Batman Year One Comic Download
Batman: Year One
Free download or read online Batman: Year One pdf (ePUB) (Batman, Volume I Series) book. The first edition of this novel was published in 1987, and was written by Frank Miller. The book was published in multiple languages including English language, consists of 144 pages and is available in Paperback format.
General Information
Type:
Total Issues:
Published:
Creators:
Batman comic title in 1987. It is one of the first examples of the 'limited series within a series' format that is now prevalent in American comic books.There have been several reprints of the story: a hardcover, multiple trade paperback editions (one in standard comics paper with simpler coloring and one deluxe version with rich detailing in the colors and both colored by Richmond Lewis) and it has been included in The Complete Frank Miller Batman hardcover.
Synopsis
The story recounts the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as Batman and James Gordon's with the Gotham City Police Department.
Bruce Wayne, aged 25, returns home from training abroad in martial arts, manhunting and science for nearly twelve years. In Gotham, he bides his time, waiting for the right moment to strike, all the while preparing himself. Gordon, meanwhile, has moved to Gotham from Chicago with his pregnant wife, Barbara Kean-Gordon, and pursues a career in law enforcement. His first time out patrolling reveals to him the disturbing nature of law enforcement in Gotham as a senior officer, Detective Flass, assaults an unsuspecting teenager for 'staying out late'. Gordon is disgusted with his partner's behavior towards all the 'offenders' Jim feels that he has to straighten things out.
Bruce makes preparations - registering at a hotel to provide an alibi, giving himself a fake scar to disguise himself - before going out for his first street mission. He enters the Red Light District of Gotham. A young prostitute named Holly Robinson tries to proposition him. Her pimp, angry because he knows Bruce isn't the type to hire prostitutes, forcefully drags her away. Bruce confronts him and gets into a fight, and a few others join in. Selina Kyle, a dominatrix in the slums of Gotham, jumps from her window and fights with Bruce; he is stabbed in the thigh by Holly.
Batman Year One Comic Book
The police arrive on the scene, shoot Bruce and then throw him into the back seat of their car. On the way to the station, he manages to escape by causing the corrupt officers to wreck their squad car. After pulling the unconscious officers out of the car Bruce returns home, bleeding from his various wounds. There he sits, looking for inspiration, something he feels will strike fear into the hearts of criminals. A bat crashes into the room through a window and perches on a sculpture of his father, to which Bruce immediately responds. He has found what he is looking for, stating the words 'Yes Father, I will become a bat.'
Gordon tries to clean up GCPD, but on the orders of the corrupt Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, is attacked and threatened by fellow officers. After recovering, he visits the house of one of these officers, where they have gathered to play poker. He waits for Detective Flass, who he knows is responsible for organizing the attack. Flass is the last to leave, and Gordon tails him into the woods, where he proceeds to attack the drunken officer.
Bruce goes out for the first time as Batman and stops a trio of teenagers from stealing a television. A brief struggle ensues, resulting in the Dark Knight's first victory. The legend quickly grows with Batman attacking criminals with increasing boldness, including Flass, who was present at one crime, receiving a pay off from the criminals. One night, when the corrupt city leaders and gangsters like Carmine Falcone gather for a dinner party, Commissioner Loeb explains why Batman is politically advantageous to themselves, assuming he would never bother them; meanwhile, Batman sneaks onto the grounds, puts the guards to sleep and sets up stage lights around the window that comprises one of the dining room walls. He cuts the electricity, throwing the room in darkness, blows a hole in the outside wall and then activates the lights. He gives the men and women a dire warning that he is just as determined to deliver them to justice as well, then leaves. Meanwhile, Selina Kyle is inspired to become a costumed cat burglar when she sees Batman in action and becomes Catwoman.
The police try to capture Batman numerous times, but Bruce is too elusive and alert to fall for their traps. In addition, the maverick district attorney, Harvey Dent, becomes Batman's secret ally. After a night of following useless leads, Gordon and his partner, Detective Sarah Essen, see a truck barreling down the street. They give chase and Gordon hands the wheel over to Essen as he tries to get into the vehicle. An old, homeless woman stands in the way of the truck and is about to be run over just as soon as Batman jumps in and shoves her out of the way. The bus runs into a wall and Gordon briefly blacks out, only to awake moments later and find Essen holding Batman at gunpoint. She is momentarily distracted when she turns to ask if he is all right and Batman takes advantage to disarm her and flee into an abandoned building.
