Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: David Mazzucchelli
Colour Art: Richmond Lewis
Publisher: DC/Titan Books
I've just read the best Bat-story of the last twenty years, and it's nineteen years old. (Let's say that Dark Knight Returns is 21 years old for the sake of argument.)
Re-released in a handsome hardcover edition to tie-in with the Batman Begins flick, this is, quite frankly [sic] the single most important and high quality Bat-book that you should own. If you've already got it in paperback then you get a slap on the back from me, coupled with a slap in the chops if you haven't actually read it in the last six months. Go and read it again right now, I'll wait for you...
Year One is that rarest of beasts, a self-contained story - you don't even need any familiarity with Bats, all you have to know is here, concisely and effectively presented in flashback, as we follow a dual narrative of Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham City after years away, determined to do something about the rampant crime in 'his' city, and Lt. James Gordon, arriving there for the first time, discovering corruption runs to the highest level, yet with a heavily pregnant wife and no allies on the force, what can one man do?
Miller produced possibly his best-ever DC work on this book, and Mazzucchelli's moody art, given an added grim and realistic tone by the subdued yet beautiful colouring of Lewis, fits the bill to a tee...there's no need for any other Bat-artist after this, Mr Mazz nails it from the off. Miller's use of dual captions simultaneously for Bats and Gordon puts recent uses (eg in Superman/Batman) to shame...and Miller used this technique 20 years ago, man.
This book is a stunning piece of work (I haven't even mentioned the forty-odd pages of extras, some very high quality items among them); it's a damning indictment of how moribund Bat-books have been since its original release, but this is genuinely a classic, an essential purchase for fans and non-fans alike...a must-have.
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