Na na na na na na Batman!

If you haven't been stuck under a rock for the last 74 years (Well 74 in May) then you are familiar with a someone named... Batman, pardon me –clears throat- BATMAN. Yes, Gotham’s caped crusader, the Dark Knight, or just mild mannered billionaire CEO and philanthropist Bruce Wayne has been entertaining us since his inception, keeping us on the edge of our seats with thrilling storylines and jaw dropping action. Batman however, has done something that most DC heroes have yet to do, successfully translate his wildly popular comic to the big and small screens. With the most recent success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy Batman is at a new level of popularity, and DC knows this, they’re using its success to help launch a new Man of Steel series, cause unlike Batman, a movie about an alien who is nearly a god, has been less easy to adapt into an entertaining movie franchise.

 But...movies and TV are for a different day, today I’d like to go back in time a bit and talk about what is generally accepted as the inspiration for the newest Batman Trilogy, a little arc known as Batman: Year One, written by Frank Miller and drawn by David Mazzucchelli. The story arc establishes the roots for the series and its perennial characters; Bruce Wayne/Batman and Lieutenant (Future Commissioner) James Gordon. The series begins with Bruce Wayne flying back into Gotham, and Gordon riding the train to meet his wife Barbara. This arc is really cool for a number of reasons; one of my favorite is the expansion of Gordon’s character. If you grew up in the mid 80’s or early 90’s you hopefully remember Batman: The Animated Series, and the gruff commissioner from the cartoon, well in Year One, Gordon isn’t just gruff in this, he’s a bit of a badass with the morals to keep him from becoming a corrupted brute like many of his fellow officers on the Gotham City Police Department. Both Wayne and Gordon predominantly narrate through internal monologue, it’s oddly reminiscent of Miller’s Sin City, In the scene below Gordon outclasses a cop named Flass and the scene always makes me think of Marv fighting Kevin in Sin City.

Gordon doesn't take crap from no one.

 As the story continues our primary characters slowly start to have interaction, at first it’s through other characters, but eventually as Batman starts to work his way up from street level crime to the upper echelons he comes into conflict with two powerful opponents, Commissioner Loeb and Carmine “The Roman” Falcone, a big time mob boss whose business is being ruined by good ol’ Batman. While Loeb is at a dinner with Falcone and some other supporters Bats decides to put the corrupt on notice. 

 This is but the beginning, days later after making good on the threat to take down the kings of Gotham crime, Gordon is told to take Batman out, and make it fast. They try to trap him, but Bats has some inside information from a familiar source, one Harvey Dent, after a mistake of epic proportions and the actions of our corrupted commissioner at the end of the second issue it really does look like our Caped Crusader has been cooked very well done.

 Will Batman come out of this alive? What will Gordon do? Find out in our next exciting review when we tackle Issues #3 and #4 for the thrilling conclusion of Batman: Year One, See you all next time Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel.