A review by kkevinhb
Batman: Earth One Vol. 1 by Geoff Johns

3.0

After reading Superman: Earth One Vol. 1, I was excited to see what the Batman title had to offer, especially since it was penned by Geoff Johns. Yet, while this book had plenty of enjoyable content and angles, none of it felt particularly fresh. The origin seemed too familiar for the world and allowances given by the Earth One AU format, and the changes that were made/details added felt more like a soft canonical retcon or addition than it felt like someone taking full advantage of getting to play with a familiar hero but use different rules. Bruce was more of a brat, it was slightly more violent, and characters like Penguin, Alfred, Thomas, and Martha fit neatly into slightly tweaked roles that did not come off as particularly creative or overly engaging. The sequences where Bruce is not as polished as Batman felt like nominal character development, and shouldn't have been treated as primarily as they were, but rather should have been assumed as a backdrop. Perhaps it was the lack of inner monologue that I've come to associate with most of my favorite Batman stories, but it felt like Johns was holding everything unnecessarily at arm's length. The art was solid, and the last ten or so pages were compelling enough for me to pick up vol. 2, but overall, the whole story felt safe and not different or daring enough to make a list of fantastic Batman stories.