Batman: Year One By Frank Miller

Jayson

(A) 85% | Extraordinary
Notes: Fluent artistically, it relays realistically a tale of two flawed, oft-beaten men, who get knocked down but get up again.

J.G. Keely

This is one of those books that's been absorbed into the public consciousness so fully that, reading it now, it can be hard to see what was revolutionary about it. This book has come to define the way we think of Batman today and was influential on the darker, grittier cape comics of the eighties and early nineties.

But it is also instrumental in introducing what made that period of comics so ridiculous. It's been praised for its gritty realism, but like any Miller book, it's more sensationlist than realist: a hard-boiled patina over an idealized superhero core.

Sure, Batman screws things up a few times in this, and seems to get shot, beaten, and burned in every attempt to stop a crime, but these are primarily to push the melodrama, not to enforce realism. We'll get a classic Miller line about a bullet's 'searing-hot flash of metal numbing my leg', but then Batman gets up, runs around, kicks through a brick wall, and at one point, takes a ski vacation to rehabilitate.

The wounds aren't there to make Batman human, they're to make him totally manly and awesome. It's an eighties action movie where our hero gets shot in the shoulder just so he can wrap it up, grit his teeth, and take out some armed men with karate.

But Miller's a good writer. He has a strong voice and a compelling sense of pacing, and if this story brings realism to Batman, it's in the small human moments, particularly Gordon's story, though he scraps like a Sin City tough, too, quipping to himself "it's been years since I had to take out a Green Beret".

The way Batman takes death-defying risks every few pages isn't a sign of greater maturity or realism, it's just a switch to a different kind of ridiculous, epic melodrama. Sure, it's much more bloody and grim, but if adding blood and sex to a story was all it took to write mature, realistic stories, film critics would spend their careers analyzing slasher movies.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Frank Miller story without whores, which is where we get to his rewrite of Catwoman: she's a leather-clad prostitute with a child prostitute sidekick. She doesn't have as much character as the men, in fact Gordon's monologues run right over her scenes, denying us insight.

But even with the mandatory prostitutes and Die Hard injuries, it's a fun book, with character and story and some well-crafted dialogue. More than that, it's a vision of how to create male fantasies without catering to preteen boys. It forms a part of that influential, genre-shifting period defined by 'Wathcmen' and it stands as an integral part of the modern Batman character.

My Suggested Readings in Comics

Anne

I finished my re-read of this one last night and felt pretty much the same about it as I did when I read it over a decade ago.
It's ok.

description

Year One takes us back to Jim Gordon & Bruce Wayne's first year in Gotham as crime fighters, and it does so in a realistic way. <--for a comic
I understand why it would be such a big deal back in the day to portray Batman in a real-life setting and I can appreciate Miller's contribution to the Batman mythos. Mission accomplished.
But I just can't say that I was all that interested in the actual story. Very dry & bland.

description

I think I would probably dig this more if I were a bigger fan of gritty crime stories.

Original review 2009
Meh. It was alright. It was sort of cool to see things from Gordon's perspective. I still would have liked to see a little more Bruce. I don't feel like I gained any new insight into his origins or his character. It wasn't awful, I was just hoping for more.

Mario the lone bookwolf

The bat has problems unfolding its ethical wings in a dark city

And to be haunted by the demons of the past probably isn´t the best requirement too
PTSD mixed with fresh wounds probably isn´t the best requirement for a crime fighting superhero but hey, everyone has some issues. One of the deepest, emotional, and most philosophical facts is that batman is fighting crime because of the killing of his parents by criminals they produced by being turbo capitalistic moneybags exploiting the country and its people. How big is the suffering of millions in the West and billions in the Southern hemisphere they caused helped by neoliberal, wet, perverted Friedmanian madness?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

James Gordon, the only good cop in town
Miller shows the morality problem

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by making the justice system and the police look as bad as the criminals. If not even worse, because they should be the ones protecting from, instead of promoting and participating in, crime. His struggles are the same as Batmans' which makes them brothers in arms against seemingly undefeatable, corrupted systems.

