Review: Detective Comics Vol. 7- Batmen Eternal

Quick Summary

Pros: The volume is a satisfying continuation and conclusion to the narrative running through this entire series. The characters shine throughout the book and the main conflict is exciting. The artwork is positive throughout.

Cons: The pacing feels rushed in how it handles a few subplots, which takes away from these subplots.

Overall: The last volume in this Detective Comics era lives up to the hype. It continues with all of the positives the series is known for: great characters, meaningful interactions, and engaging action. However, it approaches it in a way that advances and brings the current storyline to a satisfying conclusion. Some of the subplots suffer from pacing problems but the majority of the read is great. Readers looking to see how this era comes to a close should absolutely read this book. 

Story

Detective Comics Vol. 7: Batmen Eternal is a satisfying conclusion to James Tynion IV’s lengthy tenure writing the series. It brings all of the characters and concepts together for a final time to deal with one last threat to Gotham City. This results in another successful example of the delightful mix that has made this series so great, intensely personal stories mixed with an exciting adventure. Then, the volume brings an end to this era of the series, which gives a satisfying conclusion to many narrative threads and the stories powering most of the characters. The only downside is that the pacing feels off at times, with some subplots that feel as if they are not fully addressed. Overall though, this is a fun read and a worthwhile conclusion to this story arc.

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One of the most significant features of this volume is the way it builds on the aftermath of the previous volume. This collection starts with a deeply meaningful discussion of Batwoman’s actions and an equally meaningful discussion about how each member of the Bat-family feels about those actions. After this, the volume begins exploring Batman and Red Robin’s reasons for wanting to hold the Knights team together and why these reasons will, ultimately, not work out. While all of this is happening, a threat is constantly building in the background and readers are continuously reminded that this threat is about to be unleashed upon the heroes.

When this threat is unleashed, the action-focused portion of the narrative begins. This part of the book is full of all the thrills and excitement one would expect from a Batman book. It has the team fighting powerful enemies, has Tim forcibly turned against his friends, and ends with a desperate assault on a heavily-armed stronghold. Essentially, this portion of the read allows this era of the series to conclude with a bang.

When the volume finally does come to a close, it gives this era of the series a fitting goodbye. At the end, it feels like each of the characters is doing something that suits them and that, despite all that happened, they are coming out of this as better people. It was sad to see this interesting team of characters fall apart, but the way it was handled here made me happy to see it all come to an end.

The biggest problem in Batmen Eternal is that elements of it occasionally felt rather rushed. Batwoman, Batwing, and Azrael barely had a chance to do anything with the Colony before they were ripped out of that situation and thrust into a new one. In a similar way, it felt like the volume didn’t fully take time to address some elements of the previous volume’s fallout, specifically Batwoman’s feelings toward the damage she did to Cassandra. The pacing isn’t terrible but does have a noticeably negative impact on the read.

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Art

The artwork in Batmen Eternal is positive and is an asset to the collection as a whole. The volume starts out with an awesome chapter from Álvaro Martínez. The wide-angle layouts and detail put into the character depictions really help bring home the emotions on display here. Then, Javi Fernandez and other artists take on the rest of the collection for the more action-focused chapters. These chapters contain a similar level of detail and also exhibit some excellent layouts but the focus is, typically, on the action, which goes along well with the narrative. I was also happy to see visual styles that did not conflict and colors that suited the tone of the series as a whole. All in all, the artwork in this collection makes the reading experience even more enjoyable.

Continuity

Detective Comics Vol. 7: Batmen Eternal continues the story from Detective Comics Vol. 6: Fall of the Batmen (Review).

The story here continues in Detective Comics Vol. 8: On the Outside (Review).

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• Red Hood (Reading Order) mentions recently making a deal not to kill anyone. This deal was made in Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth #1, collected in Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: Dark Trinity (Review).
• Some of the Batman robots seen in this volume originate from the Batman robot introduced in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review).