When cops arrive on the scene, the commissioner is quick to call in the trigger-happy Branden and his squad to drop a bomb on the building, which the Commissioner claims has already been scheduled for demolition. While dodging the fire from the explosion, Batman's belt (which contained explosives) catches fire, and he is forced to discard it. After suffering two dizzying gun wounds, Batman escapes into the secure basement and survives the blast. A crowd gathers outside the building. Stuck with only a blow gun and 3 darts, Batman uses a small device in his boot to summon thousands of bats from his cave to the building. A battle occurs as the police storm into the building and hunt him down. He incapacitates some and even saves a cat, jumping out of the building (after throwing a police officer forcefully through a wall) and takes advantage of the chaos that occurs when the bat colony arrives to speed away on a police motorcycle and escape.
Gordon has a brief affair with Essen. During the affair, he is confronted by the Commissioner, who threatens to inform his wife of the affair if he doesn't comply. Gordon, after bringing his wife to an interview with Bruce Wayne, whom he and others suspect of being Batman, stops the car in the driveway on the way back and tells her about his affair. Essen later leaves for New York.
Months pass and Batman overhears the local mafia boss, Carmine Falcone, planning revenge against Gordon. Selina Kyle, frustrated because she feels her petty crimes aren't enough, interferes and attacks the group. Batman does not appear, but helps Selina from the shadows, throwing small bat-shaped blades laced with tranquilizers at some of the men. Bruce, while working out, figures out the plan based on the part of the conversation he was able to record.
Gordon is called away by the police to investigate a robbery. On his way out, a mysterious motorist entering his garage raises Gordon's suspicions, as Gordon has never seen the motorist. He returns to the garage only to find his wife and baby being pulled into a car. He shoots and kills the men trying to take his wife, who survives; however, one assailant is unharmed. The car leaves with Gordon's baby in it, and Gordon shoots the motorist, takes his motorcycle and follows. The motorist, Bruce, is unharmed thanks to a bullet-proof vest. He attempts to leave, but not before Barbara threatens to shoot him. She lets him go when he promises to save her baby, takes a bicycle from a passing stranger, and pursues Gordon and the car.
Gordon shoots out a wheel on the car and it crashes into the side of a bridge. The don's hired knife, his nephew, exits the car, baby in hand. A struggle ensues and the baby is thrown off the bridge, followed by Gordon. However, Bruce had already arrived and dived after the baby before Gordon even falls over the rail. Gordon, having lost his glasses in the struggle with the hitman, thanks Bruce (whom he claims to not recognize due to his aforementioned missing glasses) and makes it clear that he won't turn him in.
Dent and Batman's efforts bear fruit with Flass, who is persuaded to turn damaging states evidence against his superiors, including a disgraced Commissioner Loeb, who is forced to resign. Although his immediate replacement, Grogan, is apparently worse, Gordon is content for the moment with receiving a job promotion and family counseling with his wife. The story ends with the new Captain Gordon waiting on the rooftop of the GCPD headquarters for Batman, to discuss somebody called The Joker and his scheme to poison the reservoir.
The story also includes the first appearance of Mafia don Carmine Falcone.
Issues
Continuity
Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC rebooted many of its titles. Year One was followed by Batman: Year Two, but the 1994 Zero Hour crossover erased it from continuity. In another continuity re-arrangement, Catwoman: Year One (Catwoman Annual #2, 1998) posited that Selina Kyle had not actually been a prostitute, but, rather, a thief posing as one in order to commit crimes.
The story was continued in the 2005 graphic novel Batman: The Man Who Laughs, following up on Gordon informing Batman about the Joker, and thus recounting their first official encounter.
In 1998 Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale created Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, two 13 issue limited series that recounted Batman's first, second, and third years as a crime-fighter, also re-telling of the origins of Two-Face and Dick Grayson. Two other stories, Batman and the Monster Men and Batman and the Mad Monk tie into the same time period of Batman's career.