And so the dark bromance begins
This is a very often seen concept in fiction, because it enables the writer to always have a normal person, working in a plot option filled position in a big institution, to secretly cooperate with a superhero. One could count how many plots are produced by direct action, or some deeper, more sophisticated, underlying question that is discussed in the setting, but who has that much time? This better, cleverer, and more thought provoking style of writing comes

Without stereotypes and a clear definition of what good and bad is
Oldschool comics and movies defined certain, mostly WEIRD

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychol...
standards of how it had to be and there was no real discussion about this totalitarian approach. The rebellious wave of better, new art crushed all traditional, conservative, patriotic, and often sadly more or less secretly sexist, racist, etc. ideals and showed the grim face of reality. Meanwhile, the evolution of art has already moved towards postmodernist making dark satire out of the truth works without giggles to demonstrate the sheer stupidity of the incredible mess.

This thing should be used in schools and ethics courses
Because it mixes the violence caused by wrong social, political, and economic structures with the hope of being able to change something as one, single individual. Instead of learning from Millers' wisdom, motivating millions of teenagers to vivisect, analyze, review, and expand the thoughts of critical and complex graphic novel milestones, bigoted do gooders still tend to point out that comics are trash, seducing the innocent youth, and prefer unreadable classic trash. Guess why young people don´t read anymore? Exactly.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

Patrick

To me, Batman is kinda like Pizza. By which I mean that even bad pizza is still pretty good.

But for me, the best Batman is written by Miller. Maybe it's because I like his writing style, or maybe it's because his fairly dark writing style really suits Batman.

Or it could just be that the very first comic I read as adult was Dark Night Returns. That's the comic that made me realize that comics weren't just a bunch of silly bullshit stories for kids.

Whatever the reason, this comic is in that fine Frank Miller style. Showing Batman and Gordon at the beginning of their lives. Both of them making mistakes. Both of them learning about their city. Both of them paying for their mistakes....

Yeah. If you're into Batman and you haven't read this one, you're missing out. You should try it.

Donovan

"Gotham City. Maybe it's all I deserve, now. Maybe it's just my time in Hell."

One of my absolute favorite Batman comics ever. It's quiet, subtle, realistic, noir. This is probably the most accessible Batman comic ever and where new readers should start, because while The Dark Knight Returns is Batman's omega, Batman Year One is his alpha.

David Mazzucchelli is sublime. He illustrates with pure balance: minimal while detailed, bright yet dark, bold yet subtle. His characters are incredibly emotive, his splash pages and large panels iconic. This wouldn't be the same, especially with Miller's illustrations, if Mazzucchelli hadn't illustrated.

This is a stylized and expanded origin story, not a retelling, as Dennis O'Neil tells us in the introduction. Jim Gordon arrives in Gotham, while twenty-five year old Bruce Wayne returns after being abroad. Harvey Dent leads a crusade, Commissioner Loeb and Detective Flass corrupt, and Selina Kyle steals as Catwoman. There's plenty to see from a wide array of characters. Interestingly, this isn't your typical Batman versus Villains book. But rather Batman and Jim Gordon versus Gotham.

Apart from Geoff Johns' Batman Earth One, this is one of the rare stories where Batman is an amateur. Initially without a disguise, rules or purpose. He gets hurt and shot. Soon realizing fear is the element he lacks and must instill in his enemies.

There's one particular scene which shows Bruce in an armchair in his study in moonlight, with a bat breaking through the window. Essentially the pivotal scene where he decides to become Batman. I've seen this in several other comics, including Snyder's and Morrison's Batman runs. So it's great to know where it comes from, assuming this scene isn't referencing some other Silver or Golden Age comic I haven't yet read.

This is legendary. It's a small book, a short story. There's no Rogue Gallery, no nuclear missiles, no huge international conspiracies. No time travel or multiverse. Just noble Batman, a hard boiled Jim Gordon, and Gotham on a rainy night.

Ahmed Ejaz

I would have loved it more if graphics were the work of nowadays' technology.
I am planning to read my favourite superheros' origin. And I have started with my absolute-favourite superhero, Batman. I knew about his origin before. But reading it was a good experience also.

There was also an appearance of Catwoman a.k.a Selina. She didn't appear much. There was just a brief intro of how she became Catwoman. She seemed to me an anti-batman.
Lt. Gordon was a good character. But his affair with Sarah seemed pretty much a filler.

I highly recommend this comic if you wanna know how Batman came into being. I loved this comic.

2 December, 2017

Dan Schwent

When James Gordon joined the Gotham City Police Department, he had no idea of the cesspool of corruption it was. Fortunately, there are a few good cops left in Gotham and Gotham has a fledgling protector of its own, Batman!

I'm three decades late to the party but I'm glad I showed up. Batman: Year One has been hyped as one of the definitive Batman stories ever since it was published. Is it?

