Writer Blocks - Batman: Year One

It was 1987, February, and I stood alone in front of the spinner rack at the Shop-Rite in Neptune City, NJ. It was the first time a Batman comic book caught my eye.  On the top, above even the title, it said “By Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli”:



I was a huge Miller fan, and the Daredevil: Born Again storyline by Miller and Mazzucchelli, which I had purchased from that same spinner rack the previous year, was and is one of my all-time favorites, so I couldn’t wait to get home and read what they did with the Batman.

Not only did I get a classic story, but also a lesson in dichotomy and juxtaposition.

Batman: Year One is really the story of James Gordon’s arrival in Gotham City and his struggle against crime, corruption and infidelity.  Bruce Wayne, and thus Batman, is almost a supporting player, acting as a visual representation of what Gordon is going through.  This compare / contrast effect begins on the very first page:



Gordon enters the city, and thus the story, on the ground, while Bruce returns to his birthplace by plane, above the fray.

Above it all. 

This sets the tone for the entire arc. Gordon is already an accomplished cop as opposed to Bruce, who has to learn how to be “Batman”.  While Bruce is getting stabbed by a young prostitute and then arrested, Gordon is taking out his main rival, Detective Flass.  And as the confidence and notoriety of Batman grows, it empowers Gordon to become a hero in his own right.

The two eventually collide at the climax of the book when Bruce saves Gordon’s newborn son, James, by diving into a mud pit, similar to where old man Batman defeats the Mutant Leader in Dark Knight. Gordon lets Bruce know that his secret is safe, saying that he is “practically blind without my glasses”:



Blind as a bat.

Batman: Year One is also the first time I remember picking-up on visual motifs in a comic book.  The clown painting hanging over Commissioner Loeb’s chair is a clear homage to the Joker:



As I read this I was positive that the book would end with Loeb becoming the Joker. I was half right. Batman: Year One does end with the arrival of the Clown Prince of Crime, but this is used to show the new respect and partnership between Gordon and Batman:



Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns will always be the bookends to the Caped Crusader’s career in my mind.  While what Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are currently doing with Batman in the New 52 is excellent, and Zero Year was an epic story, nothing can replace these two works by Frank Miller as how I will always see my Batman.

Next Week – Miller Time continues with Daredevil