What I've Been Reading - Batman: Year One // The Library

BATMAN: YEAR ONE - a graphic novel by Frank Miller & David Mazzuccheli with Richmond Lewis (1986)

Batman: Year One follows the stories of Lieutenant Gordon and Bruce Wayne as they face intertwining struggles within Gotham City.

I think this was a great book for my first foray into the Batman comics. I enjoyed the backstory behind Bruce Wayne as a supplement to the general knowledge of the story I had from pop culture.

What I found truly interesting was the back story of Lieutenant Gordon. How coming to Gotham City affected his marriage, his wife Barbara, the early progression of his career, (and because he is human) his mistakes. He's flawed but still tries to do the right thing. He fights for himself, fights for Gotham, he's a lot like Batman in that respect. In a way, I feel like I connected more with Gordon this time around than I did with Batman.

That being said, there were some great action scenes with Batman which had me shouting at the pages at times. This is the cover page to one of my favorite chapters in the book, CHAPTER THREE: BLACK DAWN. (I've reread this quote so many times, so awesome.)

And for everyone who likes to see the workflow or creative process of other artists and writers the behind-the-scenes sketches, sample layouts and script pages in the back of the book are a joy to read. I particularly enjoyed Frank Miller's afterword at the end of the book, describing his first glimpse of the Batman comics as a young boy. 

Overall, Miller offers vivid imagery of the ever mysterious Batman and takes the reader on a journey into the perpetually gritty, concrete hole of Gotham City. Well done, Mr. Miller. Well done.