Category Batman Eternal

May 16 2014

Batman Eternal 6

Alternating Currents: Batman Eternal 6, DrewToday, Drew leads a discussion on Batman Eternal 6, originally released May 14th, 2014.

Drew: Why does society seem to place a premium on auteurism? The vast majority of artforms are highly collaborative, yet we still talk about directors, show-runners, composers, and other creators as if theirs is the only intent that matters. Aside from a few notable exceptions, comics have always been a collaborative medium, but there’s something palpably different about a written-by-committee series like Batman Eternal. Indeed, it seems to have more in common with the conveyer-belt system of network tv than the short-season, tightly controlled cable model, but is that a bad thing?

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May 2 2014

Batman Eternal 4

Batman eternal 4Today, Shelby leads a discussion on Batman Eternal 4, originally released April 30th, 2014.

Shelby: Last week, Spencer referenced the breakneck speed at which the Batman Eternal crew was giving us our story. While I do think this story is progressing along at a pretty good clip, I think it has more to do with us adjusting to a weekly story instead of a monthly one. Each issues gives us as much story as we’re used to, but now we’re getting 4 times the dosage every month. The weekly release schedule makes the story so much more effective — like Bruce, we are astounded and somewhat alarmed at how quickly events unfold.

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Apr 25 2014

Batman Eternal 3

batman eternal 3Today, Spencer leads a discussion on Batman Eternal 3, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Spencer: I’m impressed by how quickly Batman Eternal is moving along. A year-long story with new chapters releasing every week could easily fall into the trap of being slowly paced, or even worse, of using filler to stretch out the story to fit into 52 issues, but if anything, the creative team of Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley, and Jason Fabok seem to be speeding through the story at an alarming rate. I’m starting to think that “the end” teased back in issue one may come sooner than we think; at the speed they’re throwing out ideas, the end may very well be the beginning of the story. Continue reading →

Apr 18 2014

Batman Eternal 2

Alternating Currents: Batman Eternal 2, DrewToday, Drew leads a discussion on Batman Eternal 2, originally released April 16th, 2014.

Drew: What do we expect of this series? Grand world-building? Serviceable (if maybe uninspired) Batman stories? When we discussed the first issue, I argued that the way this series addresses our expectations — the way it fulfills some but defies others — may be its most distinctive characteristic. Indeed, issue 2 is so drastically different in form and focus, it’s easy to see defiance of expectations as this series’ unifying trait.

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Apr 11 2014

Batman Eternal 1

batman eternal 1Today, Patrick leads a discussion on Batman Eternal 1, originally released April 9th, 2014.

Patrick: I love Batman, but I’ve been exposed to so many books and games and movies and TV shows (plus one Stunt Show Spectacular at Six Flags), that very little in a Batman story can genuinely surprise me. The writing team on Batman Eternal acknowledges this familiarity, simultaneously leveraging those emotional beats for everything they’re worth, and suggesting that there are still some surprises out there. Continue reading →