No. It's the definitive James Gordon story and it's spectacular!

Batman: Year One is told from the point of view of James Gordon, the man who would later be Commissioner Gordon. This Jim Gordon isn't the buffoonish commissioner of Batman '66 either. He's a good cop and a good man, surrounded by bad cops and bad men in the worst city in America. And there's this vigilante running around in a bat suit who may or may not be Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy who recently returned to Gotham after thirteen years abroad...

So fucking good. David Mazzucchelli's art had to be an inspiration for the feel of
Gotham Central decades later. The gloomy, Mignola-esque feel is perfect for this gritty tale. Frank Miller was yet to enter his prime and his writing was pretty crisp, although I wasn't crazy about him making Catwoman a sex worker.

The bad guys are the worst kind, corrupt men in positions of power. I couldn't wait for Gordon and Batman to take them down. While this book was one of the ones that ushered in the era of the grim and gritty super hero, it feels authentic here and isn't grim for the sake of being grim like a lot of books that came after.

Whole swathes of this book used in the Nolan trilogy. Much like the Nolan movies, this would have been a great comic even without Batman in it.

Great stuff. Batman: Year's One is one book that definitely lived up to the hype and deserves its reputation. If you're only going to read one Batman comic in your entire life, you could do a lot worse than this one. Five out of five stars.

Sam Quixote

You know the classics of literature - War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Middlemarch? There are aspects to them to appreciate and patient readers can be rewarded greatly with those books. But let's be honest - most of us view classics as a bit of a chore. But what about classic comics? Kind of the same thing, but not for so many. Some classic comics, Marvel and DC especially, are tough to read because the stories from the 40s and 50s are so badly written and cheesy, and the art is hit or miss, though most of them possess a guileless charm to them that makes them easier to stomach. When it comes to comics, no character stands taller than Batman, and no Batman book has more of a reputation than Year One. Is it a chore to read? No. Has it aged poorly? Not even a bit. Does it deserve it's title as a true bona fide classic? (Austin Powers voice) Yeah, baby!

Year One is Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's retelling of Batman's origin and through their retelling they set the tone and standard for all other Batman books that followed. A 25 year old Bruce Wayne returns to a nightmarish Gotham City riddled with crime at the same time as an older but still young James Gordon, recently transferred to the GCPD and entering Gotham City for the first time. Both men have a clear mission: to clean up the streets of crime and make Gotham habitable for decent, hardworking folks.

Some readers have wondered why Gordon gets as much space - maybe more - as Bruce Wayne in this book and the answer is simple: they're both two sides of the same coin. The very first Batman story opens with Bruce and Jim sitting, talking about crime, and Jim is arguably Batman's best friend. Batman's origin would tie in with Gordon's as their lives will be linked forever once they dig their heels in and bring justice to Gotham.

It's been a few years since I read Year One and I really hoped it would hold up - and it did. Whatever your feelings are about Frank Miller today (and he has unfortunately gone from genius writer to crackpot old man), his work in the 80s ranks amongst the best the comics medium has ever produced, and Year One is arguably the pinnacle of that work. He went from telling the last Batman story ever with The Dark Knight Returns to, with his next book, going back to the very beginning and telling the first Batman story ever - and both are masterpieces.

In just four issues, we see Bruce get into his first fight as an unmasked vigilante, to realising he must don a disguise, to the famous "Yes. Father. I will become a bat" scene, to his fledgling first missions to clear up corrupt police, mob bosses, and the iconic dinner party scene where he appears to Gotham's most powerful and evil to inform them they have eaten well but from now on none of them are safe. And the scene when Batman takes down the SWAT team? Brilliant. Still tense, exciting, and fantastic to read.

It's a testament to Miller's writing that he's able to take Gordon, who for many is little more than a one-note background character, and makes you care about him as much as you do Batman. Gordon becomes Gotham's first non-corrupt officer, fighting his own colleagues (literally and figuratively) to uphold the law and become better than the criminals they chase, while his wife is pregnant with James Jr. (see Batman: The Black Mirror for what happened to James Jr. when he grew up) and the stresses of the job leading to him make some bad decisions.

We also meet Selina Kyle for the first time, working as a dominatrix in Gotham's red light district, as she decides to become her own costumed character, Catwoman, after first seeing Batman. Mazzuchelli's art in this book is flawless but my one criticism of the book is Catwoman's outfit - I hate the whiskers and tail! What use are either to a cat burglar? And it just looks stupid.