Launched in 1989 following the success of the film Batman, the title Legends of the Dark Knight examines crime-fighting exploits from the first three to four years of Batman's career. This title rotated in creative teams and time placement, but several stories directly relate to the events of Year One, especially the first arc 'Batman: Shaman'. Following the title's 2007 cancellation, Batman Confidential began publication, depicting Batman sometime between Year One and The Long Halloween.
It is unknown if Batman: Year One exists in the same continuity as the other storylines in his 'Dark Knight Universe', consisting of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, its sequel Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Spawn/Batman and All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder.
Needless to say, of these only Year One is considered to be part of mainstream DC continuity. However Earth-31, one of the alternate earths revealed in 52, is essentially the Frank Miller Dark Knight Universe.
Film adaptation
Darren Aronofsky was going to direct a film adaptation written by himself and Frank Miller. The project never received the greenlight by Warner Brothers because they found it to be too violent and with many differences with the comic. Ultimately the project resulted into Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. The first draft of the script has been leaked online, though only written by Miller.
The film was one of many projects developed at the studio over the years on trying to get a fifth Batman installment. Others listed included Batman Unchained, Batman: DarKnight, Boaz Yakin's Batman Beyond, and Wolfgang Peterson's Batman vs Superman.
Development
After the critical and financial failure of Batman & Robin, director Joel Schumacher felt he owed 'the hardcore Batman fans the Batman movie they would love me to give them.' It was in the summer of 1998, whereas Schumacher claimed he had pitched to Warner Brothers a film adaptation of Frank Miller's acclaimed graphic novel Batman: Year One. Despite his interest, the studio decided to go to renowned independent filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, after they were impressed with his work on π. When asked how he might approach the Batman film series Aronofsky originally wanted to do an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, another one of Miller's acclaimed works. He expressed interest in casting Clint Eastwood as the aging Batman and filming it in Tokyo, doubling for Gotham City. The studio was interested in the idea, though Aronofsky later changed his mind for an adaptation of Year One.
Aronofsky would later go to work on Requiem for a Dream, while Warner Brothers was still hesitant for a film adaptation of Year One. This included the Batman Beyond and Batman: DarKnight projects that eventually fell apart. After completing Requiem for a Dream, Aronofsky came back to the studio for the adaptation, and officially signing on in September 2000. He brought Frank Miller with him to write the script, whom the two previously collaborated on for an adaptation of Ronin. Year One was to be inspired by 1970s crime dramas such as Taxi Driver, The French Connection, Serpico, and Death Wish. Aronofsky also wanted to bring 'an independent guerrilla flavor to it.'
Over the course on the project, Aronofsky claims that the film wasn't greenlighted because Warner Brothers found it to be too violent, citing that an R-rated Batman film wouldn't appeal to children. As such the director came up with an idea that they could make two separate films. One was to be Aronofsky/Miller's Year One that wouldn't require a massive budget, and the second to be one that could garner to a family friendly audience. The studio ultimately turned down the concept.
Warner Brothers then enlisted the aid of the Wachowski brothers, who went as far as writing a brief proposal. They couldn't work any longer due to their commitment on The Matrix sequels and Warner Brothers asked Aronofsky if he would be willing to write/direct the film based on their proposal. He turned down the offer and the studio then enlisted more pitches.
In December 2002, Joss Whedon pitched an origin story that he liked very much, but claims that Warner Brothers execs were 'staring at him as if he were in a fishbowl.' Ultimately in January 2003, Christopher Nolan was hired to take over and the result was Batman Begins.
Plot
Frank Miller wrote a draft, which is to this day, the only one leaked online. The story went as:
After the death of his parents young Bruce Wayne remains lost on the street and is eventually taken in by Big Al, owner of an auto repair shop with his son Little Al. Driven by a desire for vengeance towards a manifest destiny of which his is only dimly aware, young Bruce toils day and night in the shop, watching the comings and goings of hookers, pimps, and corrupt police officers across the street to a cat house. We are then introduced to detective James Gordon as he struggles with the corruption he finds endemic among Gotham City police officers of all ranks.
