Batman: Year 100

[tekende]

So the first issue of Batman: Year 100 is out. Who's got an opinion on it, and what is that opinion?

Talk amongst yourselves.

[Stark Raving]

My one thought while reading it was "This s**t f***ing rocks."

[K.E. Woolfork]

My one thought while reading it was "This s**t f***ing rocks."

Ditto.

k.

[DJ Kenobi]

Hey all. If someone would like to write a review up for Batman: Year 100, that would be excellent. The point of Comics Analysis is to really dig into the book. So give us a couple paragraphs as to why "This s**t f***ing rocks."

[tekende]

That'd be cool 'cause my thoughts were really more along the lines of "This s**t is pretty okay."

I dunno, I didn't get the "this is awesome" feeling from it. Maybe I will when it's done, but this was basically just setup, I think, and it felt like it. I would've liked a little more from Batman. Sure, we saw him do some cool stuff, but we don't know anything about HIM or what he was doing in the first place when he got shot.

It's a decent start, though. I think by the time this mini is over it'll be pretty cool.

[bentoons]

Batman Year 100: I find it very authentic & mysterious. Learning who this "new Batman" hero is and why has he chosen to become the new Vigilante. The direction of having the hero's wife and kid being his "Alfred" is awesome. One of my favorite little details is the fact that the Batman you and I are used to reading, his weaponry and gadgets are a bit more advanced than society's weapons & gadgets, contrary to Batman 100, from what I've seen this hero's equipment are dated. I love how the artist designed the year 2039 futuristic environment, seperating it from the actual Batman we're so used to seeing in the comics. Its a very complex and a unique illustration style, kinda reminds me of the Aeon Flux MTV short animation style. The writing is crisp and love the dialogue. So far, I'm hooked on the series, just for the mystery of this character, and for the concept of the book.


**** stars for me...thus far, of course.

[ielle77]

any links to any fan sites of this yet? Something where we can get a glimpse of the cover, the art and the plot? The nearest real comicbook store is far far from my place.

also um what year is Batman Beyond? Didn't we already do Batman to the future?

[NickRocks]

picked up the trade yesterday at Barnes and Nobles. For those not in the know, its a story of a worl 100 years from now where everything about everyone is known, and when an unknown figure dressed as batman shows up, it causes hysteria. the government gets involved, and a murder is framed on the batman. its upt o jim gordons son (ironically also named Jim gordon) to sort it out with batmans help!

first off, the art is gorgeous. its a mix of the ugly art style from the 80s with a bit of manga and even MAD magazine flare in it. the pacing is excellent! it feels like im watching a movie. the cities and whole feel of the book remind me of a mix between DKR, Ghost in the Shell, and Batman Year 1.

However, thats the problem with this book. it drew such great references and winks and nods to those great batman stories, so much so that it doesnt feel like its own story. It isnt as serious as DKR or Year 1, but its not as tongue in cheek as, say, DK2. You have batman fighting cops like DKR, you have an ending that feels like Year 1. The plot itself is inviting, with only one person that could qualify as a supervillain, and he doesnt even wear a goofy suit. but its just all too...familiar.

had this book came out 20 years ago i wouldnt say it, but in this time, it is.

i give it a 7/10.

thoughts?

[blue]

It was interesting to see how Batman would operate if he didn't have the resources he has as the Bruce Wayne we all are familiar with. I loved seeing him in an actual struggle and seeming a bit more vulnerable. The fascist police state seemed to be more of a threat and villian than anyone supervillian.

[NickRocks]

i agree, but it didnt feel familiar to you? like youve sort of read this story before?

[shoryukenmaster]

It did to me. I think it had a strong V for Vendetta vibe going. The art was incredible though. I'm glad that they didn't have any super-villains in it. I don't like it when they rehash or modernize characters, I'd rather see new characters for the new world. Having the new, but pretty much the same Jim Gordon in there bugged me. I personally wish that he would have just developed a brand new character for the role.

[saint manji]

I agree with the whole storyline.
But that's not why i bought it.
It's Paul Pope.
I always know he's gonna do some weird thing with technology.
Like that motorcycle that bends in half, that was ****ing great.
I also like his realistic rendering on the bat suit. Swimmers trunks, regular gloves, utility belt with hooks and pouches, and best of all, the vampire teeth to scare them criminals into submission.
I give it a tenboner out of tenboner.

[sdowner]

I ditto saint Manji. I didn't actually buy it but I read the whole thing one afternoon at borders. The story seemed a little redundant, but the art blew me away.

