Batman: Earth One Review

Here is a new take on the Batman legend by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank.  Batman: Earth 1 was green light right away after the success of Superman: Earth 1.  So in true Batman fashion the duo gives us a new take on Batman’s origin and the path that leads him to be the hero we all know.   So was this Graphic Novel worth the hype that it garnered?

Well yes the story is pretty good and the art is pretty awesome.  That aspect is what you would expect from those two anyway.  Geoff Johns is one of my favorite comic book writers and so I was stoked that he was tackling Batman.  The art by Gary Frank is fabulous and is worth the price alone for this book.

The story basically centers on a bunch of murders involving teenage girls between the age of 13 and 15.  Well that is the subplot.  That part of the story which ties everything together is focused on Jim Gordon and Harvey Bulloch.  This version has Jim Gordon as a guilt riddled detective who plays the corrupt game while Bulloch is a former TV Detective starting in Gotham for the first time and gets quite an eye opener.

The biggest change in the mythos is that Alfred is a former soldier who Thomas Wayne fought alongside and who saved his life.  Alfred is then hired by the Wayne’s to take care of security during Thomas run for Mayor.  It is this Alfred that ends up training Bruce Wayne to become Batman.   This is a change that seems, I don’t know, a little hoaky.  I know they are doing something different but I always enjoyed the old Alfred and the traveling around the globe that Bruce Wayne does to learn the different fighting technics.

The overall graphic novel is very well done and is a pretty good take on Batmans origin if you keep an open mind and see what DC Comics is trying to do with the Earthh One Series. So if you are a Batman fan or comic book fan in general and lokking for something different then take a look at Batman: Earth One and enjoy a pretty good story with some amazing art work by Gary Frank.