Bruce's first act as a vigilante is to confront a dirty cop named Campbell as he accosts 'mistress Selina' in the cathouse, but Campbell ends up dead and Bruce narrowly escapes being blamed. Realizing that he needs to operate with more methodology, he initially dons a cape and hockey mask. However, Bruce soon evolves a more stylized 'costume' with both form and function, acquires a variety of makeshift gadgets and weapons, and re-configures a black Lincoln Continental into a makeshift 'bat-mobile.' In his new disguise as 'The Bat-Man,' Bruce Wayne wages war on criminals from street level to the highest echelons, working his way up to Police Commissioner Loeb and Mayor Noone, even as the executors of the Wayne estate search for their missing heir. In the end, Bruce accepts his dual destiny as heir to the Wayne fortune and the city's savior, and Gordon comes to accept that, while he may not agree with 'the Bat-Man's methods, he can't argue with the results.
No casting ever took place, though Val Kilmer, Ben Affleck, Keanu Reeves and Christian Bale all expressed interest for the role of Batman. Kilmer would only do it 'if it were to be more humorous,' while Bale cited the role as 'a dream come true.' His agent then told MovieHole.net that Bale had been approached for a number of Batman projects, including Year One. He stated that Bale preferred the Year One version because the script was more 'unique.' Bale would of course end up being cast for the lead role in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins.
References to other media
When Bruce is heading for the Red Light District, he makes references to the 'Finger Memorial', 'Sprang Mission' and 'Robinson Park', all of which are named after Golden Age Batman writer Bill Finger, artist Dick Sprang, and artist Jerry Robinson.
The nocturnal scene depicting Gordon and Essen in a bar called 'Hopper's' is a graphic allusion to Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks.
The moment when Bruce decides which method he will use to fight crime is widely regarded as a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven, by the kind of chamber he is in and the bust over which the bat lands.
References in other works
The comic got an animated film adaptation in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies lineup.
Joel Schumacher's 1995 film Batman Forever, although set during another timespan, adopted some elements directly from the graphic novel. Schumacher claims he originally had in mind an adaptation of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The studio rejected the idea as they wanted a sequel, not a prequel, though Schumacher was able to include very brief events in Batman's past. Some of the more direct interpretations include:
- The scene with Bruce Wayne reaches Wayne Manor barely alive and sits before his father’s bust, requesting guidance in his war on crime. A bat crashes through a window and settles on the bust, giving him the inspiration to become a bat. This scene was used in a deleted footage involved further backstory to the film. It involved Bruce waking up after being shot in the head by Two-Face, temporarily wiping a part of his memory; he has forgotten his origin and life as the Dark Knight. Alfred takes him to the Batcave, which has been destroyed by the The Riddler. They stand on the platform where the Batmobile was, then rotates downward to another level where the sonar-modification equipment is kept, from the special Batsuit to the hi-tech weaponry. Bruce then discovers the cavern where he first saw the image that inspired him to become Batman – a giant bat. Inside he finds his father's Red Diary. It reminds him of the injustices committed against his family, and of how, in his small way, he felt responsible and helpless. The giant bat then appears and Bruce raises his arms and the shot shows that they are one. Bruce now remembers who he is and goes with Alfred to solve the riddles left throughout the film.
- The scene where Bruce being a child falls into the cave and sees a bat as his inspiration and his fear (also used in Batman Begins), something not mentioned in the prequels of Tim Burton.
The events of Batman Begins also featured some elements of Year One, including the character of Arnold Flass (although modified to more closely resemble Harvey Bullock).
Elements of this story were also included in Batman: Arkham Origins, including the Gotham City Police Department being notoriously corrupt under the control of Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, James Gordon's initial antagonism of Batman for the latter's vigilante methods, and an event in the extortion tapes where Loeb and Black Mask alluded to a failed attempt to have Arnold Flass 'beat some sense' into Gordon. In addition, another extortion tape, also with Loeb, featured Loeb telling Harvey Bullock to keep tabs on Gordon as well as possibly arrange a honeypot trap on him, indirectly referring to Gordon's affair with Sarah Essen.
Parodies
The image of Bruce sitting and bleeding while waiting for inspiration is reused in the Elseworlds tale Batman: In Darkest Knight, though instead of a bat flying through the window, a dying Green Lantern summons him and bestows him with the ring.
