Batman: Eternal #17 Review

What secrets lurk under Arkham? Read on to find out.

The official description from DC Comics:

Years ago, Gotham City faced a power Batman could barely overcome…Now, deep beneath Arkham Asylum, he will rise again, and the city will know his wrath…

Batman: Eternal has had a very mystic approach to it over the last few issues as Batwing and James Corrigan continue to investigate the strange activities happening underneath Arkham Asylum. Initially I found this direction to be rather intriguing, though as it’s progressed all I’ve wished for is some clarity. Nevertheless other developments such as Julia Pennyworth hanging with her old man, and Red Robin and Harper Row meeting Sergei Alexandrov make up for this averageness.

Ray Fawkes continues to script this tale, as Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV once again develop the story, with John Layman and Tim Seeley as usual acting as consulting writers. Throughout this story Fawkes has done a tremendous job of building suspense and drama. He has however failed to deliver upon them. In spite of this he does manage to capture my interest as though Batwing and Corrigan’s mission has became a bit dull, the background to Blackfire, as well as other developments really intrigued me.

Dustin Nguyen also returns to handle the artwork with this being his third issue in a row, as well as his fourth overall. Nguyen’s involvement in these last three issues has really helped enhance the overall average afterthought of the script, with the dynamic layout and intense character expressions livening things up. The diversity in his artwork also impresses, as though he delivers dark and intense panels during the Arkham sequences he also manages to shed some light onto other developments. Nguyen is also joined once again by the fabulous Derek Fridolfs (inks) and the sensational John Kalisz (colours), with the duo giving a wonderful finish to hi work.

Batman: Eternal‘s latest arc has been somewhat average, though the side development and art help make it better. As an individual issue however I can’t recommend it.