Anyway, Year One is a must-read for all Batman fans - as if you didn't already know! Everyone who has even a cursory knowledge of Batman comics knows Year One is one of the first to read. And it is - but it's also one to re-read and come back to again and again because there are a LOT of Batman books, but few of such high quality as Year One. A great beginning for the Dark Knight and the man who would be Commissioner. Just don't read Year Two!

Eddie B.

In 1986 Frank Miller gave The Dark Knight -and the whole world of graphic novels- a whole new dark dimension, with his legendary "The Dark Knight Returns". The next year he decided to give him a proper beginning. "Batman: Year One" follows the rise of Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent: the three knights of Gotham. This vision -and many other themes from this book- will later be adopted by Christopher Nolan's trilogy. So this is the book where Batman begins, and The Dark Knight rises.

Ahmad Eddeeb
August 2012

السيدات والسادة. لقد أكلتُم جيِّدا.
لقد التهمتُم ثروة جوثام، وروحها. لكن وليمتكم على مشارف نهايتها.
ومن الآن فصاعدا..
..لا أحد منكم في مأمن.

Calista

This was good. I see a lot that Tim Burton pulled in for the '89 Batman movie. This is also strangely centered on Gordon and his life. Usually Gordon is not a focus like here. There are some interesting and different ideas about the origin story, but I guess that is from someone who is going backwards and has seen the movies after this was written.

The art is gritty, but not as dark as it gets. The story is sound and Batman has a realism here that the new DC comics have lost trying to make him so ultra dark.

It was a good read.

Ray

A worthy reread every few years, it holds up.

Mazzucchelli's art is very appropriate for a noir style, and of course Frank Miller's original gritty. This was back in the height of Miller's prowess, but this down-to-earth story is in stark contrast to the incredibly epic Dark Knight Returns. Batman here is in fact not the science fiction perfect superhero, but rather just a regular man who gets injured and could be killed at any time.

The biggest flaw is that it's too short. It works that Gordon is the main voice, in the style of a police drama with all the tropes. But we want more. Catwoman is also introduced and fits very well into this realistic world. Along with other elements, such as the Roman crime boss, a lot of world-building potential without specific resolution. There doesn't seem to be an ending exactly, it just leaves off open ended.

A good introductory Batman graphic novel as well, Year One earns the right to be have been referenced so much across all media and the film adaptations since. It's only the start of the full menu of classic Gotham City stories, hardly enough to leave one fulfilled, but an excellent appetizer no doubt!

Melki

I've never been much of a super hero fan. And to me, Batman will always be Adam West's campy TV show of my youth. Bap! Zammm! Kapow!

BUT...there's something about beginnings that appeals to me. I like watching a guy discovering and honing his powers. I'm remembering my favorite parts of two super hero movies I was forced to sit through - Spiderman on a rooftop, trying to figure out how to get his web thingamajig to work - "Um, Shazam?" and Iron Man crashing through his grand piano. Once they've got the kinks worked out, it basically becomes a guy in a costume fighting another guy in a costume and I quickly lose interest.

This book covers the early years of not just Batman, but Cat Woman and James "Someday He'll Be Commissioner" Gordon as well. Gotham City is a sin-infested cesspool with enough vice and corruption to keep these three in business for years to come. I might hang around for a bit, even if the sound effects are not like I remember. Glurpp! Thwack! Flrbbbbb!

Lyn

A Batman origin story is like bacon – it’s just good.

Evil genius Frank Miller tackles the first year of The Bat in a realistic offering that reveals Bruce and Jim Gordon as less than super – tough guys for sure but men accomplishing the heroic task of trying to clean up Gotham.

Bruce’s first few nights out are rough, lots of blood and without the gadgets to get him out of trouble. Lieutenant Gordon joins a Gotham police force that is rotten to the core, they’ve both got their work cut out for them. Miller also spends some time with a seedy reboot of Selina Kyle’s origin story – not at all Michelle Pfeiffer working for Walken.

Miller’s writing is inspired and the art is retro cool, no stylized superhero glamor, this is 30s grit.

Must read for Batman and Miller fans.

description

Daniel

The best Batman graphic novel of all time, hands down! What more could you possibly ask for? It has Frank Miller at the top of his game, David Mazzucchelli's terrific artwork, and it's Batman! It retells Batman' origin in a new, exciting way. Only Frank knows what's best for the caped crusader. It paves the road for many great stories to come, such as: The Long Halloween, The Man Who Laughs etc. I can't recommend it enough.

