Bard's Got a Plan...
After last week's (very) disappointing issue, I was a bit hesitant to keep following along with Batman: Eternal, because it didn't seem to go anywhere with any of the storylines that they've introduced. Well...I stuck with it, and I gotta say I thought this week's issue did a good job of washing away the bad taste in my mouth from last weeks.
We start off with Lieutenant Bard meeting with Maggie Sawyer and Harvey Bullock to discuss the real problem in Gotham. While Forbes and the rest of Gotham (apparently) are all busy focusing on the trial of Jim Gordon, Bard (and Vicki Vale) believes that the true story of Gotham is the gang war that is tearing up the city but neither Commissioner Forbes and the rest of the GCPD are doing anything about it. Bard takes this task on himself asking for help from Bullock, Sawyer, and Batman himself. We also get to see a nice moment with Batman disguised as a police officer having a conversation with Gordon, telling him that he will clear his name. However, Gordon tells him that he is not the one that needs the help, it's Gotham.
We also get a look at Harper Row bothering Tim Drake by hacking into his surveillance system, and nearly figuring out where he lives before he is able to shut her out of the system and fry her computer. Something tells me we're going to be seeing a lot of her soon (Of course we are, Batman #28 anybody?) and we see Jason Todd tagging along with Batgirl in Brazil having (another) conversation about her worth and that Batman can't trust her. And finally, we see the return of a psycho that has come to haunt Gordon in Blackgate, but no Spoilers on that one!
This week's artist is Mikel Janin, and while his art isn't anything that will blow you away, it's still very solid and leagues better than Bertram's was from last weeks issue. Overall, this was a great issue and brought me back in the game. If you're a fan of the series so far, this is another great entry. 4/5
