Batman: Earth One – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Gary Frank (pencils), Jonathan Sibal (inks), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Batman Begins. Again.

The Writing: Well, here we are again, another Batman origin story that is extremely faithful to the story we’ve always known. Hey, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it, right? And that’s Johns’ approach to this graphic novel–don’t mess with the Batman mythos that works, just add subtle changes throughout. In many retread origins, there seems to be two camps with Batman: 1) random killing or 2) caused by someone in his rogue’s gallery. Think Tim Burton’s Batman against Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Now, what I love with this origin–and I hope this is just a tease and not a spoiler–Johns finds a creative way to do both (have your murder and kill someone too). The specifics of such, I’ll leave as blank as possible, but it was a unique take that was still very faithful to the original.

The Best & Worst of ‘09

FORWARD

Welcome to WCBR’s year end comic book industry report card. In essence, this report card is a list of offerings we’ve enjoyed and disliked for the entire year 2009. There was definitely a lot of debate over each editor’s pick, and in the end we just decided to let everyone have their say. Let us know if we’re out of our minds, or if you concur.

BEST ON-GOING SERIES

Detective Comics – Detective has reached consistently dizzying heights throughout the year.  The sheer creativity and astounding quality this title has seen in 2009 is simply mind-blowing.  From March to April, we had Gaiman’s “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader.”  Then, we quickly moved into Greg Rucka and JH Williams’ landmark work on Batwoman.  Gorgeous artwork met epic storytelling all year long.  We started out with a beautiful farewell to one great character, only to be introduced to another.  -Alex Evans

Captain America – Ed Brubaker’s smart, suspense and intrigue stories with a doubting, redemption-seeking hero really top the game in the ongoing category.  -DS

Detective Comics – Greg Rucka and JH Williams took this B-list character from the forgettable pages of 52, and made 2009 her year. Batwoman in Detective Comics makes a strong case for a series of her own. -Ray

BEST NEW SERIES

The Unwritten – The Unwritten is the smartest book on the racks today.  It’s an English major and literary critics dream and by series end, I expect it to be appearing on the university syllabuses of more liberal-minded professors, right next to Sandman.  Yet, despite all that, it’s also got enough mystery and fancy to entertain and pull in the average reader.  And of course, its pop culture awareness is more than enough to grab anyone’s attention.  This is a must-read.  -Alex Evans

Batman and Robin – It’s difficult to argue against Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, dealing with the heir apparent to DC’s second biggest pair of boots (some might argue biggest). The amount of conflict, psychological tension and sheer creepy villainy set the bar for the noir avenger corner of the superhero industry.  -DS

Sweet Tooth – This is indie genius hitting mainstream, while managing to maintain its literary charm. Jeff Lemire’s Vertigo title offers us a fresh new journey/ coming-of-age story, while providing us a bizarre and post-apocalyptic world filled with violence and isolation– all the ingredients for an entertaining and relevant series.  -Ray