Baba

Collecting comic books Batman #404-407, Frank Miller's critically acclaimed re-imagining of the origin of Batman, mostly from the perspective of Commissioner Gordon's first few months in Gotham. A good read, but nothing as spectacular to match the plaudits story arc this gets. 7 out of 12

Sarah

”He will become the greatest crime fighter the world has ever known... It won’t be easy.”

I think we all can agree that the late ‘80s was the golden age for Batman, all my favourite graphic novels/comics featuring the caped crusader are from this era. Culminating in the first Tim Burton Batman film.

This is most definitely the definitive Jim Gordon story, as it is mostly from his perspective. Frank Miller really knows how to write a good Batman tale and the (to be) Comissioner-Gordon.
He does have a great understanding of Bruce Wayne’s character, as proven with this following quote: ”He’s clearly a man with a mission; but it’s not one of vengeance. Bruce is not after personal revenge... He’s much more noble than that. He wants the world to be a better place, where a young Bruce Wayne would not be a victim...
In a way, he’s out to make himself unnecessary. Batman is a hero who wishes he didn’t have to exist.” This is the most perfect description of how and why Batman came to be.
Selina Kyle’s design in this is muscular and androgynous and I am LIVING for that. She’s easily one of my top Catwoman incarnations.

The gritty artwork by Mazzuchelli really suits the overall feel of Gotham City. I think this style of darker art best suits a Batman story.

I watched the animation before I read this graphic novel, and this just made me appreciate the story even more. An easy 5 stars!

Sophia

I was so excited to read this story again!
The first time I read this origin, I didn’t appreciate how well it flowed or how good the art was.
It helped that these issues weren’t overloaded with text.

I loved how this wasn’t just the origins of Batman but also the beginnings of Lieutenant - Captain, by the end - Gordon’s career in Gotham.

We see both men struggle to understand how the city works and find their own paths to make it better.
But the way wasn’t easy. We see Bats struggle the first couple of times. He wasn’t instantly perfect.

Speaking of firsts, we meet Selina before she was Catwoman and then witness the first time she wears her suit. Which she only bought because she wanted a better life for herself and her friend, Holly.
I loved that she was already great at being a cat burglar but had no idea how to sell the items she stole.

I also really liked how the people Bats was going up against weren’t some super scary, crazy person with flashy weaponry and catchy one-liners. They were street thugs, drug lords, and corrupt cops. Bad people who could exist in the real world.

I think I would’ve liked to have seen Alfred a little more.
We’re told he has medical training but it would’ve been cool to have seen it in practice.

Something I appreciate is the flashback to Bruce’s parent’s murder wasn’t drawn out. It explained why Bruce has this burning desire for justice (or vengeance - whichever) then the story continued.

I can’t remember which story it was (maybe Hush?) but I do remember there was a comic that dwelt too much in that flashback.
I understand the importance but everyone knows it.

Overall, I enjoyed this re-read. With a better appreciation for comics and a fuller understanding of this world at the time of publishing, I feel I enjoyed it more this time around.

✨Bean's Books✨

Classic looking artwork, classic Batman! It even shows an illustration of one of those old Mickey Mouse phones... you know which ones I'm talking about? The one where Mickey is holding the yellow receiver... yeah that one! 🤣🤣🤣 Year One is definitely one to have on your shelves if you're a Batman fan.

Annie

I received this one as a birthday present around five months back and never got round to reading this. In fact, it has been almost a decade since I last picked up a comic book. Somewhere around moving from one place to another, sorting life after graduation, this one found itself buried and waiting. Two episodes of the new Flash down and one of the Arrow, then a few of The Walking Dead, and I hate this waiting. I prefer my comic manna to be delivered in a line, to be downed one after the other in quick intense sessions. That left me elbow deep in the still unopened boxes occupying almost half my room (procrastinator alert!) and I finally fished this one out . I took the picture below for my Instagram account months earlier.

This is a perfect introduction to the character of Batman and while I say that I realise that there probably isn’t anyone who requires an introduction to this character. But this book is full of nifty little titbits.

The story traces from the beginnings of the dark hero. As the title suggests it begins the origin of batman, the origins which fork into two different timelines. A more gritty and acidic side to the hero as foreseen by Frank Miller and then, the more famous generic doppelganger.

