So to start
off my journey into the dark cave made completely out of the hundreds (or is it
thousands?) of Batman comics ever published. I light up a torch and follow the
tunnel that leads me further on, the floor under me making a ruffling sound as
I stomp on the cheesy issues where Ace the bat-hound was first introduced.
Finally I
reach my destination, the treasure I’m looking for right in front of me,
shining on its pedestal. A wise man on the internet told me that this would be
where I should start, and where I should first delve into the dark street of
Gotham.
I pick up
Batman: Year One, and start reading.
So, Batman:
Year One. As the name suggests, this is clearly the comic that describes the
first year of the Dark Knight as the protector of Gotham, and it seemed like a
sane suggestion when random people on the internet said I should read it first.
Going into
Year One, I was expecting something slightly different than what it is. Instead
of being a collection of stories about his first encounters with his various
villains, each story contained within itself and not interfering too much with
the other stories, Year One offers shots from various days in the lives of
Gotham. For example, the very first page starts out in the fourth of January,
and on page six it skips forward to February 12th. Although at first
confused, I grew accustomed to this style of storytelling fairly quickly and it
grew on me.
The second
surprise of Year One is that there are no supervillains. There’s no Joker,
there’s no Clayface, not even Bane shows up to beat on the Batman. Instead the
book concentrates more on Batman’s growth as a character and how he starts
defining himself, and how he learns to properly be the Batman. The villain in
the book throughout is the Falcone crime family, and although most of the
action is centered around taking down the Falcones, it still isn’t the focus of
the story.
It’s
obvious that this whole book was crafted as a stepping stone for further Batman
reading, and I do agree that anyone new to the comics should start with this
one. However the story suffers from the same things that the Lord of the Rings
books in parts did; there’s too much description of some events that no one
cares about. In LOTR it was traveling through an open field with absolutely
nothing in it, in Batman: Year One its Batman contemplating about him being
Batman.
I still
have to say, the book was a very good read. The depiction of the character is
dark but not overly dark, and he has those human flaws that every character
needs in order to be interesting. This isn’t some god descended down on
humanity, this is a man with a set of extraordinary skills. He can take down an
entire SWAT team, but not without facing real danger and taking some damage
himself.
Overall,
this was a very good book. I recommend you pick it up if you have the chance.
