Batman: Year One

I've never been a huge Batman fan. His stories had some high points but they definitely came from the darker end of comic book lore, which I've never been drawn to.

Comics have always been for me a vision of how I wanted to the world to be as a kid and to some degree as an adult. Superheros like Superman and Spiderman had an optimistic and bright outlook on the world that I still identify with. They were the antithesis of their enemies; there was no mistaking who stood for good and who stood for evil. They didn't compromise their principles no matter how hard the situation. (Superman always refused to kill his enemies, no matter what they did to him.)

Batman on the other hand was an odd bird, no pun intended. For decades he had the same happy-go-lucky feel as Superman and the other DC comics of the period. (This was perfectly captured in the Adam West Batman.) But as the 80s came around Batman began to get darker and darker and his stories more and more disturbing. The much-praised series The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller repulsed me rather than impressed. I sort of gave up on Batman. His character was too dark and his world too bleak for me to enjoy.

The art of the "classics" of Batman has been defined by Miller (who later went on to create the series Sin City). Miller's art, while undeniably excellent, has always seemed grotesque and disturbing to me and in later years even pornographic. He enjoys taking familiar superhero icons and distorting them.


Above: Frank Miller's Batman, not my cup 'o tea.

Therefore, my expectations were low when I happened to pick up Batman: Year One while browsing through Borders. I expected the usual, hopeless and disturbing story complete with disgusting images that stick in your brain like ticks. (Then why did I pick it up you might wonder? Beats me.) But I was wrong.

The art immediately had me floored:



Year One was illustrated by David Mazzucchelli and, unlike Frank Miller, Mazzucchelli's art seemed to be depicting real people rather than distortions of people. Each character was drawn with an obvious affection and care and the lines were simple and clean.

The story is excellent too: One plot thread focuses on a young Commissioner Gordan when he first gets transferred to Gotham City, which is controlled by corrupt politicians and crime-lords. Gordan's marriage to his very-pregnant wife is struggling and he's having something of a fling with a co-worker. He's a very well-conceived character: An on-the-level cop trying to do what's right in a corrupt police force and a man who loves his wife but is just spending too much time on his job and hurting his marriage because of it.

Menwhile, a young pre-Batman Bruce Wayne (clearly inpired by Gregory Peck) has just returned from abroad and sees the crime rampant in his hometown and is trying to figure out how to fight it.



Usually Batman is ridiculously invincible; he never gets hit by bullets and never messes up. But not here.


In Year One when Bruce Wayne puts on the tights for the first time he is a novice and, though talented, he doesn't always get it right. It's engaging to watch his first fumbling escapades as Batman where he often screws up and makes mistakes. It gave me a sympathy for the character that I'd never had.

The overall plot is how Commissioner Gordan and Batman end up working together and they way it plays out is exciting and even touching. It's a story set in the dark side of the real world but unlike other Batman segas, justice and the desire to do what's right is what drives the characters.

It reminded me of why we have this strange fantasy of superheros. We want to read stories about justice and fighting the good fight. When we look at superheros we see reflections of the good in ourselves and our dreams of who we could be.

It's hard to see the battle between good and evil in our everyday lives, but it's there. When we pull over to help someone change their tire, visit someone in the hospital and work hard for our families we're striking a blow for good. Comics books, in their less-than-subtle way, remind us that there is a fight.

Enough of the mushy stuff. Go read Batman: Year One and you won't be disappointed. It definately revived my interest in the character.