The comic is a character study, and weirdly as I have come to associate with Miller, not a study of our Knight himself, but rather of the Police Commissioner Gordon who is then Lieutenant Gordon. Whereas the bat inspires fear, Gordon lends a more relatable and humane taste to the story. It is weird, because it being a story of the origin of Batman, would treat him more as a garnish, but it works. Those familiar with the Tv series Gotham, could find this in the same alley. A corrupt city decaying and retching from its own stench, and an even more corrupt police force and our one man army fighting to survive against it and overcome the odds. This is Gordon. But he isn’t heroism personified. He is a deeply flawed character and as often found battling against himself as he is found avenging the city.

Contrary to the Tv, the Bat isn’t a kid here. He is grown up and is the more shadowy figure who serves the vigilante angle, a little less cocksure of himself, and sometimes stumbling on his feet. He has just returned from training and we get to see him on his first night out as a vigilante. He is not yet a bat. The inspiration is yet to strike him. And he fumbles. Here we are introduced to the hero who is yet in the making and is a long long way to being the person who will eventually face Ra’s al Ghul or even Bane.

Catwoman makes an appearance here as a prostitute, although her story is redefined in a later issue as a thief who pretends to be a prostitute in order to steal. As far as covers for crime go, I am not sure I follow this one as thoroughly.

A classic story with a very distinct goth feel. This one was reminiscent of the old superhero movies. The artwork left a lot to be desired. And I missed the emotional connection with this. There was no black hole left behind after the final page was turned. It was power packed but not packed enough. Still, it was an enjoyable read and should definitely be counted as a must read.

Louie the Mustache Matos

When a property has lasted for 50 years, it's only natural to want to update it. The newer writer comes in thinking that s/he has a fresh perspective on the character, to want to infuse that new energy to something so old, but here's the thing, not everything "old" gets tired. Even so, the TPB Batman: Year One was an attempt at updating Batman despite the fact that Batman as a top seller has rarely waned. Frank Miller is a hard-core noir writer and artist. He took Daredevil and made him a badass for the Marvel Comics corporation. For DC, he and David Mazzucchelli, added to the Batman mythos by presenting not just a year in the life of Batman and James Gordon, but the year they started out. They both started working for Gotham City at the same time, and hence the reader gets a better amplified understanding of the mythos. In fact, there's the not too subtle introduction of Catwoman, too. Various satellite characters are also included. There's a lot to love here IMHO, although I contend that the story didn't need to be clarified in my mind. Even so, the TPB is a good way to introduce someone to the Batman mythology.

Tamoghna Biswas

Some stories never get old, and this bona fide version of the caped crusader’s origin story quite rationally exonerates that simple fact: foreseeable yet flamboyantly fascinating, drab yet dazzling in its essence, peevish yet pugnaciously exemplary, all at once. Worth a shot for anyone prone on a classical tale of the beloved vigilante, i.e., if they hadn’t read it yet, which does seem improbable.

Jonathan Terrington

Year One is the Batman origin that everyone currently knows. It is the origin story that until Frank Miller wrote it, did not exist. And therefore, while the book may not appear ground-breaking currently; at its time of publication it was incredibly fresh. It was the gritty, revenge seeking origin story of Bruce Wayne that audiences wanted.

However, in all honesty Bruce Wayne cannot be called the protagonist in this novel. As I recently read: the protagonist is the character which shows change and development in the novel. And in this novel it is Lieutenant James Gordon who is the protagonist in my eyes. At the beginning of the novel Gordan is a young, almost naive cop, unhardened by the cruelty of Gotham and unprepared for the duties of being one of the few moral men in a city of disrepute. Where on the other hand Batman/Bruce Wayne is the vengeful hero attempting to fight crime, taking bullets and making mistakes all to show (as other reviewers have pointed out) how awesome he is.

Frank Miller's work on Batman in general is always solid and reinforces the idea of the gritty and brooding Dark Knight. However, regardless of who writes a Batman story the character is always greater than the individual writer, much like any other great character of fiction. A strong and powerful character may not be as strong in certain author's hands but nothing prevents them from being altered indescribably (otherwise that is not the same character). One may debate whether the newer versions of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars and so forth are as legitimate or true versions, but they are the same characters regardless. Batman here may be the gritty dark knight (as in The Dark Knight Returns) but that does not destroy the fact that he can be a more comic or noble caped crusader and still be the same character.

