- Written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Genevieve Valentine
- Pencils by Alvaro Martinez Bueno
- Inks by Raul Fernandez
- Cover by Francis Manapul & Dan Panosian
The investigation goes global. What answers about Mother are hidden at a ballet in Prague? Grayson, Bluebird and Cassandra Cain are going to find out or die trying.
Pickup your copy of ‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ #7 at Comixology now!
After several weeks of setup ‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ #7 is an issue which begins to utilise the ensemble cast in a much similar manner to its predecessor series, breaking the main cast apart into smaller factions and giving each its own storyline that will eventually culminate in the outcome of the story.
Pairing Dick with Cassandra Cain and Harper Row makes them a focal point, particularly in this issue, as he is taking the starring role here. We spend some time in the past with Bruce further investigating his relationship with Mother. Finally there still time to advance the stories of the Reds: Robin and Hood who have been paired up and sent off elsewhere.
Much of the story takes place in Prague, in the past with Bruce and in the present with Grayson, Cain and Row whilst Red Robin and Red Hood begin their story in Gamorra.
Making this second series of ‘Eternal’ more global helps to set it apart from the heavily Gotham based setup of last years ‘Batman Eternal’ although that series did feature some short stories based elsewhere. These event series can be tiresome and repetitive so the ability to set one apart from another by expanding the scope can help lift it from the generic to the genuinely intriguing.
‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ #7 makes great use of the three different storylines without resorting to any of the pages feeling like filler which is the other major issue with event series. Often in series such as these with a set number of issues there are obvious moments of filler made to pad out series to run its full expected length but ‘Eternal’ is, so far, avoiding taking any of its stories in to this territory.
The past Prague story with Bruce and the present day events in Gamorra are only moved forwards slightly, clearly saving the action for issues which will shift focus away from Grayson towards them but that’s better than just simply reminding us those characters exist.
It’s Grayson, Cain and Row who have the most to do this week as their investigation takes them to Prague and brings Dick face-to-face with Mother. There is a lot of setup for a battle to come, hopefully next week, but it’s all great build-up towards potentially unveiling at least part of Mothers plan.
The artwork this week doesn’t stand out in the way that issue #6 did but there’s nothing to complain about so it’s another solid entry to the series.
3 stars
