Batman Year One

Frank Miller--awesome. I've said that before, but you really can't overstate it...Miller is a fantastic writer. Read his stuff; absorb his awesome.

Right off the bat, I love the cover. I don't like red and black together normally because of how douchy emo it comes off:

But since this is so subtle, I think it works well. I like the comic covers that don't try to do too much--interest is in simplicity.

Kind of preferring the alternate cover/title page art though--it wouldn't have worked with the cover since it would have distracted from the title, but I like the yellow and black and the glowing eyes effect. I don't know David Mazzucchelli, who is the illustrator, so I'm excited about seeing how it turns out.

Normally, I hate recap pages that are excessively wordy and I generally skip introductions all together....I am genuinely glad I read this one. Does anyone know if Frank Miller only writes comics, or does he write novels as well? That was beautifully written--the man has a gift for imagery; any work he published, I would read with enthusiasm, even if it was a car manual.

(By the way, could you imagine how badass that manual would be? "Out of the penetrating darkness, whispering silently on a 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive and Driver Shift Control....the new Buick Lacrosse")

That is an interesting and artistic take on a young Bruce Wayne over the fallen bodies of his parents--the black and white with the overlay of red, purple, and brown hands seeking comfort, protection? A little bleak, a little dark, but quite touching in its pain.

I have an immediate dislike of Detective Flass. In one panel, he chokes a well-meaning evangelist (which admittedly I can relate to, but I would never ACT on those urges) and called Commissioner Gordon "Jimmy". It's disrespectful and Gordy should school your ass. :-/

Bruce Wayne is wearing a popped collar. No joke--it looks like a very upper-crust black windbreaker with the collar popped. On the one hand, it's hilarious. On the other, Bruce would be so oblivious to current fashions that Alfred would most likely have to purchase all of his clothes, which means that Alfred most likely intentionally chose this look for him. That makes it doubly hilarious.

The art in the issue definitely has it's own charms. It's very different than most comics I read now, but that's because there is very little going on in the background in most of the panels--they draw what they want you to see and no more. It is kind of refreshing in a way; you don't need to see how many windows there are on the office building down the street when you are supposed to notice the fight in the foreground, you know?

I don't know if this is going to be indicative of the entire series but I am LOVING how Gordon-centric this has been so far. Batman is one of the greatest characters in all of literature and entertainment--no one is denying that....but you have to remember that such a strong figure still needs a stellar cast for the story to continue for nearly 100 years. And Bruce has some really amazing players--Jason Todd, Ra's al Ghul, Oracle (to name a few)....

Anyways, it's really nice to be getting to see more of Commission Gordon when he is just getting started, seeing him as a true badass instead of a tubby old tired policeman that the movies have morphed him into.

Bruce chopping through a miniature brick wall is pretty neat, visually. I like the hoodie look for him too. You don't really see much of Bruce in his downtime, and it is nice to see him as a person outside of the suit, ya know?

The more time they focus on Flass, the more I want to beat him with a stick. Gordy needs to bring the beat down on this jackass.

It is an interesting thought, one that I had never considered before...Bruce has been known as a playboy billionaire, and in some incarnations he even perpetuates this ideal as part of his alter-ego alibi....but with his being by far the biggest name in the city, it would be damned near impossible for him to disappear as frequently as he does. If he quotes travel, there must be pictures of him abroad. If he claims to be at a social/charity event within the city, he must make an appearance and hope nobody notices that he is not present the entire time. How is he able to maintain this illusion so successfully for so long? You can't claim that he just puts money in the right hands because you cannot guarantee silence that way, and you open yourself up to blackmail or tailing. You are going to peak the interest of at least some...how is Bruce able to harbor his secret identity all these years when he is such a public figure?

