Was there something missing in Batman: Year One?

[Rinquinquin]

Over the last few days since I finally got it and the Long Halloween and read them, I can’t shake this nagging feeling that something was missing in Batman: Year One. The story and art was okay (the Long Halloween came across as better to me though), but not what I had anticipated – leaving me a little bit disappointed and very puzzled. It felt like a component was left out of its whole structure and even after rereading it five times, I can’t figure out what it is.

Am I the only one that feels this way?

[resipsaloquitur]

It could be that you're unused to a pure crime-fighting Batman with no super villainy involved. Year One lacks Batman's traditional rogue's gallery--there's no Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, or any of the others. Catwoman is the only one who's involved in the story, and even she serves as a sort of "street level" foil to the new Batman. Otherwise, you have a mere mention of the Joker at the end and some glimpses of a pre-Two Face Harvey Dent (who doesn't even show hints of going bad yet).

Despite The Long Halloween following from Year One, there's a six-month gap between the stories (Year One ends in early December; TLH picks up in June) and TLH's core parts don't really get moving until October. Thematically, TLH isn't just about the Holiday mystery, but also about Gotham's transition from being a mafia-controlled city to one controlled by "freaks." However, TLH is premised on the "freaks" already existing in Gotham. Other than Two-Face, Batman's rogues have already debuted in Gotham, although they're still new (there's a scene where Boss Maroni meets the Joker and doesn't know who he is). So impliedly, all the villain debuts happen in the six months between Year One and TLH, or possibly in the spaces between chapters of TLH. What you could be feeling is some of the disconnect between those books.

If you want to get a better feel of where the post-Crisis, pre-Nu52 Batman villains came from, you might track down a Batman trade called Four of a Kind. It provides the post-Crisis origins for Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Man-Bat, and the Riddler. (Alternatively, you could track down the 1995 Batman Annuals which supply the original "Year One" stories for those characters. The Robin annual was pretty good too.) I believe there was also some post-Year One comic dealing with Batman's first Post-Crisis encounter with the Joker (was it The Man Who Laughs?) that fills some of that gap.

[Rinquinquin]

"It could be that you're unused to a pure crime-fighting Batman with no super villainy involved. Year One lacks Batman's traditional rogue's gallery--there's no Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, or any of the others. Catwoman is the only one who's involved in the story, and even she serves as a sort of "street level" foil to the new Batman. Otherwise, you have a mere mention of the Joker at the end and some glimpses of a pre-Two Face Harvey Dent (who doesn't even show hints of going bad yet)."

I was actually glad Year One didn't have quite a few of those characters in it, especially the Joker. Harvey Dent, along with Commissioner Gordon, was my favorite aspect of this book. I found I really liked him Pre-Two Face and it made it so much more sad once I got to reading and finishing the Long Halloween.

"Despite The Long Halloween following from Year One, there's a six-month gap between the stories (Year One ends in early December; TLH picks up in June) and TLH's core parts don't really get moving until October. Thematically, TLH isn't just about the Holiday mystery, but also about Gotham's transition from being a mafia-controlled city to one controlled by "freaks." However, TLH is premised on the "freaks" already existing in Gotham. Other than Two-Face, Batman's rogues have already debuted in Gotham, although they're still new (there's a scene where Boss Maroni meets the Joker and doesn't know who he is). So impliedly, all the villain debuts happen in the six months between Year One and TLH, or possibly in the spaces between chapters of TLH. What you could be feeling is some of the disconnect between those books."

Yeah, maybe that could be it. Now that I think of it, when I did finish Year One and went to the Long Halloween, when all those villains popped up, I felt so lost and confused.

"If you want to get a better feel of where the post-Crisis, pre-Nu52 Batman villains came from, you might track down a Batman trade called Four of a Kind. It provides the post-Crisis origins for Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Man-Bat, and the Riddler. (Alternatively, you could track down the 1995 Batman Annuals which supply the original "Year One" stories for those characters. The Robin annual was pretty good too.) I believe there was also some post-Year One comic dealing with Batman's first Post-Crisis encounter with the Joker (was it The Man Who Laughs?) that fills some of that gap."

Heh, I'll have to wait on those. My pocketbook's practically crying since I've got ten other Batman books on the way. lol. I'll just write it down for the holidays or something. Thanks!

[K. Jones]

When I first read Year One, I found it to be a little light on the Bruce. It's supposed to be a parallel narrative between Bruce returning from the world and Jim moving into Gotham but it feels like Jim gets all the story beats (sometimes literally) while Bruce doesn't have much. Now, the "military disguise", goes into the wrong part of town, gets shot and "I shall become a bat" part are absolute magic, and the bit where he's in the burning building under fire from Flass and SWAT, and saves the cat, are great ... but there's not really a big "Batman Plot" that he has to overcome. Gordon's got to overcome an entire corrupt GCPD, Batman basically just has to shake off some rookie problems that he didn't account for.

