Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #678501 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-01
• Released on: 2002-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

Mike Barr tells the story of why Batman does not use a gun
"Batman: Year Two; Fear the Reaper" consists of issues #575-578 of "Detective Comics," which originally appear in 1987. The story follows "Batman: Year One" by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, but is not really a sequel although it is consistent with the spirit of revisionist continuity inspired by Miller's "The Dark Night Returns." The four issues are written by Mike W. Barr with different combinations of pencillers and inkers (Alan Davis and Paul Neary on the first issue, Todd McFarlane and Alfredo Alcala on the middle pair, with McFarlane inking his own pencils on the last one), which makes for quite a change from star to finish on the artwork.

Barr's goal in this story line is try and make sense of the early years of Batman, guided by the modern version of the character. Specifically Barr was interested in exploring Batman's relationship with the new Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon and answer the big question as to why Batman does not carry a gun. Barr also revisits the fate of Joe Chill, the murderer of Thomas and Martha Wayne, who was originally killed by other criminals when he admits he is the one who inspired the Batman (they also shoot him before he can tell them Batman's secret identity). Clearly that is too impersonal a finale for Chill and Barr takes care of that in these stories. Barr also goes back to the beginning and works in Leslie Thompkins into the Batman mythos.

The other significant development is that Barr takes the DC Golden Age villain the Grim Reaper and makes him not only Batman's predecessor as Gotham City's resident vigilante, but also the representation of the road not taken with regards to how Batman fights criminals. The Reaper's genesis parallels that of Batman, with the key difference that it might have been what Thomas Wayne would have done under slightly different circumstances (which, of course, creates a whole father-son paradigm for the Reaper and Batman, which is totally reinforced by who the Reaper turns out to be).

"Batman: Year Two" does indeed revisit the death of Joe Chill and provide a different context for essentially the same fate, but I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed because with our modern perspectives on the Batman as a comic book superhero I was convinced Barr was going to have Batman step over the line. However, that was not the payoff for this story. Still, the revisionist continuity offered serves its purpose and makes this worth reading for fans of the Dark Knight.

Flawed, especially when compared to Year One
While the Batman: Year Two storyline from 1987 is not tied to Batman: Year One in any way other than chronologically, it is hard not to compare it to Year One. Released earlier that year, Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's Year One storyline was nothing short of a masterpiece, and redefined the origin of the Batman. Following in those footsteps could not have been easy for the folks behind Year Two.

Writer Mike Barr crafts a tale in which a young Batman encounters the Reaper, a vigilante killer who terrorized Gotham's criminals decades earlier. Meanwhile Bruce Wayne begins a romantic relationship with a woman who turns out to be the Reaper's daughter. In his quest to end the Reaper's comeback, Batman chooses to work with the mafia, who assign one of their top hitmen to work with Batman. The man is none other than Joe Chill, the mugger who killed Bruce Wayne's parents!

There's enough going for the story that it could have been a real winner. Unfortunately the handling is a bit sloppy. The dialogue is over the top at times, even by comic book standards, and coming so soon after Year One, Batman fans couldn't help but expect better. There are also some plot points that defy logic. Batman resorting to using the very gun that killed his parents is perhaps believable, but to do so after a single loss to the Reaper? Is Batman that much of a quitter? Since when does a single loss make the most driven character in all of comics take the easy way out? Bruce Wayne's sudden willingness to abandon his war on crime in favor of marriage to a woman he just met also stretches belief.

The artwork is better than average, and helps redeem Year Two somewhat. The first part was drawn by Alan Davis, who would go on to successful runs on Excalibur and Uncanny X-Men. The final three issues feature artwork from a young Todd McFarlane. Remember way back when he used to draw comic books? His work here isn't as good as his later Spider-Man work, but it is still pretty dynamic, particularly when it comes to Batman and the Reaper's huge flowing capes. Unfortunately his pencils were hampered by sub-par inking until the final issue, when he inked his own work. Still, when compared to David Mazzuchelli's unique take on Batman and Gotham City, both artists fall short.

In 1991, Barr and Davis revisited the Year Two storyline in a prestige format one-shot called Full Circle, which is also included in this trade paperback. The story took a look at the legacy left by the events of Year Two. It suffered from many of the same weaknesses as the original story, but Alan Davis's more mature artwork was a big improvement.

On its own merits, Batman: Year Two is a decent Batman story. The problem is that it brings to mind Batman: Year One, which is superior in every possible way.

NOTE: While Year Two was something of a disappointment, some of the better elements of the story were incorporated into the excellent animated movie Batman - Mask of the Phantasm (Keepcase).

Not the best bat-collection, but there are certainly worse ones
This trade paperback collects two related storylines: BATMAN YEAR TWO, from DETECTIVE COMICS #575 - 578, and the one-shot BATMAN: FULL CIRCLE. While it may seem natural to combine these into one book, they don't go together very well in terms of story quality.

The unfortunately named BATMAN YEAR TWO immediately invites comparisons with Miller and Mazuchelli's BATMAN YEAR ONE, and in this regard, it doesn't hold up; however, it is a fairly engaging story. In the second year of Bruce Wayne's war on crime, he is confronted with the return of The Reaper, a crime fighter from Gotham's past. The problem is, this Reaper is little different from the criminal element in Gotham City, and so Batman works both with and without the police department to bring him in. The quest to bring down the Reaper causes no small share of problems in the life of Bruce Wayne, and by the end of the story, Batman has been put through the ringer. While Mike Barr is not my favorite Batman writer, he does a good job of keeping the plot focused. The art chores for BATMAN YEAR TWO begin with Alan Davis, one of the best in the biz, doing only one issue, with justly-maligned Todd McFarlane picking up parts 2 - 4. Artwise, the first two parts of McFarlane's work are actually pretty good, but this is due more to the skilled inking of Alfredo Alcala than to any talent of Mr. McFarlane. This can be clearly seen in part 4, where McFarlane flies solo - trust me, it shows. If I have any complaint story-wise, I'd say that Batman seems far too capable and confident. Even after a year on the job, I wouldn't expect him to be this resourceful.

Next is BATMAN: FULL CIRCLE, a completely unworthy follow-up prestige format tale by Barr & Davis. In this story, the Reaper has again returned, spreading fear throughout Gotham and playing with Batman Batman must confront the secrets of his parents' murders once again - at the risk of his own sanity (yawn!). This story was by no means up to par with Year Two; in fact, it was very trite and boring, with all kinds of inexplicable developments that were conveniently explained as having happened either during or as a result of YEAR TWO.

So, this trade collection starts with a bang and ends with a whimper. You may be better off if you can find the original trade collection of BATMAN YEAR TWO, which omits the FULL CIRCLE story. It certainly works better that way.