Batman: Year One
£10.60
In his first year on the job, Batman feels his way around a Gotham City far darker than the one he left. His solemn vow to extinguish the town’s criminal element is only half the battle; along with Lieutenant James Gordon, the Dark Knight must also fight a police force more corrupt than the scum in the streets.
BATMAN: YEAR ONE stands next to BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS on the mantle of greatest Batman graphic novels of all time. Timeless in its appeal, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s masterpiece would stand apart from the crowded comics field even today.
This edition includes the complete graphic novel, a new introduction by writer Frank Miller and a new illustrated afterword by artist David Mazzucchelli. Completing this collection are over 40 pages of never-before-seen developmental material such as character and layout sketches, sample script pages, sketches, and more that pro-vide a glimpse into the making of this contemporary classic.
This volume collects Batman #404-407.
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Additional information
| Publisher | DC Comics, Deluxe ed. edition (10 Jan. 2007) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 144 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0290204895 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0290204890 |
| Reading age | 13 – 16 years |
| Dimensions | 16.9 x 0.8 x 25.8 cm |
by Mr. C. Brand
Only what, forty years late to the party? But a really interesting story, contrasting the paths of Gordon and Bruce Wayne. Human, vulnerable, but determined and with a strong purpose. This could equally describe either man as we follow their journey through Gotham City.
by Kieran J. Mcandrew
Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after an eighteen year absence and comes to realise that the city is so deeply entrenched in corruption that even an honest cop like Lieutenant James Gordon is targeted for his honesty. Gotham needs a symbol that will strike fear in the hearts of bad men and Bruce Wayne will give up everything to be that symbol.
Miller’s retelling of Batman’s origin is well thought through and the subtlety of Mazzucchelli’s art adds dimension and depth to the story. By styling Bruce Wayne after Gregory Peck, he anchors the story in the golden age of cinema, where men were good or bad with no shades of grey and the hero could be depended on to save the day.
by Jonathan
Batman: Year One feels, to me, a lot like an old film-noir crime movie from the 50s, as does most of Frank Miller’s work (his Daredevil run, for example). It’s dark, gritty, contains copious amounts of monologue and centres around a detective (or two, in this case, as the story prominently featured Jim Gordon, everyone’s faviroute non-corrupt GCPD lieutenant, and Batman, the world’s Greatest Detective). David Mazzuchelli’s art complimenting the script with a similarly dark and gritty vision of Gotham and it’s inhabitants.
The story focuses on Bruce’s first year as Batman (the title says it all: Batman: Year One). It shows Bruce learning how to be Batman, and trying to get rid of the corruption in the GCPD. But that’s only half the story, literally, as the other half of the story focuses on Jim Gordon, with his first year as a police lieutenant in Gotham City, trying to be a good cop in a city where the police is as bad as the criminals. It grounds the story and gives depth to Jim, whose never really been a focus in the comics.
One thing that some might find unusual about this Batman stories is its villains, of lack thereof. There’s no Joker, no Penguin, no Riddler, not even a mention of any of the Rogue’s gallery, except for focusing on Gotjam’s crime families and a cool reference to a certain villain on the very last page. It’s devoid of villains and only focuses on the core part of Batman: Batman and Gotham. Miller manages to give us the most realistic, most down to earth Batman story in my memory. It shows Batman learning to be Batman, taking down street-level thugs and crime bosses, fighting the corruption in the GCPD.
As for the book, it’s one of the best I’ve got in my small yet growing collection. The paper used on the cover and in the pages are different to normal, not using normal glossy paper but more of a matte paper type. This paper feels really good when holding and reading. The books also contains lots of extras in the back, including a 4-page comic by Mazzuchelli about Batman. Very nice additions.
In summary, a must-have for any Batman fans. It’s a great comic for anyone who knows the character of Batman, and really wants to get to know the character better. The story and art is stellar and gives us a down-to-earth Batman. I’d say it’s a great first Batman story, not requiring and previous knowledge and showing you what Batman is about, who he is, and also introducing you to Batman. But, nevertheless, give it a read. It’s one of the best Batman stories, with no previous knowledge required, and art which sets the tone and will immerse you.
by Mr. S. W. Steel
This is a reworking of the Batman origin story, and has had lots of praise heaped on it over the years – it was published for the first time way back in 1986!! Not many graphic novels have this long a lifespan and it is usually a good indicator of the quality of the work ; The Dark Knight Returns by the same author as this book (Frank Miller), The Watchmen by Alan Moore and V for Vendetta also by Alan Moore would fall into this category. These three works are from the eighties as well, and so Batman Year One is in excellent company!
It basically tells of how Bruce Wayne begins his career as Batman and shows how he makes early mistakes, and learns from them on his way to becoming the character we know and love today. That is one facet of the story, but the other side of this is the introduction and development of one Lieutenant Gordon. This is a really good subplot and shows how Gordon copes with crisis in his work and home lives. He has moral dilemmas, just like Bruce Wayne and it is interesting to see the different ways they deal with their problems.
The Batman storyline is quite hectic, and full of adrenaline as he learns his trade – the police trapping him in a building is a really good example of this. Whereas the Gordon storyline is a bit slower, and shows him having time to think about all the implications of his actions both at work and at home.
For those of you who are big fans of the Christian Bale Batman films, you can definitely see where segments of this book has been adapted to the Batman Begins reboot – and that shows how much quality this graphic novel has.
It has a couple of minor niggles though. Firstly, it is quite short! Now, this is probably because the story is so good and i was left wanting more, so i wouldn’t mark it down for that. And the other thing is the artwork. Again, it is of it’s time(well over twenty years old now!), but i also feel that it is not crucial to the quality of the graphic novel as a whole, because it allows you to concentrate on the storyline; sometimes, beautifully drawn graphic novels lack the story behind them, and i would prefer weaker artwork and a stronger story.
All in all, this is one that you MUST add to your collection. I would put this in a top ten list of Batman stories. It is good for the fan, and the person just starting out reading the graphic novels. Highly recommended, and worthy of all the plaudits it receives!