Review: Batman: Earth One, Vol. 1

Batman: Earth One, Vol. 1 by Geoff Johns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Batman: Earth One is yet another in a very, very, very long line of retellings of Batman's origin story. Here, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank provide a version of Batman just a little grittier and raw than the mainstream version of Batman. Gone is the father/son by proxy relationship of Alfred and Bruce; instead, Alfred is brought in to provide security for the Waynes (that doesn't go as well as you'd hope). After the murder of Thomas and Martha, Alfred stays on to teach Bruce how to defend himself. Gone is the globe trotting training montage that typically accompanies Batman's origin. Instead, Johns pretty much jumps right into a Batman: Year One style story. This is the big premier of Batman.


I'll be honest, at this point, I've read so many Batman origin stories, it's hard to be fair judging them. They're all so similar. TO Johns' credit, he does add some interesting twists to the story, beyond the lack of Rocky montage. Bullock and Gordon are both very well written and interesting characters in their own right. I particularly like Johns take on Bullock, actually. He's very different from any other version of Bullock I've seen, and yet, he's still very Bullock.

Still, for all that, it is another Batman origin. Slight twists and new takes, but still a "young Bruce Wayne witnesses his parents' murder and adopts a bat disguise to avenge their deaths" story. And, since this is his first time donning the cape, we're treated to a number of scenes of the "Batman over-estimating his own abilities" type. It's entertaining enough, but I couldn't help but feel like I'd read it before.



Visually, Frank's art straddles the modern "realistic" take on super heroes and the more traditional comic style, resulting in a very detailed style that fits the book well. This Batman is a little more human than a lot of representations, so it makes sense for Frank to provide a costume for him that looks more like real clothing. You can always see Batman's eyes, for example (instead of just white eyes), and the earliest versions of the bat suit have combat boots and seams.

If you haven't read a million other verisons of Batman's origin, this is probably a four star book. Johns' writing is crips, and Frank's artwork is detailed and kinetic. If you've read as much Batman over the years as I have, this probably doesn't have nearly as much draw. It's entertaining enough, but it doesn't really bring enough new material to the table to make it a must-read.



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