The fact that Miller based Bruce on a young Gregory Peck is coincidental to a much-discussed hoax. In 2004, Mark Millar wrote about a failed attempt by Orson Welles to adapt a feature film of Batman in 1946. Although this has since been proven fictional, it is true that Welles attempted to star as The Shadow in a film adaptation, which never got off the ground.
Gallery
External links
| Batman: Year One | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Tab Murphy |
| Based on |
|
| Starring | |
| Music by | Christopher Drake |
| Edited by | Margaret Hou |
| Distributed by | Warner Home Video |
| |
| 64 minutes | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $5,251,108 DVD[2] |
Batman: Year One is a 2011 animatedsuperhero film, based on the four-issue story arc of the same name printed in 1987. It premiered at Comic-Con on July 22 and was officially released October 18, 2011. The film was directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu.[3][4] It is the 12th film released under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies banner, and was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital copy.[5]
- 3Production
Plot[edit]
Bruce Wayne returns home to Gotham City after 12 years abroad, training for his eventual one-man war on crime; Lieutenant James Gordon moves to Gotham with his pregnant wife, Barbara, after a transfer from Chicago. Both are swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violence of Gotham City, with Gordon witnessing his partner Detective Arnold Flass assaulting a teen for fun.
Bruce goes in disguise on a surveillance mission in the seedy East End, where teenage prostitute Holly Robinson propositions him. He is drawn into a brawl with her pimp and several prostitutes, including dominatrixSelina Kyle. One of the two reporting police officers shoot him and take him in their squad car, but a dazed and bleeding Wayne maneuvers his handcuffed hands in front of himself, and demands the police get out. The cops try to subdue him, but the ensuing struggle causes the police car to careen out of control, and flips. Wayne flees, but not before dragging the police to a safe distance. He reaches Wayne Manor, barely alive, and sits before his father’s bust, requesting guidance in his war on crime. A bat crashes through a window and settles on the bust, giving him inspiration.
Gordon works to rid corruption from the force, but on orders from Commissioner Gillian Loeb, several masked officers attack him, including Flass, who threatens Gordon’s pregnant wife. Gordon tracks Flass down, beats him up, and leaves him naked and handcuffed in the snow.
As Gordon becomes a minor celebrity for his bravery on the job, Batman strikes for the first time, attacking a group of thieves and gaining experience. Batman soon works up the ladder, even attacking Flass while he was accepting a bribe. He gains a reputation of being a supernatural being and inhuman, due to his use of speed and darkness to conceal himself. Two months after Batman arrived, the crime and corruption has declined. After Batman interrupts a dinner party attended by many of Gotham’s corrupt politicians and crime bosses, including Loeb and Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone to threaten their criminal organization, Loeb orders Gordon to bring him in by any means necessary.
As Gordon tries in vain to catch him, Batman attacks Falcone, stripping him naked and tying him up in his bed after dumping his car in the river. Assistant district attorneyHarvey Dent becomes Batman's first ally and he conceals this from Gordon.
Detective Sarah Essen suggests Wayne as a Batman suspect and she and Gordon witness Batman save an old woman from a runaway truck. Essen holds Batman at gunpoint, but Batman disarms her and flees to an abandoned building. Loeb fraudulently orders a bomb dropped on it, forcing Batman into the fortified basement. A SWAT team is sent in, led by trigger-happy Lieutenant Branden, whom Batman attempts to trap in the basement. Branden manages to climb out of the trap through a collapsed chimney, and joins in the gun battle. Enraged as the team's careless gunfire injures several people outside, Batman beats the team into submission, but is wounded during the fighting. Using a signal device to attract the bats of his cave to distract the police and conceal himself, Batman escapes amid the chaos. Selina Kyle, after witnessing him in action, dons a costume of her own to begin her life as Catwoman.
Gordon has a brief affair with Essen, while Batman intimidates a drug dealer for information. The dealer goes to Gordon to testify against Flass, who is brought up on charges. Loeb blackmails Gordon with proof of his affair against pressing charges. After taking Barbara with him to investigate Wayne's connection to Batman, Gordon confesses the affair to her. Bruce avoids Gordon's suspicions by appearing with a woman over and heavily drinking, though he is actually faking all of it.
