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| We need to build a Legend - Alfred Pennyworth |
First off, in relation to my previous post about where DC is going wrong, this comic completely kills my argument. The attitude of this comic just speaks to a true comic book fan and you can only be left speechless after reading it.
On to the Graphic Novel.
Coming in at a 140 pages, this book serves to show that with the proper dedication a true masterpiece can be created, as compared to 30 page comics which are designed to sell and not have such an amazing self contained story (I'm in fact pointing to the various comic book events which have no relation to their characters titles but still change everything.)
The book is a relook at the batman origin story so you know that Bruce Waynes parents Thomas and Martha are going to die. However, Geoff Johns has taken cues from several inspirations like the batman movies and the various retellings of the Batman origin to create one that really rubs Gotham's dirtiness in your face.
The characters have also changed, the young innocent Bruce Wayne from the Movie franchise and classic origin is replaced with a belligerent pampered snob who after seeing his parents die finally gets his wake up call. As he matures, his thirst for vengeance isn't lost as he believes that there was a conspiracy to kill his parents. However, upon donning the cowl for the first time, Bruce and the audience is reminded that at the end of the day, Bruce Wayne is still very much human.
He misses the next roof and falls three stories. That's pretty human to me!
However, it very important to mention a bloodline that has been intertwined into the Batman saga, the Arkham's. Old Batman fans would know that the Arkham's are known for two things, being psychiatrists and going insane. So when the reader discovers that Martha Wayne is actually an Arkham and not a Kane (as she used to be) everything changes as we could see Bruce essentially descend into madness (after all, it's in his blood. DNA never lies, the whole shebang)
Alfred has also changed, the fact that he was in the Royal Marines is much more obvious as he has a much more grizzle look as well as a certain cynicism for the sheltered life Thomas and his family live in. Needless to say, Alfred again takes the position as Bruce's butler in this story. But don't expect him to walk around in a suit and tie, this Alfred only dresses for formal occasions. His main job was training Bruce to take a punch and give a couple back. This I have to say was something I really appreciated. The previous concept of Bruce traveling around the world for 10 years learning Martial Arts and detective skills was amazing, but keeping in mind that this story is trying to humanize Batman, being trained by your badass butler is kinda normal.
Other characters that have gone through a change are Detective Harvey Bullock, most would remember Bullock as the fat cop who displays a certain cynicism towards batman and crime. Harvey has been re imagined so well, that the first time I saw him I thought they'd made Harvey Dent a cop. Bullock is a cop from LA who has an upstanding sense of right and wrong, sort of like the James Gordon from the pages of Batman Year One (sans the wife of course) We get front row tickets as Bullock sees the real bitterness of Gotham and finally comes face to face with, in the words of Batman - True Evil, resulting his eventual spiral into alcoholism and cigars.
James Gordon is very much the cop we know from the recent pages of Batman, a great cop who does whatever he can to protect his daughter, even if that means not being a great cop. The reason why he is so protective is something one must read, but at the end of the comic, Gordon barges in to GCPD and makes a speech regarding justice and cowards and walks out only to have the cops say, "Who the hell was that guy?" Clearly Gordon has a long way to go before becoming Commissioner, but I'll wait to see what happens in between!
All and all, this is a brilliant Graphic Novel and if you can get your hands on it somehow, you won't regret it.
Inside the Asylum Rates this comic - 10/10 (Absolute Must Have)
