Batman: Eternal #32 Review

Written by: Kyle Higgins
Art by: Jason Fabok
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: November 12, 2014

(Un)Safe House

I'll give the army of writers on Baternal some credit, they have managed to maintain a consistent narrative throughout the series. Unfortunately, I just can't seem to get excited about it week after week.  Every week I hope it's the issue that gets me charged up, but so far I've been left pretty lukewarm.  This week we get Kyle Higgins back on board and along with Jason Fabok, this just might be the issue that finally does the job.



Last week's big cliffhanger was Hush attacking Spoiler and that's right where we pick up this week.  Things don't look so good for Stepahanie until Batman shows up.  Batman and his old friend go blow to blow and Stephanie gets to show how badass she can be. Then Hush plays dirty.  Unfortunately for Gotham, It's only the beginning of that.

The whole issue isn't a downer, however.  Batman gets Alfred and Luke to safety and while we see Alfred reunite with his daughter, we see the Batwing Suit in place of Luke who is with his Father.  I always love seeing the Batwing armor, but it feels a bit too much like forced foreshadowing.  Things couldn't possibly go wrong with the suit, right?

Then the shit hits the fan.  Hush visits Commissioner Bard and sets his big plan in motion.  It's smart, evil and really sets up Bruce to take a huge fall that mirrors Gordon's at the beginning of the series.  Knowing where this book is headed as well as the events of Arkham Manor, it's not a huge surprise, but it still hits hard.

I really enjoyed this issue.  It sets up the book for the next arc and I'm really looking forward to seeing how Bruce deals with what went down.  The book itself is narrowing it's focus and I'm glad for that.  As the plots all come together, each scene seems that much more important and pushes the overall story forward.

I'm a big Jason Fabok fan so it's no surprise I loved the art in this issue.  Everything looks great, but the action scenes that bookend the issue are the standouts.  I hope that he stays on for at least a couple more issues.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue really sets up the series going forward.  Hush's big plan has been set in motion and things are about to get really bad for Bruce.  I have been hot and cold with this weekly, but this issue has me very interested to see where it's going from her on out.

8.8/10