It’s hard to believe that it has been six years since DC Comics announced the Earth One line of graphic novels, which included the reveal of "Batman: Earth One" (I was just a Freshman in high school...). After the massive success of "Superman: Earth One" (though a critical disappointment), fans waited eagerly for the "Dark Knight" incarnation. Whether it was a creative delay or simply a marketing effort to wait for the next Batman movie (Probably the latter), Geoff Johns (Bless this man's soul) and Gary Frank’s "Batman: Earth One" came, and best of all, it exceed anyone's expectations.
I won’t lie; during the initial portions of this book I was taken aback by some of the liberties Johns takes with the Batman mythology. Characters feel wholly new and their dynamic with one another is, in many cases, entirely different. However, the masterstroke is how Johns brings the entire story full circle to put these characters in their place in something of a series of "ooooooh" moments. There’s still a huge degree of freshness to it – like one major character in particular reaching a grim end – but by the time you close this book, you’ll have experienced an enlightening new approach to the classic Batman origin. I dare say that not since the seminal "Batman: Year One" have readers gotten such a thoroughly fresh take on this story.
Johns doesn’t change the circumstances so much as he does the characters themselves. Most significantly altered is the Bruce/Alfred dynamic (and Alfred in general, who is now a total gun-toting badass), but the beauty comes as Johns is able to mold the characters’ tense dynamic into the one that we’ve come to know and love. In a similar fashion, the Batman/Gordon partnership is essentially non-existent, while usual “year one” story regulars like Harvey Dent take a back seat (though there is a humorous wink-and-nod to Dent’s destiny at one point). But again, Johns disassembles these familiar pieces with a purpose. Thankfully, when he reconstructs them in a whole new way, he manages to provide a new view of the Dark Knight that actually feels like what the "Earth One" books are supposed to be: a modern take on classic characters.
While Batman, Alfred, and Gordon are amazing in "Earth One" is all great, it’s the rest of the book’s supporting cast that will make you fall in love with the story. Among them you’ll find Harvey Bullock – reimagined as a hot-shot Hollywood detective trying to make big headlines by cracking the long-closed Wayne murder case – and Barbara Gordon, the whip-smart daughter of Jim. And who could forget everybody's favorite mob boss, the Penguin, as ol’ Oswald Cobblepot gets another fantastic turn here hot off the heels of the great "Penguin: Pain and Prejudice" mini-series. Johns juggles a ton of pieces but manages to allot enough time to each of these elements to give "Earth One" a well-paced, rounded story, with every character being left in a very different place than where they started. The only place the narrative falls short is in building the foundation between Batman and Gordon, but I imagine that could be left for the inevitable Volume 2 as Batman realizes he’s going to need help in this war on crime.
It’s nice to see writer/artist Gary Frank move into a darker realm of DC than his previous past projects prior to "Batman: Earth One." While the action sequences look stellar, it’s in the character work and the more subtle conversational scenes that Frank’s artwork really makes strides. While many of his characters, both male and female, suffer from having extremely similar features, the subtleties he is able to pull off with those features are most impressive. Particularly in the scenes between Alfred and Bruce, Frank is able to use the slightest adjustment of an eyebrow or the furrow of Alfred’s wrinkles to effectively underline Johns’ script.
By that same token – as writer Brad Meltzer actually points out in a quote on the back of the book – Frank’s Batman costume lets us see Batman’s eyes through the cowl. There are no white slits here. What this does is bring an added humanity to the character as Batman, which reflects the fallible way that Johns writes him. When we first see Batman on the scene, it begins as a situation we’ve seen countless times: the "Dark Knight" stalking a criminal over the rooftops of Gotham. Until his grapple gun malfunctions and he makes an ass out of himself. In this way, seeing Batman’s eyes remind us that he’s 100% human behind all of that spectacle. It’s a nice touch.
Even greater subtleties in both writing and artwork can be found through Bullock’s character, whose journey is perhaps the most profoundly jarring throughout the course of the book. Even better is the way that Johns and Frank work together to sell this bold new take on the old, disgruntled detective – gaining the reader’s confidence only pages after his debut.
"Batman: Earth One" is a story worthy to all those who call themselves Batman fans. There’s no supplemental material to speak of, but the beautiful characterization, interesting new direction, and stunning artwork makes it an easy recommendation. When "Superman: Earth One" disappointed it left me cold on the "Earth One" books, but Johns and Frank have rejuvenated this line tenfold and made sure that Batman fans have a great new graphic novel to rave about. So if you are at your local Barnes and Nobles, why not check out "Batman: Earth One."
