I've always been a huge fan of Batman. I was born in the 80s so I grew up watching the Tim Burton's films (Batman, Batman Returns) as well as Batman the animated series. Later in the 90s we got the Schumacker films.. Thankfully I was still young and they didn't scar me as much as they could have.. After that we moved into the Nolan trilogy which was overall pretty good. It was during this period that I began playing the Batman Arkham series of video games, which were amazing. So why am I telling you all of this? Well this was the Batman that I knew and grew up with. I wanted to dive into the comics but had no clue where to start. So after a bit of research I came across BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Which is essentially a modern retelling of Batman's origin. Most people agree it's the best place to start if you are just diving into the comics. I couldn't agree more with them. I was pulled in instantly and didn't want to put this book down. It gave me a whole new perspective on the worlds greatest detective. You see the passion and the struggle to become something greater than himself in an effort to take back Gotham. I was also very impressed with Gordon's character development. He's always been held in high regard but seeing his origin as well was a real treat. So if you are a Batman fan and are looking to get into the comics, I would agree that THIS is where you should start. Also search the web for recommended reading order. You CAN read most in any order but having a guide to steer you to the proper story arcs in the correct order I find to be very helpful. I can't wait to start the next book!

The year 1986 saw the rise of two of superherodom's most critically acclaimed graphic novels: Alan Moore's Watchmen and Frank Miller's dystopian Dark Knight Returns. After Miller's success with DKR, a stark depiction of Batman's future, DC Comics charged Miller with a revamping of Batman's origin in 1987, 48 years after Bob Kane and Bill Finger's original take on the character. In his Introduction to the reboot, Dennis O'Neil, one of Batman's premier writers in the 70's, said that the retelling of the origin story was not about changing the story, but about modernizing and improving it: "It could be given depth, complexity, a wider context. Details could be added to give it focus and credibility" (O'Neil, 1). That was a heavy order for a medium considered childish fantasy, so did 'Year One' deliver?

In short - yup. Successfully meeting all of O'Neil's criteria, Miller's Batman: Year One, beautifully illustrated by David Mazzucchelli and colored by Richmond Lewis, has become the definitive Batman origin story. Not simply an explanation of how a man can dress up like a bat and effectively combat rampant crime, though such elements are included, Year One is more about making plausible WHY a man would need to dress up like a bat and fight crime, and how Gotham City would respond.

Like Watchmen and DKR before it, Year One ascends from children's entertainment to something closer to literature. Though relatively brief, the story is complex (watch Gotham's #1 cop still come up short, justifying the extreme measures of Batman) and dramatic (two characters who endure trauma to ultimately adapt their problem solving strategies while maintaining moral rigor); if it did not make the story of Batman realistic, it made it mature and believable. This book is a must-read for all Batman or superhero fans and a great read for anyone at least marginally interested in the genre.

This collection is a great introduction not just to the character of Batman, but comic books in general. If you are a brand-new reader, and you're looking for either your first Batman book or your first book overall, this is an excellent choice. 'Batman: Year One' is the origin story as you already know it -- Bruce Wayne's parents are killed when he's a young boy, he leaves Gotham for a while and comes back ready to fight crime.

Frank Miller's telling of this tale shines in several lights. He's known for drawn-out character monologues, so you get plenty of frames with Batman or Bruce Wayne thinking to himself. This gives a great insight into the psychology of Batman and Wayne, who almost start to cement themselves as semi-individual characters -- you'll definitely pick up on this if you progress from here into other recommended reading such as 'The Man Who Laughs,' 'The Long Halloween,' 'Dark Victory' and more. The psychology behind Batman's early actions reveal a hero who isn't sure of himself, a detective whose prime mission is to investigate why he wants to be the Batman and what that really means.

We also get fully roped into Jim Gordon's world very early on. Gordon actually leads the story off, and we spend almost as much time with him as we do with Batman. He's new to Gotham, like Batman, and he's trying to make a name for himself within the crooked Gotham City Police Department. You'll read the very beginnings of Gordan's relationship with Batman, which obviously lays the groundwork for much more collaboration between the two characters.

I will note that I purchased the soft-cover trade paperback version of this book, with the red and black cover. The pages are glossy but not annoyingly so; if you're looking for the newspaper-type of print, you likely won't find that in any new printing anyway.

Art-wise, 'Year One' shows a very gritty and seedy Gotham, and Batman spends a lot of his time investigating the worst parts of town (where we're introduced to an early Catwoman too). The colors are dark and subtle, but it all works within Miller's moody writing; put it all together and you have a book that, like I wrote earlier, is simply perfect for new readers.

I'd highly recommend this as a gift as well, for anyone who hasn't read Batman's origin story in the comics. If you're a fan of the Christopher Nolan trilogy, definitely pick this up. I would tangentially recommend purchasing 'The Man Who Laughs' to get an early look at The Joker, then moving from there into 'The Long Halloween' and 'Dark Victory,' which have some more associated reading with them. These books will provide a well-rounded and extremely enjoyable look into the beginnings of Batman's career.

One of the best Batman comics ever written, this and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller are both amazing.If you like Batman at all, this is a great book to start with or read at any point. It's dark, yet exciting and the characters, peripherals, and villains are so well done.
I didn't review the plot or go into that because that's done well on this Amazon page already.
But as a huge Batman fan and graphic novel fan, this stands out as one of my favorites and go to suggestions for friends and such.

This is a book that collects the "Batman" single issues #404-407, as well as around 20 pages of extra content, written by one of the very top writers of the time. It was made in 1986, and the art reflects this time period. Todays comic book art has become so detailed and refined, this book definetly feels like its from the 80's. I decided to read this as Scott Snyder's current "Batman: Zero Year" is coming out, and they pay much repects/honor to this Year One book, which I wanted to make sure I understood. This book was the first retelling of the origin story of Batman since the original in 1939 by the creators of the character. You can also tell many aspects of this book have been takin straight out of this story, and integrated into the Christopher Nolan Batman movies as well as other things. I really enjoyed the building relationship between Batman and Gorden, with Gorden coming to terms with the fact that Gotham City actually does benefit from a vigilante hero. I would recommed this book to my friends who wanted to see a classic batman begining. Just as a side note, there is a pretty great animated movie based on this book if you enjoy the story.