Comic Book Reviews: Batman Eternal #1 and Samurai Jack #7

Batman's new weekly series is out and I decided to check it out. And quite honestly, I'm torn.

Not because of its quality, mind you. It's great and I'd actually give it a 9.3/10, but I'm torn because it's too good. Now I have to decide whether I want to invest $3/week in this series for the next year.

Anyway, for those who are curious, this story sets the grand stage, putting Batman against Professor Pyg while introducing Jason Bard, and reveals what will probably be the main storyline for the beginning stages. If you saw spoilers, it might not hit, but as someone who hadn't looked and doesn't read the Action 52 page, it was a stunner.

The art was Jason Fabok's trademark awesomeness and I definitely feel like this was a John Layman-dominant issue. Unsurprisingly, this story was the usual strong Layman-Fabok fare because of it.

Its weak points were more in the fact that so much story is left to tell and it doesn't strike me as an issue that'll hold as strong on repeat reads, especially as more story comes in.

But as far as a debut issue goes, this is great stuff.

However, it pales in comparison to the Samurai Jack issue. This is the conclusion of the Jack & The Scotsman arc, as the two (now gender swapped) face a rock giant to appease the leprechauns.

No. I won't be providing context for that. If you want context, read the last review.

I really thought this would be a three-issue arc, but they managed to round it out in two without feeling badly paced. The only weak point was the time skip they use after Jack and The Scotsman return to their proper genders.

Jim Zub's art is great as usual, and the writing managed a nice plot twist while also being funny, witty and creative with the world at hand. It was a complete story that make this and Issue #6 must-owns.

Overall, I have to give this a 9.7/10. It's the best issue of the series so far and is a leading candidate for the book of April.