Downside of the artwork--Bruce is doing something in the car to alter his appearance for a reconnaissance mission....I couldn't tell you what he is doing there if you paid me. My first thought was that he was slicing his face open but that would be the height of jackassery: he would be able to conceal his identity for the night, but when Bruce Wayne appears (again, very publicly) the next day with the same type of injury....doesn't take a genius (or even a retarded monkey) to figure that one out.

Why do guys always hope their offspring is a boy?? Are they just afraid of having little girls, or is it that macho-guy mentality and narcissism of creating a clone of themselves? Just wondering.

What is Gordon's military past?? I have never heard mention of this, though I was curious earlier when he recognized Flass's style as Green Beret training and memorized his style for future reference. I assume they will further touch on it later in the issue/series or they wouldn't have missed it now.

I thought the Commissioner specifically told Flass NOT to send Gordon a "warning"? That means all these officers are out of control. Sucks that Gordon got beat, and I am underwhelmed by Flass and his cronies picking the cliched bat methodology. But once again, that tells us more about the characters--they are unimaginative, greedy, and corrupt, which means that Gordon has an increased chance of taking them off-guard.

The young prostitute makes me sad =( She's just a little girl....

Why would the little girl stab Bruce for standing up for her? I guess it makes sense on some kind of sad level--if he didn't kill the pimp (which, true to Batman tradition, I assume he left the man alive), then the flesh-peddler (a synonym I happened across, lol) will come up furious and is less likely to take it it out on his girls if they are defending him against his attacker.

The prostitute Selina reminds me of Catwoman; I think she is supposed to. If so, I like this origin for her, and I like seeing the dichotomous nature of her--the dominatrix, tough gal prostitute and the nurturing, motherly protectoress of the young Holly.

Okay, it is a very simple thing but I really adored this--from a literary perspective it is absolutely intriguing and fascinating: when he was shot, Bruce assessed the nicked artery rationally before he drifted into unconsciousness. When he came to, he was in the back of the police cruiser, listening to minimum-wage rent-a-cops discussing letting him die or not. He then breaks out of the handcuffs like a boss.

Why I liked this so much: it shows the humanity of Bruce before he does something super badass. Think about how many comics you would read where Batman would pass out. There wouldn't many--people don't like reading about their superhero acting in a way that is less than heroic; and God forbid they actually display their humanity. I can hear the howls of "Batman would NEVER pass out!"

But in those comic issues where from beginning to end, Bruce Wayne is the hero everyone expects him to be, if he had broken through his restraints....well, who cares?

In a situation where he has just acted as any normal human being would...it makes it so much more awesome to see him do something like snapping the chain of handcuffs.

Okay, so I kind of let myself get carried away there, but honestly--this comic is making me remember exactly why I really love Frank Miller.

Gordon impresses me with how much information he has all ready gleaned from his fellow officers in such a short amount of time. Haha, yes!!! The "he's a green beret, a big one...even so he deserves a handicap" page....simply stunning.

The fact that 1) Gordon got the crap kicked out of him earlier by at least four guys with bats and 2) he could have done so much more damage to Flass and he knows it....I am loving this Lt. Gordon. With:

This guy, you wonder why Batman would value him as an ally....but with this interpretation of James, you know why Batman is friends with this guy and damn it all, you wish he was your friend too!!

Why would Alfred all ready be trained in combat medicine? Is that just a precautionary extra that Thomas Wayne liked in a butler, or was there a more secret reason that perhaps Alfred needed this particular knowledge?

It's official--I love David M. (the artist) too. I wasn't sold at first because some of the dress was a bit dated BUT he works so well with Miller.....this was an amazing comic. I don't say that lightly.

I talked waaaaaaaaaay more than I intended and that was just the first chapter. Did I mention that I like that they are writing this in novel form with the chapter fragmenting format? Because I do.

Anyways, expect a post about chapter 2 tomorrow. This first section took me the better part of two hours to read and rave about. Loved it, loved everything about it. I should send Frank Miller a fruit basket or something.

Ack! Time for bath =)

~Andie!~