Hey guys, Darius here, bringing to you my review of issue #8 in the BATMAN ETERNAL saga. In this issue, titled “Guided By Darkness,” we see Batman sending a painful message to Falcone and we also see the return of Stephanie Brown. As the issue unfolds, we see that Stephanie found herself in the cross-hairs of an assassination. Let us get started with the Positives and Negatives!
Positives
- The opening scene with Batman just demolishing a lot of Falcone’s henchman. He goes from being underwater to choking a thug on the mean streets of Gotham. Pulling all nighters, cracking skulls, and sending a message while doing it…definitely vintage Batman and a great way to start off this issue!
- The art, done by Guillem March, is good. I tend to expect the artwork to be good when it comes to BATMAN ETERNAL. There has not been an issue where the artwork was an issue…see what I did there? Haha.
- I loved John Layman influence on the story for this issue. He really set up each scene almost perfectly.
- The scene where Stephanie just missed being killed was awesome. It makes you wonder if she was the actual target instead of that guy. A lot of mystery behind Stephanie and maybe it has something to do with her father being Cluemaster…and her mom being…well…who is her mom exactly?
- The scene with Commissioner Forbes, Lieutenant Bard and Batman was awesome. I like how we think Bard is on Batman’s side by allowing him to get away, but we do not know that for sure. I love how ambiguous he is as a character.
- Falcone just proves how badass he is, he has an empire in Hong Kong, rebuilding his empire in Gotham, and he has influence in the GCPD. How more badass can he be!?
- Batman in Hong Kong…interesting development.
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Negatives
- The second issue where I have no negatives…surprisingly!
Verdict
BATMAN ETERNAL #8 is a great issue. The artwork is detailed, the scenes are paced beautifully, and the interactions among the characters is spot on and engaging. This series is still going strong after two months and issue #8 is no different because it continues the good quality that I would expect from the series thus far. Recommend.
Rating
