Batman: Eternal Features Stephanie Brown!

Finally. Finally, after years of begging for Stephanie Brown, former Batgirl and Robin, to return to comic books, our bitching (OK, it was mostly my bitching) has been answered. Stephanie Brown will be returning in the newest Batman series, Batman: Eternal, along with several other familiar faces this spring 2014! Batman: Eternal is going to be a year long weekly series about Batman and Gotham City. The series will be written by Scott Snyder (Batman, Swamp Thing), James Tynion IV (Batman, Talon), Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Witchblade), Ray Fawkes (Mnemovore, Justice League Dark) and John Layman (Chew, The Authority). The series will connect with Batman's 75th anniversary. I would probably be cringing at the idea of another Batman series being announced. It's not surprising since Batman titles sell so well, but there are just so many: Detective Comics, Batman, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman and Robin, Batman Incorporated and Batman/Superman. My fingers are cramping up just typing how many Batman series there are. What's interesting and different from the slew of Batman titles that DC already has is that this series will be similar to Gotham Central and will feature heroes and villains in the Batman universe. Though the main focus will still remain on Batman, of course. Just seeing whose faces are in Batman's cape, I'm especially happy to see Professor Pyg and Riddler. Of course, the character I'm most excited to see is Stephanie Brown. Snyder revealed she would be making an appearance in Batman: Eternal #3 as the costumed crime-fighter Spoiler in a Q & A at NYCC. He specifically said: "We know that they're characters that you guys have been really vocal about... Your guys' love of Stephanie Brown have been so inspiring to us. We're really proud to announce that she'll be coming back in [new weekly series 'Batman: Eternal'], in a big way. Dan DiDio is in the audience to yell at us for telling you that." As to Steph's absence for the last couple of years, Snyder says "No one was trying to shelve her... It was more about finding the right time to reintroduce her." A big thanks to James Tynion IV, whose idea it was to bring Stephanie back!