Batman sneaks into Falcone's manor and overhears a plan against Gordon but is interrupted when Catwoman, hoping to build a reputation after her robberies were pinned on Batman, attacks Falcone and his bodyguards, aided by Batman. Identifying Falcone's plan as the morning comes, the un-costumed Bruce leaves to help Gordon.
Gordon tries to rebuild his relationship with his family after Essen leaves Gotham. While leaving home, Gordon spots a motorcyclist enter his garage. Suspicious, Gordon enters to see Falcone's nephew Johnny Vitti and his thugs holding his family hostage. Gordon realizes if he lets them go, they will most likely kill his wife and son. Therefore, Gordon shoots the thugs and chases Vitti, who has fled with his baby son James Gordon Jr. Bruce Wayne, on a motorcycle, also rushes to chase Vitti. Gordon blows out Vitti's car tire on a bridge and the two fight, with Gordon losing his glasses, before Vitti and James Gordon Jr. fall over the side. Bruce leaps over the railing and saves the baby. Gordon realizes that he is standing before an unmasked Batman, but says that he is 'practically blind without [his] glasses' and lets Bruce go.
Gordon and his wife start attending marriage counseling. Loeb is forced into early retirement and that means he is arrested and on trial. Falcone is in the hospital and will be heading to prison pretty soon when he heals, while Flass makes a deal with prosecutors to testify against him and Branden has been arrested and sent to jail. Gordon, meanwhile, is promoted to Captain. When a criminal who 'calls himself the Joker' threatens to poison the city's reservoir, Gordon summons Batman with the Bat-Signal and waits on a rooftop for the Dark Knight to arrive.
Voice cast[edit]
- Ben McKenzie as Bruce Wayne / Batman
- Bryan Cranston as Lieutenant James Gordon
- Eliza Dushku as Selina Kyle / Catwoman
- Jon Polito as CommissionerGillian B. Loeb
- Alex Rocco as Carmine Falcone[6]
- Katee Sackhoff as Detective Sarah Essen
- Jeff Bennett as Alfred Pennyworth
- Grey DeLisle as Barbara Eileen-Gordon (credited), Vicki Vale (uncredited)
- Robin Atkin Downes as Harvey Dent
- Keith Ferguson as Jefferson Skeevers
- Danny Jacobs as Flass's Attorney
- Nick Jameson as Officer Stanley 'Stan' Merkel
- Liliana Mumy as Holly Robinson
- Pat Musick as Louisa Falcone
- Stephen Root as Lt. Branden
- Fred Tatasciore as Detective Arnold John Flass, Johnny Vitti
- Steve Blum as Stan
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
In 2000, Warner Bros. hired Darren Aronofsky to write and direct a reboot of the Batman film franchise.[7] This reboot was to be based on Batman: Year One. Accordingly, Aronofsky collaborated with Frank Miller who finished an early draft of the script.[7] The script, however, was a loose adaptation, as it kept most of the themes and elements from the graphic novel but shunned other conventions that were otherwise integral to the character.[8] It was eventually shelved by the studio and Aronofsky and Miller moved on to other projects.[9]
In 2005, Christopher Nolan began his series, with the reboot film Batman Begins, which draws inspiration from Batman: Year One and other stories. Nolan's Batman Begins and its sequel The Dark Knight are set during the same timespan and adopt several elements directly from the graphic novel. Major characters like Commissioner Loeb, Detective Flass and Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone are featured prominently in Batman Begins. Film critic Michael Dodd argued that with each major motion picture focused on the Dark Knight's origins, the odes and references to the Year One comic increased. Comparing Mask of the Phantasm with Batman Begins he noted that '...Phantasm was a Batman story with Year One elements, while Batman Begins was a Year One story with added features'.[10]
Development[edit]
Producer Bruce Timm noted that the adaptation of the film was relatively straightforward due to the cinematic nature of the original story arc. Bryan Cranston originally turned down the role as James Gordon because he was unfamiliar with both animation and classic comics. Cranston said 'I wasn't aware of this level of storytelling in animation.'[6]
Reception[edit]
Batman: Year One received positive reviews upon its release. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 88% based on reviews from 8 critics, with an average rating of 6.8 out of 10.[11]
