Batman: Earth One

[cryptic name]

I was excited for this but I didn't like it very much. The art is beautiful though, and I liked the take on the Penguin. There's just a lot of ideas for the re-invention that I couldn't roll with, like the whole Wayne/Arkham thing. And while I like the idea of a novice Batman who makes mistakes, like in Year One or Begins; Bruce being just kind of a crazy dude who picked up a little SAS combat training from Alfred kinda didn't work for me. I'll still read the next volume to see where Johns takes it, though.

[Uroboric Forms]

Is Earth One a series or just a one shot? I got the book recently and loved it, as well as the Riddler set-up at the end.

[CConn]

It should be a series.

But given how long it took to make the first one, don't be surprised if the next volume comes out in 2024.

[shallbecomeabat]

Originally Posted by cryptic name

I was excited for this but I didn't like it very much. The art is beautiful though, and I liked the take on the Penguin. There's just a lot of ideas for the re-invention that I couldn't roll with, like the whole Wayne/Arkham thing. And while I like the idea of a novice Batman who makes mistakes, like in Year One or Begins; Bruce being just kind of a crazy dude who picked up a little SAS combat training from Alfred kinda didn't work for me. I'll still read the next volume to see where Johns takes it, though.

Same here. I really hope it will be explained in the next one, that Bruce did travel the world before becoming Batman and that we just weren't shown any of that in the first book. Hope it wasn't just a few weeks of training with Alfred.

While reading it, I still couldn't shake the feeling that Geoff really hates the character.

[Cain]

I don't think he really hates the character I just think that he likes the character but not enough to really understand his voice. A poster over on the SHH DC boards (think it was Oberon) once said that it seems like Geoff likes Bruce but likes his parents even better and I'd agree with that notion in light of this book and Flashpoint.

[ironman29758]

Originally Posted by shallbecomeabat

Same here. I really hope it will be explained in the next one, that Bruce did travel the world before becoming Batman and that we just weren't shown any of that in the first book. Hope it wasn't just a few weeks of training with Alfred.

While reading it, I still couldn't shake the feeling that Geoff really hates the character.

Geoff said in a few interviews that Earth One Bruce never left Gotham and he was sheltered all his life and the only real teacher he had was Alfred.

[DarKush]

I finished this earlier today. I liked it, but still thought it was largely unnecessary. With Superman, I can get why they were retelling his origins, because there is a continual need, real or imagined, to try to make Superman relatable or 'cooler', this isn't necessary with Batman. So it felt like something designed to just cash in on Batman's popularity.

What stood out the most was the excellent artwork. I thought the story was okay as well. I thought Johns had some interesting takes on some of the characters. I enjoyed his Alfred and the Penguin the best. Though I wish there had been a bit more foreshadowing of the Penguin earlier in the book. I also thought the Lucius makeover was okay. Didn't care for what they did with Bullock. An entirely new character could've fit instead of so drastically changing him. That just felt like a stunt.

The tweaking of the Waynes worked for the most part, though I don't see why Martha had to become an Arkham, even if that easily injects Arkham into the storyline. But I did like the idea of Thomas running for mayor. I was iffy on Jim Gordon's being complicit in the corruption at first, but was pleased when he explained himself. Had no problem with Barbara, as far as I could tell Johns did little to change her from how she's always been depicted. I thought the Birthday Boy made for a creepy villain and was a good choice. For the first book, there wasn't a need to inundate readers with a lot of Batman's famous rogues.

I also liked that Batman had a learning curve, that not everything worked, and he took quite a few blows. And that felt like something that might happen as he got used to being a vigilante. All in all, a good read, but not as good as Superman: Earth One.

[MACH]

I finally read this today and I gotta say, as someone who is kinda sick of the re-imaginings and starting from a new square one approach...


I LOVED IT!


Can't wait for the next one!

[Uroboric Forms]

Originally Posted by DarKush

Didn't care for what they did with Bullock. An entirely new character could've fit instead of so drastically changing him. That just felt like a stunt.

I thought the same at first, but it seems like at the end he was starting to move towards becoming the 'real' Bullock.

[GREEN =w= DAY]

LOVED it! great & exciting new take on Batman and his supporting cast of characters. love how it ends and sets up for the next installment. just hope it doesn't take long to come out.

hopefully down the line, WB/DC Animation does a film based on Earth One.

[Nite-Watchman]

Well-told story and plot progression: Check. It's not a matter of finding clue one, clue two, clue three... it's a matter of Bruce being ready to hunt down who he believes to have ordered his parents' deaths, and this is done through an emotional journey.

Character development: Check. Gordon goes from a cop who let's criminals push him around because he fears for his daughter's safety, and then by the end transforms into the bold man we all know and love; Harvey Bullock goes from being a cocky smooth-talker to a rough-shaven drunk; Bruce decides to clean up his act near the end.

Professional penciling, inking, coloring: Check.

9.5/10

[cabel]

My response is indifference. It's well written with fantastic art work, but doesn't bring a lot that I couldn't get from other takes on the origin.

[ChrisBaleBatman]

I really liked it. I think an additional twenty pages could have helped in letting some stuff breathe. But...an additional twenty probably would have meant this thing wouldn't have come out until 2015 or something.

