Thoughts on Batman Year One Trade Paperback

DC may not be where Marvel is in the live action market. The Nolan Trilogy for Batman is excellent and Man of Steel was entertaining, but Green Lantern and Jonah Hex leave a lot to be desired. However, their cartoon movies are above and beyond anyone's expectations. Batman: Under the Red Hood may very well be one of the best movies I have ever seen. With other successful releases like Justice League: Doom and Green Lantern: First Flight it's very hard not to be pleased with their cartoon features. Many years ago, DC released a movie for Batman: Year One. I knew nothing about the story, but Batman in the title means mostly Batman in the movie...right? I put in the disc and found it to be less Batman and more Commissioner Gordon. It's not that I don't like Gordon, because I certainly do, but I wanted Batman action. Having seen the movie, a certain reluctance came with ever reading the book. Recently, I picked up the trade and decided to give it a read. I found Batman: Year One to be an excellent read and worth anyone's time.

The book is,of course, about Batman and Commissioner Gordon starting out their respective careers in Gotham City. Gordon has a past and wants to do some good in Gotham to make his family's life better. Bruce Wayne is on a mission to avenge his parents and restore Gotham to former glory. Both meet resistance along the way, but through the struggles our heroes persevere and become the heroes we know them as. No one starts anything off perfect. Batman and Gordon had to work for everything they have now. This story really shows it.

This story really shows the dedication both men have to sticking to their morals. Gordon could've become a dirty cop like a lot of GCPD were. It's easy to take kick back and brides when everyone else is doing it. He helped to clean up the precinct and many years later will become the commissioner. Bruce Wayne could've donated money to the cause instead of putting on a suit and getting his hands dirty. Bruce could've decided to kill his foes instead of handing them into the authorities. Year One is a story about how dedicated someone has to be to do anything of meaning in their lives.

I really like Frank Miller's approach to most of his stories. I'm not saying he doesn't have bad books because he does (The Dark Knight Strikes Again), but his stories are down to Earth and put a much darker spin on the character. Dave Mazzucchelli and Richmond Lewis really give the panels an amazing feel. The colors I think are perfect. It has a pulp comic feel but more richness. The contrast in the characters lines make the art less defined but highly detailed. Bottom line, the story is great and the art is wonderful.

I wouldn't say the book is very high on action. I feel the words are stronger than anything you'll see on the page. The action really doesn't happen until the late middle and end. You're in this one for the character development and drama. If you're look for some great fights then I would lean to suggesting another comic entirely. If you want to spend an hour or two engrossed in the realm of early batman, then please pick this up.

I feel bad for not reading this book so many years ago. I let a movie sour me on something that was quite amazing. Now that I've read the book, the movie is actually very spot on. It follows the comic to a T. I complained about Batman not getting enough screen time, well he had it. However, panels in a book doesn't translate well to minutes on a screen. So I'm going to have to apologize to DC for not appreciating one of their better animated features. I'm going to give Batman: Year One eight more years of Batman out of ten. If you haven't read it yet; please pick it up. It's an excellent addition to any comic collection.