Shocker! I liked one of the best regarded Batman comics of the last 40 years. No, but seriously Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli crafted a fantastic expansion of the classic Batman origin with Year One and its enduring popularity reflects its quality.

I'll be honest I've avoided delving into Batman comics because of my perception of Batman as this hyper-competent, all-knowing god figure in DC comics. Needless to say that archetype  isn't really my thing. The appeal of Year One for me was is seeing Bruce at the beginning of his journey and finding his feet and this book does that very well. I loved seeing the minute-to-minute struggles of Bruce learning how to be Batman. Bruce eats shit a lot in Year One, which makes his victories all the more satisfying. My favourite moment in the comic is Batman's fight to escape a derelict building surrounded by the GCPD with a shoot on sight order. Mazzucchelli's composition of it was amazing. The panels were tight and claustrophobic which just enhanced the tension. The scenario overall brilliantly highlighted Bruce's scrappy inventiveness. And every moment of Year One was just as clever and thrilling.

Year One is also an excellent superhero noir. Not only in Bruce's lone detective shtick but in the surprisingly prominent Jim Gordon subplot. Seeing Jim make his way through the corrupt GCPD learning to maneuver around dirty cops with a target on his back was pretty fun. It highlighted a cunning, ruthless edge to Gordon that rarely makes its way into adaptations.

David Mazzucchelli's art perfectly matches Miller's storytelling. He has a bold graphic style (slightly reminiscent of David Aja, to my eye) that really captures the grit of the city and makes its violence all the more visceral. He especially works well with shadow, negative space and iconography making for a visually impactful and memorable read.

This book was only let down by it's of-the-time depiction of women. From teen prostitutes to lovelorn mistresses and forgotten wives the women of Year One are more so archetypes than fleshed out characters. The exception to the rule was Selina Kyle who played a minor role in the narrative. But unfortunately she doesn't take up as much narrative space as I would have liked or to counterbalance the otherwise lacklustre female characters.

Overall, despite my minor quibbles, I think Batman: Year One was a well done story. It's a great expansion and retelling of the classic Batman origin and well worth a read.