All of that changed when Dennis O'Neil took over the writing chores and returned the character to the dark roots laid out by the late, great, Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Dennis O'Neil brought Batman comics into and through puberty. Frank Miller brought them into adulthood.

Along with the brilliant "Dark Knight Returns," "Year One" bookends the saga of Bruce Wayne by re-interpreting and sometimes redefining the character's roots. In so doing, Frank Miller laid the foundation for the character that today populates the monthly titles. Although not as grim as "Dark Knight," "Year One" nonetheless hits closer to home and is, in my opinion, the best introduction to the character for anyone unfamiliar with it outside of film and TV.

The parallel struggles of Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon to "clean up a city that likes being dirty" are brilliantly rendered by Miller, possibly the finest comics writer EVER. Miller's Jim Gordon is a far cry from the incompetent beat cop shown in movies and TV. He is a passionate, crusading man, the sort of cop Bruce Wayne might have been in another reality.

Opinions have always been strong one way or the other about the art in "Year One." For my money, you couldn't ask for more. Mazzucchelli's pencils work wonders even beyond what he did in "Daredevil: Born Again," and the coloring is particularly striking in its subtlety, even more so when you consider the "beat you over the head" standards of late-'80s comics.

All in all, this is the definitive Batman origin story. That Miller, Mazzucchelli and Lewis also manage to turn it into one of the finest Batman stories ever told is evidenced by the lasting impact it had on all subsequent interpretations of the characters involved. An all-around winner.


Batman As You've Never Seen Him Before--A Rookie...   July 6, 2000
 30 out of 32 found this review helpful

Following up on his 1986 renovation of the Batman myth with "The Dark Knight Returns", Frank Miller teamed with David Mazzucchelli to produce "Batman: Year One", a novel retelling of how Bruce Wayne came to don tights to fight crime.

Miller's Gotham City is a corrupt and festering cesspool, much as he would later depict in his Sin City series. Two good men come to town to clean things up: Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon, a new detective on the Gotham police force fresh from his role in cleaning up another police department.

Wayne himself has returned to his hometown after a long absence, during which he trained himself to become a vigilante. Wayne's first foray into crimefighting nearly ends in disaster, but leads him ultimately to adopt the Batman motif to frighten criminals. Gordon becomes his unlikely ally as he strives to clean up Gotham's police department.

The writing remains more mature and gritty than the typical comic book fare of the time. Batman is not the invincible denizen of the dark we've come to know and love, but an awkward guy in a goofy costume who seems always to be within an inch of death. Gordon is no paragon of virtue either; the main subplot deals with his affair with another cop while his wife waits to give birth to his son.

The result is a gripping, gritty, and ultimately redeeming tale which once again reinvents the familiar figure of the Batman.


A Wonderful Detective Thriller   April 17, 2002
 12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Following the time after I read Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns", whenever I hear the name "Batman", my mind immediately conjures up a vision of a lonely, troubled, ordinary man who, night by night, uses his detective skills to apprehend the criminals. He moves in the shadows and strikes fear into all those who are guilty and he. Never. Smiles.

Thanks to Miller, comic book writers proceeding after "Dark Knight Returns" have, for the most part, remained true to this vision. "Batman: Year One" is such an example and is truly a seminal body of work in the Batman canon.

"Batman: Year One" introduces us to two main characters, one being the aforementioned Dark Knight and the other being his most trusting friend and ally, (Lieutenant) James Gordon. The story is interwoven between these two men of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne has returned after having spent twelve years abroad with only one thing firmly rooted in his mind: to catch the bad guys. This desire runs parallel to (new cop in town) Gordon's own, in his case with addition to dealing with a corrupt police force.

Which is the beauty of this story. We see two men, one working for the law, and the other outside it, trying to come to terms with what they have to face. Gordon hates his job and corrupt superiors, regrets that his wife is bringing a child into this godforsaken city and has an affair to forget his troubles. Bruce Wayne/Batman on the other hand, has to come to deal with how he can strike fear into the hearts of men and maintain the image of a social elite at the same time. Something tells me they will get the hang of it.

Mazzuchelli's artwork is beautiful. Although I have always been a comic book fan, I've never really cared for the art unless it fails to help the story along. In this case, it does so much more. The art makes me feel totally uneasy with Gotham City, like I'm in Jim Gordon's place. It is perfect.

The most astounding feature of "Batman: Year One" is that it reads like a detective story and not a blockbusting special effects bonanza. Batman has always been a detective first and a "super-hero" second. He doesn't work like Superman, a character with whom comparisons are constant. It reminded me why I like him more than Superman: because he is, to all ends and purposes, only human. Miller keeps him that way which makes this a gritty and thrilling read.

