Batman Earth One Review -- A Dark Knight for a New Generation

You only think you know his story.

Spoilers are covered in blue. Highlight at your own risk.

I was wary of yet another retelling of Batman's origin, but this DC Comics original was a truly fresh take on the beginnings of the Dark Knight. It deviates from conventions just enough while not straying from familiar territory. In short, I think it's a great read and I even prefer it to Year One.

Pluses:

• Artwork. Earth One has a cinematic quality, in terms of graphic presentation, pacing, and transitions. Panels "come to life" and some even take up two pages. The story is easy to follow and I think it would make a great, but short, animated film.
• Alfred is a bad-ass. The Wayne's "butler" shows his true ex-Royal Marine status; but is still there to remind Bruce that he's not alone. Had this been a movie, Liam Neeson would actually play a good "Earth One" Alfred.
• Batman isn't perfect. Batman's special skills are evident while in the suit, but if the situation is against him, he gets his ass handed to him. He's not immune to occasional clumsiness, either. After all, he his human. And he's young. Not in age; but as Batman.
• It's modernized. In stark contrast to Frank Miller's renowned Batman graphic novels, Earth One takes place in modern time with hints such as Blu-ray discs and a young but competent Lucius Fox.
• Unconventional characters. I think one of Earth One's best highlights is that its main characters are not typical of Batman origin stories, such as:
• Harvey Bullock: in contrast to Batman: The Animated Series where Gordon's green running partner is the butt of fat jokes; Bullock in Earth One is a cheesy handsome but naive TV personality who is out for exposure and learns the true nature of Gotham City the hard way.
• Barbara Gordon: daddy's little girl, all that Gordon has left, a little too ambitious, but is portrayed as smart rather than hasty. I love the scene at the end where she is drawing herself as a Batgirl.
• Mayor Oswald Cobblebot: aka The Penguin, I liked his portrayal here. He actually finds out who the Batman is, but he dies later, so Batman's identity is concealed for now.
• The Arkham family name is mentioned just as much as the Wayne's.
• Good balance of villains. I liked that there was a corrupt cop (Axe), a creepy masked serial killer from the Crane Institute (The Birthday Boy), and a high-status Penguin. The ending took me by surprise the most. I was anticipating one thing, but got another, equally as good.

Minuses:

The fact that I have to wait for the next installment.

Overall Score: 10/10