Comic Book Reviews: Batman Eternal #21 and Batman '66 #14

Oh, it's just so good! It's just so good!

This was a great week for Batman comics. There was a serious New 52 story and a completely crazy Silver Age story, but both worked well.

Eternal earned a 9.3/10 in my review for being a solid start to the next section of the series. There are a lot of grand reveals given today, including the return of a legendary Bat-rogue, a character's heel turn, the setup for Alfred's daughter to enter the fold, and the setup of a grand mastermind only nicknamed 'Mother.'

All the reveals either feel justified or add intrigue to the story, though the return of the rogue could have used a little setup.

Jason Fabok's art is its usual awesome and worked across the board. I really like the way he designs the Bat-verse in general and his colorist really helped him this issue.

The weak point in the story is that a lot of the other moving pieces are dropped to develop this one section (which helped the issue, to be sure, but makes it feel a bit smaller) and that it is ultimately all setup for a much bigger reveal next week.

If it succeeds, Issue #22 may have a shot at approaching the high 9s and 10 level, which is where Batman '66 #14 ended up.

The story got a 9.8/10, and may have just made its case for issue of the yeagr. My sole gripe is that the Robot Batman - which is as epic as it sounds, by the way - kind of gets a nonsensical end. I mean, it's 60s Batman, so I'm not expecting something truly thought-provoking, but while I like the cartoon-like finish it certainly isn't ideal.

The ending, much like the book in general, comes down to taste, but this is a hard one for me not to call outright-great. I think this is easily Jeff Parker's best work on the title and the art was spot-on throughout.

I'd highly recommend both books, though Batman '66 slightly more. It's a one-and-done story and doesn't require you to know a bunch of prior events. That said, either book is a good pickup.