The art is really beautiful. There are some color hiccups, but Gary Frank's artwork is really great. Storytelling is solid, for the most part. I liked Alfred and Bruce's relationship, and how different Alfred was. Connecting the Wayne and Arkham families was interesting too.

My only problems with the thing was just some stuff. Nitpicks really with the writing from Johns, or maybe Frank too depending on how they formed the story. I liked them making Lucius young and going the Batman Begins route of him being in the loop. But, it could have used some more work on that end. Batman Begins making Lucius and Thomas Wayne old buddies, and everything else done, made it work for me that Lucius could be trusted with his secret. In this, I dunno...would have preferred a little more on their relationship. Another nitpick was having Bruce ride around in his Jaguar. I don't expect a Batmobile, not even a Tumbler. But, Bruce parking such a nice car in ****** neighborhoods, even in dark alleys, seems like something that would draw attention or just get straight up jacked, if not missing all it's parts when he got back to it.

Hopefully Volume 2 won't take as long to get done. I really want to see where they take things. I'd like to see how things could play out with the Dent's, for example.

I think for what it is, it works very well. I think if this were the New 52 version, where this would be THE flagship Batman...I think I would be way more critical. But, since it's not I like the chances being taken and can appreciate alot of the changes.

[Snoo]

I liked everything others have already mentioned (particularly Bullock's story arc) but there were also several smaller things and nuggets that made me love the story even more. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Not only we got to see more of Bruce's childhood, we also had scenes with teenage Bruce (I LOVED Gary Frank's design for him), and he even had actual friends (Jessica), and I chuckled when he punched Dent because half of the boy's face was all scrunched up and deformed from the hit, as if foreshadowing Two-Face:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

Gary Frank pays a lot of attention to the characters' eyes which is always welcome and a great plus. It's something I very much appreciate when it comes to his Superman, as well. And Frank's Bruce has the kind of startling and piercing eyes he should have:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The following panel of little Bruce broke my heart into a million pieces. That haunted and shocked look in his eyes is frightening, oh God. It reminded me of a similar shot in Batwoman.

One of my fave scenes and among those that touched me the most, was this one (again with the focus on the eyes, just brilliant):

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

"I'm your butler." Excuse me, I have something in my eye...

And, yep, the book has loads of epic and memorable splash pages (I did a little happy dance every time), but this one really stood out to me, I just love the angle, the city in the background, all the lights, and that little corner of the roof Batman's trying to reach. I can just feel him straining:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

I'd post more but then I'd be posting the whole book!

[Batman, Inc.]

This sounds FANTASTIC.

I really don't understand the complaints from some about how characters were changed or weren't the 'real' version. That is the entire point of the Earth One line! Its supposed to deviate from the mainstream comic interpretation of Batman and his world.

[TheDarkKnight08]

Originally Posted by Batman, Inc.

This sounds FANTASTIC.

I really don't understand the complaints from some about how characters were changed or weren't the 'real' version. That is the entire point of the Earth One line! Its supposed to deviate from the mainstream comic interpretation of Batman and his world.

It's not the changes that are the problem. Johns just likes writing Batman as a selfish, unlikable *******, instead of just a selfish *******.

Batman never feels like Batman, and the story itself just feels week.

[GREEN =w= DAY]

Earth One is something i could have seen Nolan doing on film

[TheWatcher]

I loved it.

[Lord]

Originally Posted by GREEN =w= DAY

Earth One is something i could have seen Nolan doing on film

Batman Begins was a better Batman: Earth One than Batman: Earth One

[ironman29758]

Originally Posted by TheDarkKnight08

It's not the changes that are the problem. Johns just likes writing Batman as a selfish, unlikable *******, instead of just a selfish *******.

Batman never feels like Batman, and the story itself just feels week.

I think he did it on purpose. He's a rich, spoiled kid. Yes when his parents died and his parent's killer he wanted revenge but part of him was still a rich, spoiled kid only he has a little training from Alfred(in short he was Batman in name only and more like a vigilante). But thanks to Alfred, some videos of what people thought Batman was, saving Barbara Gordon,meeting Mayor Cobblepott and finally finding out it was just a random murder he started on the road of becoming more like Batman, the superhero/legend inspiring hope for the innocent citizens. That was the whole point of Batman:Earth One. Personally I think this is better than some of Geoff's other recent work(looking at Justice League and Superman:Secret Origin)

I kind of feel like Batman:Earth One is more realistic than Batman Begins like this is more likely to actually happen in real life.

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Well, I think that the idea was that Bruce isn't just a rookie. But, an amateur. He seems to be making up most of it as he goes along, without there really being a real plan.

Batman Begins, I thought, found a great balance between the fantastical aspects and the down to earth aspects. Kinda needed to, really.

I really liked his costume in this. No lenses is pretty cool to see drawn on Batman.

[CLARKY]

There were some fantastical aspects in the so callded realistic down to earth demystified batman begins?! I sure missed them completely.

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Yeah.

[Young Superman]

How old is Bruce supposed to be in Batman: Earth One?

[ChrisBaleBatman]

I don't think they specify. I've read elsewhere that he's in his mid-twenties, but reading the book he seemed like an early 20's Bruce. Probably because he seems more inexperienced and young as any other Bruce-Batman.