An IGN review of the film, after its Comic-Con screening, praised the voice actors and concluded with, 'This is real, serious adult entertainment that should satisfy longtime fans and newcomers as well.'[4] Another review from IGN panned the film, describing it as 'dead on arrival – a lifeless bore with stale voice work and a disjointed, sporadic narrative that was best kept on the pages of Frank Miller's stellar graphic novel.'[12]Tommy Cook of Collider called the film a 'faithful adaptation'.[13]The A.V. Club gave the film an A-, saying, 'Batman: Year One is a stellar adaptation, copying Miller’s words and Mazzucchelli’s images almost verbatim at times.' Concluding that, 'It all recalls what it felt like to read Batman: Year One for the first time, and sense that this was a story that had always existed.'[14]
Cinemacrazed criticized the short run time of the film as its main downfall.[15] James O'Ehley of SciFiMoviePage notes that the faithfulness to the source material works for and against the film, with voiceover and dialog slowing down the action, and he goes on to say how the animation could be bolder, the voices gruffer and the sound more stirring but that overall the film is better than other DC animated films.[16]
In an article for The Missing Slate discussing the influence of the comic version of Batman: Year One on film depictions of Batman, Michael Dodd praised the casting of Bryan Cranston as James Gordon. Referencing Cranston's famous role as Walter White on Breaking Bad, he argued that the choice of casting 'truly encompassed the character's determination and downright badass attitude in the comic Year One'.[17]
Home video[edit]
The DVD and Blu-ray release includes a short animated film titled Catwoman. In the film, Catwoman deals with the crime boss Rough Cut (voiced by John DiMaggio) while trying to stop a cargo shipment.[18] There is also a sneak peek for the film Justice League: Doom, two featurettes, a commentary, a digital comic book, two Batman: The Animated Series episodes ('Catwalk' and 'Cult of the Cat'), a standard edition of the film, and a high definition edition of the film.[5]
On August 11, 2015, Warner Home Video re-released the film on a combo pack, which includes a DVD and Blu-Ray copy, a digital copy, and with the graphic novel it was based on.
References[edit]
Batman Year One Comic Online
- ^'Batman: Year One (2011) (V) - Box office / business'. IMDB. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
- ^'Batman Year One - DVD Sales'. The Numbers. Nash Information Service. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
- ^Bory's Kit (July 9, 2011). ''Batman: Year One' Animated Movie Trailer Hits (Video)'. The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ ab'Comic-Con: Batman: Year One Review'. IGN. July 23, 2011.
- ^ abCharles Webb (July 15, 2011). 'The Animated 'Batman: Year One' DVD/Blu-Ray Gets a Release Date and Specs'. MTV.
- ^ abBory's Kit (April 20, 2011). ''Batman: Year One' Lines Up Voice Cast, Sets Comic-Con Premiere (Exclusive)'. The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ abDana Harris (2000-09-21). 'WB sends Pi guy into the Bat Cave'. Variety. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved 2018-05-19.
- ^Brian Linder (2000-10-16). 'The Bat-Men Speak'. IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2018-05-19.
- ^Dana Harris (2002-06-30). 'WB: fewer pix, more punch'. Variety. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved 2018-05-19.
- ^Dodd, Michael, 'Back to the Beginning: The Evolving Influence of Batman: Year OneArchived 2017-07-12 at the Wayback Machine,' The Missing Slate.
- ^
- ^http://ign.com/articles/2011/10/19/batman-year-one-blu-ray-reviewIGN R.L. ShafferOctober 18, 2011
- ^Tommy Cook (July 23, 2011). 'Comic-Con 2011: BATMAN: YEAR ONE Review'. Collider.
- ^Noel Murray (October 19, 2011). 'Batman: Year One'. The A.V. Club.
- ^http://www.cinema-crazed.com/0-g/batman-yearone.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^http://www.scifimoviepage.com/dvd/batman_year_one-bluray.html
- ^http://themissingslate.com/2014/08/21/back-to-the-beginning-the-evolving-influence-of-batman-year-one/2/#.U_jWNfldUgs
- ^Rich Sands (July 6, 2011). 'First Look: Eliza Dushku Pounces into Animated Catwoman Role'. TV Guide.
External links[edit]
Batman Year One Comic Download 2016
| Wikiquote has quotations related to: Batman: Year One (film) |
Batman Year One Download Comic
- Batman: Year One on IMDb