[FD]

I liked the story, but the art style was not all that good... I mean, I didn't liked it actually. But the story was really well written.

[Singles]

Wrong.

This wasn't the best thing Pope's done, artwise or writingwise, but it was as cool a take on Batman as we've seen in a long time. Things like Batman: Year 100 are the reason DC keeps getting more of my money. Even though they're mainline books are getting worse and worse, they're more than willing to let talented creators have as much fun with their characters as they want. So we get things like New Frontier, All Star Superman, The Spirit, Solo (Rest in Piece), and Shazam: Monster Society of Evil while Marvel gives us nothing but Civil War tie-ins and mediocre adaptions of books. Not to mention the upcoming Minx line.

[blue]

i agree, but it didnt feel familiar to you? like youve sort of read this story before?

Yes, every story of ever type has already been told, it is just a matter of telling these stories with a different voice or different angle. I seldom read a story in which Batman struggles as much as he did in this series, he seemed very human and vulnerable even moreso than in DKR. Actually the V for Vendetta take on it was pretty good, I never thought of it that way. I also appreciated the way he bookended each installment with excerpts from the media of this future that kind of saturated us into that world.

As far as Paul Pope's art is concerned I thought it was probably some of his weakest but that being said it was still top notch and way over the curve of what clutters the racks nowadays. Now lets talk about Troy Nixey's "The Doom That Came To Gotham" Elseworlds. Now that was hot!

[TDCJason]

I'm a big paul pope fan, his treatment of batman is awesome and I have let a lot of people borrow my copy of this book.

No one I borrowed it to enjoyed it as much as me. Mostly luke-warm results. But I notice that a lot out of people who aren't already in it for the art + story, as opposed to mostly just story.

The batcycle suspended was beautiful, as well as the very real danger of death a regular guy faces when up against bullets and futuristic police forces.

The one thing I didn't like about the book was the guy with mental powers. There wasn't any need in my opinion to give anyone supernatural powers. I would have enjoyed it slightly more if they would have just kept extrapolating and exaggerating technology.

I give it a 9/10, and if you like this art at all, please check out 100% by Paul Pope. It's incredible, along with a very awesome storyline that doesn't fit neatly in templates of most comics I've read lately.

I know signings have got to be hard on artists, but when I got my copy of 100% signed by Paul Pope in Charlotte last year, he struck me as slightly douchebaggy. Oh well, those things are probably really boring/frustrating so I can forgive him for his personal skills when his art is this enjoyable.

[blue]

Well, he seems pretty into himself, but I don't ****ing care as long as he keeps putting out the best comics on the planet.

[spirit]

Anxiously awaiting Year 100 book 2?

[Asmandeus]

Well, he seems pretty into himself, but I don't ****ing care as long as he keeps putting out the best comics on the planet.

Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it does seem like one of his characters (possibly/always the main character) tends to look just like he does in real life. I love his style though, it has this quick calligraphy-like look to it.

[DJ Kenobi]

I hereby merge the two Batman: Year 100 threads.

[ToastandCoffee]

I was EXTREMELY dissapointed by this. The art annoyed me. The idea was pretty cool but not well executed. The flow of sound effects within the artwork rarely worked at all, and a lot of it just made no sense. (SNATCH! Stuff Stuff). The dialougue was pretty good through a lot of it, but there were bad patches that really threw me off. The story left a lot to be desired, and I thought there was far too much blatant exposition.

It could have been so so so so much better. But...ekkk...

[tekende]

Okay, so I just finished reading Year 100. For some reason, when I got the final book, I, um, forgot to read it. And I only recently realized I never read book four. So I sat down this evening and read the whole miniseries.

I liked it. The art more than anything else, but overall I enjoyed it. But I'm not sure I really understood the end. I got the feeling it was supposed to be very open-ended and leave a lot unanswered, but it kind of bugged me. Did I miss something?

It would seem that, what, Bruce Wayne is still Batman, even though he'd be like 125? So...is Bruce an immortal or what? I was a bit confused. Anyone have a better idea?

[FD]

It would seem that, what, Bruce Wayne is still Batman, even though he'd be like 125? So...is Bruce an immortal or what? I was a bit confused. Anyone have a better idea?

Nope, it was not Bruce. Just some nameless person from the future... It's kinda like an elseworld story. Nothing to do with the regular series or anything like that.

Batman is just Batman, no names, no faces, just a unknown person under the mask...