Gotham City: Year One He sets out to tell the story of Gotham City’s origin by delving into its past in a noir story centering on private investigator Sam “Slam” Bradley as he kidnapped Helena Wayne – who would be Thomas Wayne’s sister – in the early 1960s. The first issue is progressive as it sets up the many faces, settings, and plots woven into this detective story, offering a clear genre style that pulls freely from the plots and style of Hollywood classics like Maltese Falcon. Readers will know quickly if this tale suits their taste, but those who appreciate tales of noir in comic books will return to version 2.
Salam Bradley has appeared throughout DC Comics history—created by the three men responsible for Superman’s debut: Jerry Siegel, Joe Schuster, and Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson—but he steps onto the page as Tabula Rasa by writer Tom King and artist Phil Hester to cast the familiar detective genre at him. Slam resembles and speaks in a rhythm familiar to fans of Hammett, Chandler, and even Ellroy. This makes getting to the heart of the plot at hand much easier as the narrative quickly uses the waves of genre to speed things up. It makes it easy to anticipate the evolution of the last page, but that doesn’t make it any less compelling either.
Slam travels through many aspects of Gotham City – from his downtown office and working class people all the way to the gorgeous Wayne Manor. He provided excellent evidence and in his account states that 1961 was the year things went wrong in the city. It’s a bold claim and his account suggests that there may be some truth to it. Throughout the case, there are notes about the familiar social tensions and the kind of problems that might threaten the city. However, these brief notes on class and race remain minor observations and it is unclear whether the series would be able to provide any insightful observations or criticism in such a brief format. The focus in Issue #1 is on plot and King does a quick job of laying the foundations for a thrilling detective story, if nothing else.
The obvious hook in Gotham City: Year One is a brilliant genre-inspired reimagining of one of popular culture’s most iconic capitals by artist Phil Hester, Enker Eric Gapstor, and colorist Jordi Belair. Given that this story focuses on a topic more related to the early seasons of mad men From Batman Comics, Hester invests a great deal of attention in creating the setting and the mood. Clothes, desks, and vistas serve to tell a story and draw the reader into reading a piece from the time period — so much so that at small gestures of the superhero genre, they often feel out of place. Their characters read like the central casting of a movie that Humphrey Bogart might have thought of.
There is clearly a deep appreciation for the kind of story this comic aims to be, but that doesn’t limit her ambitions. Create hyster layouts Gotham City: Year One Read compulsively like superhero comics. Shapes are often used to frame pages with panels dancing around and provide a sense of excitement and power even in dialogue-driven sequences. The movement makes great use of black and white contrasts and clearly framed moments of violence. Hester expresses clear self-control and allows the body or punch to speak for itself without exaggeration.
Bellaire’s colors play brilliantly against Hester’s solid, angular shapes with flat designs that play up contrast elements. Each setting has a unique color palette that makes it easy to recognize Slam’s transitions through town, as well as flashbacks. Given the black-and-white inspiration and essential evocation of mood in this tale, Bellaire ensured its success.
Gotham City: Year One #1 is a clear success – bringing classic noir style to town before Batman. As much as fans discuss Batman as a detective, it’s rare to find a true detective story connected to the character, but this is clearly a story that values its genre and has a lot of ambition in both its plot and subject matter. While the former is well established here, it is the latter that will make readers wonder exactly what kind of comic book they are reading: a neat and entertaining detective story or a story that goes beyond its foundations to convey something more important. As a reader, there are no bad choices.
Posted by DC Comics
on me 4 October 2022
written by Tom King
art through Phil Hester and Eric Gapstor
Colors Jordi Belair
Messages by Clayton Cowles
cover by
Phil Hester, