During his mayoral campaign, Thomas and his wife Martha are murdered. Their young son, Bruce, is left with no one in the world – save his father’s friend Alfred. The ex-Marine has been granted sole guardianship of the boy, and he reluctantly accepts. Bruce grows up hell-bent on revenge, eventually donning a black cowl and cape to take down the animal who killed his parents. Trouble is, that animal is currently mayor of Gotham City… and he’s currently paid off just about everyone, especially the police. With no one to turn to, no one to trust, he strikes out on his crusade alone.

Kinda the same Batman you know, kinda a different one. Geoff Johns is a fantastic writer, and there are twists and turns abound. No one is who you’ll expect they’ll be in this arc, and half the fun is finding out who fits where. The villains are genuinely disturbing, and we get a hint or two that Bruce himself may be more than a little mad. The art is – typical Batman art, for lack of a better word: dark, a muted palette, and plenty of blood and gore. I look forward to the next volume!

– Kathleen

Johns, Geoff, and Gary Frank. Batman: Earth One (Vol. 1). 2012.