I liked this book because it revived my interest in the Batman. I hear the film will be based on this story - I hope that the final script remains true to the detective aspect of "Batman: Year One", because it works best like that. The last two Batman movies were guilty of making Batman less mysterious. I want the real Batman back and if you read this book, you will too.


Classic Miller writes a must have for Bat-fans   March 13, 2001
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

I've been introduced to Frank Miller's 'Batman' stories namely by hype alone, and the hype is more than warranted. Miller writes 'Year One' the way Batman needs to be portrayed - gritty, dark and murky; all buzz-words that have become cliches for Millers work, and for the right reason. This is a crime story, true and simple.

Batman here is hardly the invincible super-hero steroetyped by our culture. Here he is just a man, one who's committed to the task of cleaning up Gotham City of the criminal element. He can be wounded, he can make mistakes, but he also gets the job done. The book also focuses on the young Jim Gordon, who would one day become Gotham's police commissioner and Batman's confidant. Here he's a young cop with all the failings and imperfections of a man striving to do whats right. Miller writes the dialogue with stark realism, and I felt like I was reading about true multi-dimensional characters.

With this book and his seminal 'Dark Knight Returns', Miller takes the icon of Batman out of the garish hands of the neon-lighted buffoonery of Hollywood and back into the shadowed streets where he was meant to be. Buy this book.


Miller's Mega Darker Batman Prequel Opus   March 4, 2005
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Frank Miller opens this absolutely must own graphic novel classic from 1987-88 by telling us that if the only Batman we remember was Adam West on Saturday mornings, then we do not know the Batman he once met, a much darker batman, a more real batman, the kind of Batman that Tim Burton would succeed somewhat in bringing to the screen in 1989, but Batman: Year One is just so much better in so many ways, and probably will remain better than any movie or television program you can expect to see or have seen. If you want to know Batman, then you should really be meeting him right here.

I especially like the Batman: Year one story. It is an excellent beginning, lots of in-jokes and capturing moments, even on-the-edge of the seat suspense, almost 100 pages of intense artwork. It is about the beginning of Batman like you have never seen it before, but also and probably more importantly, includes the beginning of Commissioner Gordon, a Lieutenant Gordon here, with a pregnant wife, who comes to Gotham City and finds his whole department on the take. The millionaire Bruce Wayne, has been training to become a vigilante since his parents where murdered by a gang of thieves. It is a psychological condition of revenge. He is trying to find the right formula to scare his victims. When he does, he goes up against the same criminals and kingpins that Lieutenant Gordon finds himself up against, no Jokers or Penguins here, but regular underworld types making it all the more level-headed, and thus a more accepting Batman and story. Batman fails in first few attempts, but manages miraculously to survive and continue on, both Gordon and Batman building their careers as crime fighters in Gotham City throughout the pages, a surprise bonus Catwoman introduced in the final act which sees the new crime-fighting duo of Batman and Gordon finally meeting up, without any sign of Robin among the 96 pages, this is certainly an alternative Batman and probably the best one. Miller's look is a murky color bleeding hard edges and smears, resulting in a Batman graphic novel that takes your breath away. The action sequences are better than any movie I can think off to date, your eyes go wide open from frame to frame as this is the kind of animate Batman you have always wanted to see in action. It is not the kind of high quality artwork you see in advanced graphic novels, this was a series character that had to meet publication dates, but is still gloriously presented none the less. Just check out the sequence with Batman in the burning building fighting the SWAT team. It is the end of Chapter Two and most of Chapter 3. That is some of the best action sequences you have ever seen committed to the page.

I would suggest that you also try and get "Batman: The Dark Night Returns" as that was the other Batman graphic novel and "Batman: The Dark Night Strikes Again", totally different types of art to Year One, as these are both Frank Miller's work, the sequels to Batman: Year One, are mostly other artists, DC comics has a list at the back, very interesting ones at that also, like Alan Moore's Batman: Killing Joke, but get all of Miller's Batman before you try any other Year One or Year Two books. I would also recommend that you actually try a BEST OF GRAPHIC NOVELS before you venture down any path. And for those who are hearing that they must read and see some graphic novels to get to know Batman, let me ask you this. Do you like to read? Do you like movies? Then why don't you try Graphic Novels? Comics you say? Don't say that. This stuff is art. Do you like to read? Then why not Graphic Novels? Do you like movies? Then why not Graphic Novels? Why not? Why? Because it can be... "More fun than going to the movies" - Kevin Smith, Director Clerks. **At this time of writing I do not believe that the movie Batman: Begins is related to this classic piece of art**