The problem with weekly comics is how disjointed they sometimes feel.
It's far too much work for one person to churn out anywhere from 21 to 30 pages a week, so multiple artists are needed to get the job done. So, strike one is the different styles these artists use and how jarring that can be on readers.
Strike two is writing the thing, which may not sound that hard to a layperson, but creating this much story every single week is a daunting proposition. Aside from outlining the major beats of a 52-chapter story, you also have to sit down and actually put pen to paper and conjure up enough words to fill an entire issue. They also have to make sense and be entertaining.
Fortunately, DC Comics has plenty of experience with weekly titles, having done several of them now. One of the most recent and certainly one of the most consistently enjoyable to read was Batman Eternal. Starting Oct. 7, DC is launching its second Bat-universe weekly, though it's not entirely clear yet if it qualifies as a sequel to the last one or its own standalone story.
Batman & Robin Eternal is informed entirely by the current state of affairs in Gotham City. In case you haven't been keeping up: Bruce Wayne's memories of being Batman are gone, and he's living a simple life of philanthropy in downtown. Dick Grayson has hung up his Nightwing tights to join super spy agency Spyder. Damian Wayne, the current Robin, is still traveling the world, trying to atone for past sins, and at least so far, plays no part in Eternal. At home, Red Hood (Jason Todd) and Red Robin (Tim Drake) are keeping things in Gotham under control, while Bluebird (Harper Row) and Spoiler (Stephanie Brown) patrol for street-level crimes and protect the less fortunate. Jim Gordon is wearing a robotic Batman suit and working to save Gotham from supervillains, under the police's purview.
Batman & Robin Eternal #1 puts the focus on Grayson, who's really come into his own now that he's embraced his inner secret agent. The story finds Dick reuniting with his old pals Jason and Tim on a little clean-up duty in Gotham. Bluebird is finally back on comic book pages, not seen since Batman Eternal, and doing her best to outwit the new Batman, who wants her off the streets. However, it's not long before things go south for everyone, cryptic clues are dropped by multiple sources, a conspiracy sets a very big plan into motion involving mind control and a pre-New 52 mainstay is finally introduced to the new continuity.
It works for the most part, though the adventure becomes rather head-spinning by the end. With so many random, unexplained things happening rapid-fire, one right after another, it gets to be a little too much to follow. It's a good thing this is a weekly title, because trying to figure out who these strange newcomers are with their pretentious code names would be all but impossible to keep track of a full month later. As it is, we can stand to wait a week to see what comes next.
Tony Daniel's pencils are kinetic, always in motion and stunningly detailed. Daniel seems equally adept at pulling emotion out of his characters as throwing them into exciting fight scenes. Everything about his composition stands toe-to-toe with the best comics has to offer right now, but we doubt this level of quality will be achievable week after week. Tome Morey's nice color work provides some dramatic shades to emphasize the emotional weight of each scene.
It starts and ends with a bang. However, as everybody knows, a comic is only as good as its last issue. Will Batman & Robin Eternal carry the torch to sales success?
Only time will tell — but we'll be reading.
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