Year One

Year One is as much a Jim Gordon 'origin' as it is a Batman origin. Both men arrive in Gotham at the same time - Gordon travelling by train on his transfer from Chicago, Bruce returning to Gotham from his years training to keep his promise he made at his parents graveside. Gordon is amongst 'the people' and Bruce watches from his plane, figuratively watching over Gotham City as he will grow to do over the course of the book.

To cover a year in the space of just four issues, you would expect Year One to feel patchy or disjointed, but it flows from scene to scene, month to month, with a fluidity that is down to the crisp writing of Miller and the artwork of Mazzucchelli. The tension builds as we see the various cogs of Gotham's underworld turning together to try and crush the spirits of Gordon and Batman.

Shortly after arriving in the city, we see Gordon trying to do things his way, before learning very quickly that Gotham is a very different city to Chicago. Even on his first patrol with the corrupt Flass, we see that Gordon is not as different to Batman as you might think. He watches as Flass humiliates a youth, and takes note of Flass' training and his fighting style 'for future reference'. How very Batman...

After an ambush by Flass and his men, Gordon goes and lies in wait for Flass, again showing the sort of planning and patience that we normally expect of Batman. He waits until all of the other men are gone, before running Flass off the road and beating him. As he leaves Flass hogtied and naked at the side of the road, he thanks Flass for teaching him how to be a cop in Gotham City.

Bruce also learns very early on that there needs to be a different approach to the various methods he learnt on his travels. There is something missing. His first night on patrol - including an appearance by the future Catwoman - ends in him wounded and rushing back to Wayne Manor, drifting in and out of consciousness. This leads to the iconic scene in his study, where he realises what is missing. He realises that he 'shall become a bat'.

This is one of my personal favourite scenes in Batman (that I have read so far). It shows a man who has set himself a goal, that has ambition to make a difference to his city, and he is frustrated when this does not work straight away. But rather than give in, he realises he needs to adopt a different approach in order to succeed. Who says comics are just for kids?!

There are so many incredible scenes in this book, that it feels like a much longer series than the four issues it contains. Batman's battle of wits with Branden and his SWAT team is another favourite - this is where we see Batman at his best, outwitting a squad of trained men to escape (mostly) unharmed. He uses everything at his disposal - kicking down a concrete pillar in an echo of a training scene earlier on where he kicked a tree in half (!) and eventually escaping by using a sonar device to summon the bats from his Batcave!

Harvey Dent is present, pre-acid attack, and there are scenes of him working alongside Batman to bring down the powerful Falcone crime family. There are also mentions of an Arkham Asylum and a flying man of steel in Metropolis.

We also see Gordon working against the Bat, trying to uncover his identity, before finally working alongside him in the final panels as we see the first appearance (in this timeline) of the bat signal. We even see Batman saving baby James - something he might regret later on in his career!

Then of course on the final panel, before the whole page image of Batman backlit by the bat signal, we hear mention of a criminal called Joker. 

No matter what Frank Miller might have done since, this is a true masterpiece, and a love letter to the myth of Batman.

Next up: Batman - Shaman...