be disappointed in the sidekick heavy cast.

In terms of the art, Batman and Robin Eternal looks great with the pencils of Tony Daniel. There’s plenty of story here and Daniel gets quite the workout. Another new villain besides Mother is visually introduced and he looks great, and there’s a scene towards the end that’s reminiscent of Batman Year Two that is also visually impressive. Batman and Robin Eternal works in both the writing and art and as a first issue, is a must read. Weekly series though tend to change creative teams quite a bit to keep up with the hectic pace so we’ll see if it can sustain the quality that this first issue delivers.

Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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