Mike

Ever since finishing
The Caped Crusade I have had a hankering to read one of the iconic Batman stories. As many plaudits as
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns has received I was more drawn to this book because it tells the story of Batman's initial forays into vigilante justice (plus I had recently seen Batman v Superman and didn't need to see them fight yet again). While this collection of comics (four to be exact) are titled Batman, this is a story just as much about Jim Gordon (the future commissioner and Bat ally).

Instead of fighting colorful villains from his rouge's gallery Batman's target in the beginning is vice and corruption, from the junkie mugger on the street up to the very apex of political power in Gotham.

description

Gordon, meanwhile, has moved from Chicago to Gotham under a cloud of police misconduct and is looking for a new start for himself and his pregnant wife. What he finds is a police force riddled with corruption and naked brutality more than willing to use violence and intimidation to keep their own officers in line.

I find the story itself quite engaging, especially as we see matters from both Batman's and Gordon's perspective. Even better this isn't the omnipotent bad-ass Batman but a very green, very inexperienced one. He screws up, he makes mistakes, and he learns from them. He faces legitimate threats and rarely comes out unscathed. Gordon, meanwhile, must navigate a corrupt system with little to protect him than the press's adulation of his police heroics. We also get a small peek at Catwoman's origins and a young Harvey Dent.

The comic panels are all rather washed out and dark, conveying a very catastrophic and dingy feeling to the streets of Gotham City. Given the subject matter and the state of the city I thought this artistic choice was spot on. This isn't a flashy, bright, septic city of the future like Metropolis but a gritty, crumbling city of Gotham. While the atmosphere is dark the story and content were pretty straight forward, nothing like the ultra gloomy and gratuitously dark stuff we get these days.

All in all this was a very enjoyable experience. The pages just flew by while the story explored a fascinating point in a beloved character's history. This is a great starting point for someone interested in getting into Batman comics because it isn't weighed down by decades of canon and backstory.

James DeSantis

This isn't the first time I read Year One. It's actually one of the only DC books I did read when I was young. However, it's been over ten years and I was like I have to re-read it to see if I still enjoy it. As you can tell with my score, it's pretty obvious.

Have you've ever seen Batman Begins? A lot of the one/feel of that movie owes to this. Even basically taking the ending right out of the pages of this book. This is really two stories, two origins, in one. It focuses on Bruce becoming Batman and Gordan becoming Commissioner. You can see how vastly different they are yet how similar they COULD be. It's actually a ballsy move when you title it "Batman" and have Gordan probably have more page time.

What I liked: Everything to do with Gordan is great. From him being a honorable cop to a shitty husband. To siding with Batman at times, while challenging his views too. Also gotta love how smart Gordan is and knows who Batman is but that's not important, but more important to keep some hope in Gotham. Bruce origins has been told a million times, but back then, this was pretty great way to get into Batman.

What I didn't like: Some of the faces and such a mushy. I also think the Catwoman subplot is really really boring.

Overall, it's a perfect comic to jump into and enjoy. It has the Batman tone you've come to love, two well told stories, and solid art most of the time. Sure Catwoman is just a add on but everything else in the book is pretty impressive.

Molly™☺

Batman: Year One is often framed as the quintessential Batman experience, and whilst I agree that it's a very solid book, it's more like the quintessential Jim Gordon experience. You'll be hard pressed to find a more definitive characterisation than what you get here. There's a gritty realism to much of what's presented, interspersed neatly with the more comical looking Batman panels. However, despite the visuals, this Batman feels very much a part of this world. With an absence of wacky villains and fancy swinging and gliding through the rooftops, Batman feels more like a man in an outfit than ever. This is a Batman story that would be an absolute shame to not experience at least once in your life.

Lashaan Balasingam

You can find my review on my blog by clicking
here.

Arguably one of the most essential Batman story in the comic world, Batman: Year One is a must-read. Fan of the dark knight or not, this story arc collecting all four comic issues (#404 to 407 published in 1987) from the comic series Batman tells the tale of Batman’s first attempt at wearing the dark cowl and cape. In fact, this trade paperback gives the readers the chance to live Gotham City through the eyes of Bruce Wayne (almost known as the man behind vigilante Batman) and James Gordon (Gotham City’s Police Department’s detective) as they seek their first baby steps in this city of corruption and evil.

Personally, I was astonished by the artwork that got me engaged and hooked into the story line (big kudos to David Mazzucchelli’s and Richmond Lewis’s talents). With just a basic color pallet and an artwork typical of newspaper comics, this piece of art sustains greatness throughout all four issues. I’d have to say that the transitions between panels (from one scene to another) were brilliantly done on both an artistic and a storytelling level.