The beauty of YO is that it's just four issues. It's punchy, it's not too long. It's really efficiently told. And Dave Mazzucchelli is undeniable.

[ReverseReverseFlash]

Over the last few days since I finally got it and the Long Halloween and read them, I can’t shake this nagging feeling that something was missing in Batman: Year One. The story and art was okay (the Long Halloween came across as better to me though), but not what I had anticipated – leaving me a little bit disappointed and very puzzled. It felt like a component was left out of its whole structure and even after rereading it five times, I can’t figure out what it is.

Am I the only one that feels this way?

No, I agree. It's typical Frank Miller drab. I'm not a fan of it at all.

[Rinquinquin]

@K. Jones: “When I first read Year One, I found it to be a little light on the Bruce. It's supposed to be a parallel narrative between Bruce returning from the world and Jim moving into Gotham but it feels like Jim gets all the story beats (sometimes literally) while Bruce doesn't have much.”

Yeah, it was light on Bruce and that’s one of the things I didn’t like. I wanted to take a peek deeper into Bruce’s mind and although it did show something, it wasn’t enough to sate me. I didn’t mind learning more on Gordon. It’s that I learnt more about him than I did of Batman and that left me torn and frustrated.

“Now, the "military disguise", goes into the wrong part of town, gets shot and "I shall become a bat" part are absolute magic, and the bit where he's in the burning building under fire from Flass and SWAT, and saves the cat, are great ... but there's not really a big "Batman Plot" that he has to overcome. Gordon's got to overcome an entire corrupt GCPD, Batman basically just has to shake off some rookie problems that he didn't account for.”

The burning building under fire and SWAT was possibly my favorite bit in the book. But the “I shall become a bat part” just…no, I was irked. I thought, “Really? That’s it?! Really?!” It actually made me pause for a minute to think that just maybe I read and interrupted it wrong. But nope. One of the biggest disappointments for me.

“The beauty of YO is that it's just four issues. It's punchy, it's not too long. It's really efficiently told. And Dave Mazzucchelli is undeniable.”

It efficiently told Gordon’s story but not Batman’s for me. I just didn’t really like it.

@ReverseReverseFlash: Aww, this is Frank Miller’s style? Darn it! I might not be getting any Sin City books anytime soon. Such a downer!

[phonogram12]

@K. Jones: “When I first read Year One, I found it to be a little light on the Bruce. It's supposed to be a parallel narrative between Bruce returning from the world and Jim moving into Gotham but it feels like Jim gets all the story beats (sometimes literally) while Bruce doesn't have much.”

Yeah, it was light on Bruce and that’s one of the things I didn’t like. I wanted to take a peek deeper into Bruce’s mind and although it did show something, it wasn’t enough to sate me. I didn’t mind learning more on Gordon. It’s that I learnt more about him than I did of Batman and that left me torn and frustrated.

“Now, the "military disguise", goes into the wrong part of town, gets shot and "I shall become a bat" part are absolute magic, and the bit where he's in the burning building under fire from Flass and SWAT, and saves the cat, are great ... but there's not really a big "Batman Plot" that he has to overcome. Gordon's got to overcome an entire corrupt GCPD, Batman basically just has to shake off some rookie problems that he didn't account for.”

The burning building under fire and SWAT was possibly my favorite bit in the book. But the “I shall become a bat part” just…no, I was irked. I thought, “Really? That’s it?! Really?!” It actually made me pause for a minute to think that just maybe I read and interrupted it wrong. But nope. One of the biggest disappointments for me.

“The beauty of YO is that it's just four issues. It's punchy, it's not too long. It's really efficiently told. And Dave Mazzucchelli is undeniable.”

It efficiently told Gordon’s story but not Batman’s for me. I just didn’t really like it.

@ReverseReverseFlash: Aww, this is Frank Miller’s style? Darn it! I might not be getting any Sin City books anytime soon. Such a downer!

If you like highly stylized hardboiled crime fiction, get Sin City. You'll be doing yourself a disservice if you don't. And if you haven't already, Dark Knight Returns. That focuses way more on Bruce's psyche.

[Tupiaz]

Over the last few days since I finally got it and the Long Halloween and read them, I can’t shake this nagging feeling that something was missing in Batman: Year One. The story and art was okay (the Long Halloween came across as better to me though), but not what I had anticipated – leaving me a little bit disappointed and very puzzled. It felt like a component was left out of its whole structure and even after rereading it five times, I can’t figure out what it is.

Am I the only one that feels this way?

I think it feels natural for a year one story. I will recommend Prey it is a dark story dealing with Hugo Strange and is one of the first abnormal/psychological villains. The first Hugo Strange story in continuity is Monster Men however I'm not a big fan. The follow up story Mad Monk was a bit better.

