Batman: Eternal #28 Review

Written by: Tim Seeley
Art by: Meghan Hetrick
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: October 15, 2014

Crashing the Party

Baternal has been a good book plagued by the problems of being a weekly book. Constantly changing creative teams, uneven pacing and dangling plot lines are the order of the day.  However, when the book buckles down and concentrates on one or two storylines, it can really shine.  This week is one of those issues.  Tim Seeley gives us a good story featuring Catwoman that has been in the making since before this book even started.  As an added bonus, it's a great setup for next week's regular Catwoman book.

why the mouth?!?

Last week's issue ended with Catwoman about to be clocked by Mr. Bone and Batgirl dangling Commissioner Bard over the side of a building.  While I'm happy to report that we get back to both stories this week, the issue starts with Jason Todd getting all Jean Claude on patrons at his favorite Gotham bar.  I'm not sure what he's doing, but he's doing it for Batman.  Job well done, buddy.  Before leaving town, Starfire convinces him to go visit Barbara to at least say goodbye.


I've really enjoyed the Batgirl/Red Hood bits in this book and their time together is my favorite part of this issue.  Barbara may look like she wants to kill Bard for what he's done, but it's just not in her nature.  Unfortunately for Bard, it's in Jason's nature and when he shows up, he let's his nature take over.  Batgirl does what she has to and it shows why she is a true hero, but also why her and Jason can never be together.  That and a certain Dick that always comes between them.  I hope I'm wrong, but this really looks like the last of these two teaming up in the book.

Then we get to the bulk of the issue involving Catwoman.  Mr. Bone is holding a show with Catwoman's death as the main attraction.  It's such an odd scene with couples eating dinner and Mr. Bone talking about post plague France.  Everyone seems to be having a grand old time until Killer Croc crashes the party.  He's there for Jade (is it me or is Croc a little too committed to this little girl?), but his presence sets off a chain of events that breaks a couple of hearts...and legs...and arms...you get the point.  The best part of this scene is Tiger Shark offering a reward for Croc's capture because he wants to make a belt out of him.  I love Tiger Shark.  The fight is pretty epic with Catwoman doing some kick ass pole dance fighting, but like I said earlier, it ends in heartbreak.  Some characters don't make it and Tiger Shark's Python-Skin jacket is torn to shreds.  Did I tell you that I loved Tiger Shark?


The book ends with Batman having some pretty bad timing and Selina visiting her Father, ready to stop the Chaos the only way she knows how.  This is the beginning of what was promised at the beginning of this series and like it or not, is the new direction for everything Selina Kyle for the foreseeable future.

Like I said earlier, I liked this issue.  Tim Seeley pushes the story forward especially with Selina Kyle.  Everyone reading the book was waiting for this moment so now we can get on with it.  However, it was the Red Hood/Batgirl bits I loved best and the humor of Tiger Shark had me laughing out loud.

One of the other reasons I liked this week's issue was the art of Meghan Hetrick.  Everything looked great especially the character work on Catwoman and Killer Croc.  I'll even forgive her for giving Red Hood's mask a mouth because everything else looked so good.  I enjoyed her art on the Lois Lane one-shot earlier this year so she's two for two in my book and I'm hoping to see more of her soon.

Bits and Pieces:

Tim Seeley gives fans a focused, action packed and humorous issue this week and I really liked it.  Selina Kyle finally agrees to take over the family business, but it's the Jason Todd/Batgirl part that I liked best.  Tiger Shark steals the show with his hilarious appearance and Meghan Hetrick impresses in the art department.  I wish Seeley and Hetrick were sticking around for a while, but that's not the nature of this book.  At least I can recommend this issue and hope for the best next week.

8.5/10