BATMAN: EARTH ONE VOLUME TWO
DC COMICS
STORY: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Gary Frank
INKS: Jonathan Sibal
COLORS: Brad Anderson
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
COVER: Gary Frank with Brad Anderson
ISBN: 978-1-4012-6251-8; paperback (June 21, 2016)
144pp, Color, $14.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN
Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Batman: Earth One Volume 2 is 2015 hardcover original graphic novel (OGN) published by DC Comics. It is written by Geoff Johns; drawn by Gary Frank (pencils) and Jonathan Sibal (inks); colored by Brad Anderson; and lettered by Rob Leigh. Set in a reality that is different from the flagship Batman titles, Earth One Vol. 2 pits Batman against The Riddler for the first time.
In 2009, DC Comics announced plans to publish new graphic novels that would retell or re-imagine the beginnings of Batman and Superman. Each character would have his own ongoing series of original graphic novels depicting his earliest moments as a superhero and crime fighter. Each graphic novel would be a stand-alone story set on a new Earth with an all-new continuity. Superman: Earth One Volume One arrived in October 2010 and Batman: Earth One Volume One arrived in 2012, both released as hardcover original graphic novels. To date (2024), there have been three releases each featuring Superman and Batman, and some releases featuring other DC Comics characters. [My review is based on the 2016 paperback edition of this graphic novel.]
Batman: Earth One Volume Two opens in the gritty, contemporary metropolis of Gotham City in the wake of the murder of Mayor Osward Cobblepot (as seen in Vol. 1). The police and the public believe that Batman murdered the mayor, but the actual killer is Alfred Pennyworth. The former Royal Marine and friend of Bruce Wayne's late father, Thomas Wayne, Alfred is now Bruce's head of security and partner in Bruce's war on crime and corruption as the costumed-wearing vigilante, The Batman.
Something else, however, is also troubling Gotham City. It has been plunged into terror by an enigmatic anarchist, terrorist, and killer calling himself “The Riddler.” He begins with a bang with the murder of five people who plunge to their deaths in an elevator. Batman is determined to stop him, but he finds himself caught in the conflicting ideologies of Detective Jim Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) and of Alfred. Gordon is also dealing with the troubles of his partner, Harvey Bullock. Once flashy and overconfident, Bullock is now traumatized by the discovery he made in a serial killer's basement (as seen in Vol. 1).
If that weren't enough melodrama, Gotham Mayor Jessica Dent wants Bruce to help her discover the identities of the five VIP Gotham residents who have taken over the late Mayor Cobblepot's criminal empire. However, her brother, District Attorney Harvey Dent, has hated Bruce since they were children, and he has his own secret agenda. Meanwhile, there are reports of a bizarre creature, called “Killer Croc, prowling the sewers of the city, treating human and animal as meat for the beast.
THE LOWDOWN: I was crazy about Batman: Earth One Volume One. It is like a “Batman Family” story because Johns writes it as if it were an ensemble crime drama. Batman is obviously the lead, but Vol. 1 seems to treat Bruce Wayne as one of several supporting characters in the story. I rather like that.
In Batman: Earth One Volume Two, John makes Bruce Wayne the lead, with the Batman being only one part of a complicate life of purposes. The story seems to be about Bruce Wayne working out who he is. Is Bruce just the Batman, or is Bruce a civilian with a mission that is just as important as Batman's mission as a costumed vigilante? It is an interesting take, one that is more interesting than anything to do with The Riddler angle of the story.
Speaking of the Riddler: I have not yet read Batman: Earth One Volume Three, but I believe the first two volumes had a big influence on director Matt Reeves' 2022 Batman film, The Batman, especially Vol. 2. Reading this graphic novel, over two years after first seeing The Batman, I find that Vol. 2 seems quite familiar. It wasn't long into reading this that I was making connections to the 2022 Batman film, which also has The Riddler as a terrorist-like villain.
British comic book artist, Gary Frank, has displayed his muscular compositions and forceful graphical storytelling to readers for the better part of four decades – three decades in the U.S. I don't think Geoff John's edgy, retooling of Batman, which owes a lot to Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and to Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's Batman: The Killing Joke, would work quite as well without Frank's brawny storytelling and pencils. Inker Jon Sibal captures that strength with a balance of sinewy precision and consistent and deft grace in his inking.
Colorist Brad Anderson makes the art both bright and dark – bright to reveal the emotional moments and dark to hide the danger. Another strong contributor is Rob Leigh; his lettering is what gives the story a balance of sound and effect.
I don't know if there is going to be more Batman: Earth One. Truthfully, Earth One should have been the direction taken by the “Rebirth” launch of the flagship Batman in 2016. But what do I know? I'm not a comics publisher selling comic books in a stagnate market for American comic books.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Batman comic books will want to read Batman: Earth One Volume Two.
A
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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