Despite The Long Halloween following from Year One, there's a six-month gap between the stories (Year One ends in early December; TLH picks up in June) and TLH's core parts don't really get moving until October. Thematically, TLH isn't just about the Holiday mystery, but also about Gotham's transition from being a mafia-controlled city to one controlled by "freaks." However, TLH is premised on the "freaks" already existing in Gotham. Other than Two-Face, Batman's rogues have already debuted in Gotham, although they're still new (there's a scene where Boss Maroni meets the Joker and doesn't know who he is). So impliedly, all the villain debuts happen in the six months between Year One and TLH, or possibly in the spaces between chapters of TLH. What you could be feeling is some of the disconnect between those books.

Because of the transformation I get the feeling that it happens between issues. Maybe I should reread it to figure out if you could place any origin stories between them. Then again I'm reading in trades and would just place For of a kind before TLH.

If you want to get a better feel of where the post-Crisis, pre-Nu52 Batman villains came from, you might track down a Batman trade called Four of a Kind. It provides the post-Crisis origins for Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Man-Bat, and the Riddler. (Alternatively, you could track down the 1995 Batman Annuals which supply the original "Year One" stories for those characters. The Robin annual was pretty good too.) I believe there was also some post-Year One comic dealing with Batman's first Post-Crisis encounter with the Joker (was it The Man Who Laughs?) that fills some of that gap.

Yes, the Man who laughs is the first Joker story.

[ViewtifulJC]

No, I didn't think anything was missing. If anything, it probably could have afforded to cut out that Catwoman sub-plot.

As it is, its still one of the greatest Batman stories of all-time.

[t hedge coke]

but there's not really a big "Batman Plot" that he has to overcome..

I'd say there is. Being Batman wasn't just putting on the costume. It was learning to trust people, it was accepting that his "world" wasn't all perfect nice and wonderful and those poor ghetto bastards robbed him of his parents, Bruce has to grow past just trying to scare hookers or intimidate teenagers boosting a TV set and start genuinely helping people. He's got to go to organized crime and political corruption and make it pee its pants. That takes him all four issues to work out.

The Bruce Wayne in the fourth issue is not the Bruce from the first pages of the first issue.

Revising his entire approach to class structures, discovering the depths of organized criminal efforts, feeling desperation, those aren't "rookie problems." By the end of the comic, the guys Batman is fighting are his neighbors, not the faceless bums down in the projects that he'd been blaming since he was eight. Police corruption isn't one anomalous cop. Organized crime isn't kids swiping stereo speakers when nobody's looking, to sell for pot and cheeseburgers, it's not sex workers trying to make rent and pay off shakedown men and pimps. That's Bruce's journey, out of this very selfish, very isolated rich boy lifestyle, where he's allowed to stew and "train" and indulge himself.

[resipsaloquitur]

I suppose it's worth noting that there's a number of "early" post-Crisis Batman stories worth checking out, as DC maintained this weird fascination with filling in Batman's early days between 1986 and 2005. (I am not clear what "Year" Batman was on after the Crisis--for awhile, everything would have been considered "Year Ten.") If you want to go in a rough order, keeping in mind that you'll run into different artistic styles and probably even some continuity conflicts, try reading:

- The Man Who Falls (a Denny O'Neil prequelish-story to Year One)
- Year One
- Batman and the Monster Men
- Batman and the Mad Monk
- The Man Who Laughs
- Year Two (I'm not sure the trade is available anymore, but the original issues were Detective #575-578)
- Four of a Kind (this trade is also out of print, but the originals were the four 1995 Batman annuals)
- The Long Halloween

I should note that once you get into the time of Robin's appearance, the continuity gets a bit messy as there are multiple versions of Robin's post-Crisis origin and I don't think they all jibe together that well. You've got Dark Victory, Legends of the Dark Knight #100, Year Three (which was originally Batman #436-439) and the 1995 Robin annual. I have no idea which if any was considered "canonical" or if each just replaced the last. If you read Chuck Dixon's Robin comic, then the 1995 annual probably best kept in the spirit of that book since he wrote it (even though it was about Dick and not Tim). Year Three is probably the most dubious at this point, since Dark Victory is well into Year Four if you want to take the timeframes literally.

You'd probably want to finish with Robin: Year One and Batgirl: Year One which are both still available in one big trade.

[ViewtifulJC]

No one ever needs to read Year Two...or Year Three

[SpideyZERO]

For me, I feel that Year One lacks one powerful climax. IMO, the storyline peaked with the swat confrontation so the chase for James Jr felt rather weak as a conclusion after that. And there was no proper ending, it's like one extra panel/page of Batman appearing was cut short.

[phonogram12]

I think I may be the only one who likes Year Two. Alan Davis' early stuff on Batman is absolutely incredible.

[Tupiaz]

I think I may be the only one who likes Year Two. Alan Davis' early stuff on Batman is absolutely incredible.

I have seen it gets more and more praise lately and you are not the only one in this thread.