Batman: Year One is gold. It’s mind-baffling-awesomeness does not end there. I’d have to add that the story itself is as fine as wine and only gets better every re-reads. As godlike as Batman is portrayed in our modern society, this story arc shows you just why you always want a Batman in your neighborhood. Bruce Wayne doesn’t go through this adventure as the world’s greatest detective with no flaws. He has to learn the ropes and actually fails multiple times to Gotham’s wrath. He has to climb the ladders and find a way to show everyone he isn’t a villain among the criminals that inhabit the city. He might eat a bullet and still manage to kick down a wall, but even those moments seem completely realistic to the reader’s eyes. And that’s why Frank Miller’s work is praised so much. Although Batman might seem like the center of attention, James Gordon gets just as much attention or, might I add, even more throughout the story arc. In fact, Gordon arrives in Gotham City and has to climb his way to the top just as much as Batman has to, in order to survive and help his city. As a man who respects the law and follows a path exempt of corruption, Gordon has to face his partner detective Flass as well as commissioner Loeb who both take a much more particular path when it comes to justice… a more criminal touch to things. In the end, both Bruce Wayne and James Gordon fight the evil in Gotham, meet their first failures in their attempt to help and learn from their mistakes with open arms. After all, their journey only just begun.

If there was a common beginning to every comic reader’s legacy, I’d have to say that Batman: Year One is a beautiful place to start at. This flawless masterpiece (at least to my eyes) has one of the most interesting story line, a beautiful narration, an amazing artwork and a captivating and remarkable superhero to follow till the end of time.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog:
http://bookidote.wordpress.com

Rusty Grey

4.5 stars

We all know why Bruce Wayne became Batman .

Or how he became Batman .

Frank Miller's Batman Year One is the story of a naïve Batman , when he had just entered this vigilante business . This story belongs to Commissioner Gordon as much as it belongs to Batman . Just as the name suggests , it's their Year One .

Frank Miller has done a great job again . There may be a few readers who wouldn't like Miller's style . He uses too many dialogues . Or monologues . But after reading The Dark Knight Returns , I've come to expect this of him .

David Mazzucchelli's art compliments Miller's writing nicely . Though it might be hazy at certain places .

Overall , Batman Year One is a very good Batman origin story .
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You know who's my favorite superhero ??

And this is his origin story . Though I've seen it's many versions , I had never read it .
Batman: Year One is written by
Frank Miller , one of few elite comic writers . Please !! Don't disappoint me !! It's been a bad year for me in comics .

Adam

I'm not a big fan of superhero origin stories, so I avoided reading Batman: Year One for awhile, but I'm really glad I finally picked it up and gave it a try. This four-issue series totally blew me away. It got to the heart of everything I've always loved about Batman, while giving equal time to Commissioner Gordon (still a lieutenant in Year One). Gordon has always been one of my favorite supporting characters in Batman's world, and I think he rarely gets his due, so it was nice to read a story that focused almost as much on him as it did on Bruce Wayne. Frank Miller's storytelling is lean and mean, and avoids the excesses that he frequently indulges in, and never falls into the trap of rote, by-the-numbers plotting that so many origin stories do. The art, by David Mazzucchelli, is gritty and impressionistic without being deliberately abstract or confusing. (Mazzucchelli also wrote an afterword for this volume in the form of a comic strip that is one of the best and wittiest appreciations of Batman's history that I've ever read.)

Read with Sandee ・❥・

i can now see why ~~people~~ a lot of people, recommend this book to people who wants to start with batman..

this book is the bomb. i love this. well, i still love zero year. both origin stories have their own strengths and weaknesses, still brilliantly done, nonetheless.

full review might come. soon.
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PlS5

i have been planning to read this for a long time~~just wasn't able to add it on goodreads because i'm too lazy to add stuff on here~~ because i am a batman ~~beatch~~ fan.
highly recommended by a friend of mine.
i'm scared he'll completely disown me if i don't read this ~~soon~~ asap.

Title	:	Batman: Year One
Author	:	Frank Miller
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1401207529
ISBN-10	:	9781401207526
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Paperback
Number of Pages	:	144
Publication	:	First published February 1, 1987
Awards	:	Harvey Awards Best Graphic Album, Best Colorist (for Richmond Lewis) & Special Award for Excellence in Presentation (for Richard Bruning) (1989)

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller

Batman: Year One Reviews

Batman: Year One Reviews

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