Fans often demand that Superman needs to be brought down to reality and up to date because he's too over the top, and a myriad of origin versions trying to comply with said request have been issued ever since the 80's; but what if we tried to bring Batman, the Caped Crusader really down to earth and make him a bit more realistic? What if instead of an ridiculously hyper-competent Badass Normal who does no wrong, he'd be just an actual Badass Normal prone to mistakes and limitations?
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank succeed magnificently at it in Batman: Earth One, easily one of the better Batman standalone stories in decades, and probably the best deconstruction of his most recurring tropes without resorting to straight-out parody.
What's original about this version is that despite being constantly anchored in a Reality Ensues mode, Johns manages to keep things fresh and extremely well paced, with a good deal of humor, without resorting to the dourness at any cost that often plague modern interpretations of old characters. Of course, this Batman is smart, brave and a good fighter, but he can't rely on the power of "I'm Batman!" to solve things. He's fallible, makes mistakes, and can even be naive.
Gary Frank and Jon Sibal's artwork is astounding. Even if this comicbook were poorly written (not the case) it would probably still be rescued by the beautiful drawings. It's even better art than the one in Superman: Earth One, and it perfectly illustrates minute details that help define the iconic characters involved in this story.
Do not miss it. Even if it's not canon, this book is simply that good.
Stupendous!!
Fans often demand that Superman needs to be brought down to reality and up to date because he's too over the top, and a myriad of origin versions trying to comply with said request have been issued ever since the 80's; but what if we tried to bring Batman, the Caped Crusader really down to earth and make him a bit more realistic? What if instead of an ridiculously hyper-competent Badass Normal who does no wrong, he'd be just an actual Badass Normal prone to mistakes and limitations?
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank succeed magnificently at it in Batman: Earth One, easily one of the better Batman standalone stories in decades, and probably the best deconstruction of his most recurring tropes without resorting to straight-out parody.
What's original about this version is that despite being constantly anchored in a Reality Ensues mode, Johns manages to keep things fresh and extremely well paced, with a good deal of humor, without resorting to the dourness at any cost that often plague modern interpretations of old characters. Of course, this Batman is smart, brave and a good fighter, but he can't rely on the power of "I'm Batman!" to solve things. He's fallible, makes mistakes, and can even be naive.
Gary Frank and Jon Sibal's artwork is astounding. Even if this comicbook were poorly written (not the case) it would probably still be rescued by the beautiful drawings. It's even better art than the one in Superman: Earth One, and it perfectly illustrates minute details that help define the iconic characters involved in this story.
Do not miss it. Even if it's not canon, this book is simply that good.