BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL preview
“” (8 pages)
Story by: James Tynion IV & Scott Snyder
Script by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Tony S. Daniel
Inks by: Sandu Florea
Colors by: Tomeu Morey
Letters by: Nick J. Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: FREE!
[NOTE: There are some retail incentive exclusive variants from Amazon, Best Buy, iTunes, and more!]
Sweet treat!! Sneak peek into B&R E #1 thanks to the upcoming Batman Day. This Saturday, Sept. 26th. The mini-series proper won’t officially debut til Oct. 7th but we’re left wagging our tails and salivating. Half of these preview pages were posted online three weeks ago but mostly unlettered.
Going back half a decade – Batman returns to the Cave and plays a recording. On it are various missing teens along with a recording. The voice on the other end accuses him of luring Robin into a life of danger through deceitful means. The young ward is on the verge of discovering the truth. The Bat’s master planning will be undone. The sender is the enigmatic woman known as Mother. Video footage of her is purposely unclear although her features are sufficiently distinguishable.
Present tense – Dick Grayson leads the charge. He’s arrived at Mother’s glacial fortress. The members of the Bat-Squad are overwhelmed as global hubs are being targeted. Pretty much all hands are on deck minus Batgirl. Dick ponders Bruce’s recklessness.
Flashback continued – Batman removes all trace of the file he just viewed. His partner expresses concern over his mentor’s appearance and demeanour. Something went awry in Prague with the Scarecrow. Bats assures Robin that everything is copacetic. After a half-hearted cheer, Batman assures his charge that he need not fret. Ever the clever one, the Dark Knight walks away holding a USB in his hand. Looks like that file was kept before being purged.
There is the cold open for the readers in wondering about Mother’s motives as well as what has caused the rift between the inseparable twosome. In terms of the student surpassing the master, the same applies to James Tynion IV who was under Scott Snyder’s wing. He has now flourished to the point where he gets top billing. The groundwork is brief and concise. More will be elaborated on a weekly basis for half a year. Scott is most likely more the overseer with James inserting the words from Mr. Synder’s ideas.
Tony Daniel is one of the modern-day artists worthy enough and capable enough of handling the artistic chores on this immense iconic character. He can stand proud beside Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. The close-up of the great Detective is grim and gritty. The two-page spread of the half-bat symbol with the loyal army is a tactile tapestry!!
Sandu Florea is Mr. Daniel’s right-hand man. They have worked in synch for quite some time. The solid line give each character three dimensions. The thick lines on the bat symbol highlight the severity of the singular situations.
Tomeu Morey expertly addressed various hues especially the blue for the crystalline castle and the softer sky. The dark and the light are obviously contrasted on each page. This is most apparent with Mother’s colour scheme. Is she a banshee? a vampire? a zombie?
Nick J. Napolitano provides enough space in the word bubbles allowing for an easy read. The stenciled font on the ‘Missing’ posters gives it an official feel. The stylized narration is curved for urgency. The ‘File Deleted’ is ephemeral.
This is dipping the toe in the water. We’re all going to take the plunge in two weeks’ time! The real buzz behind this is the return/reimaging of Cassandra Cain!!! Is she an anti-heroine? One of Mother’s inner circle? Secretly trained by Batman to replace Robin?? Time will tell.
This maxi-series has been created specifically to acknowledge and honour Robin’s 75th anniversary. As such, I give this tale 60 out of 75 (80%).
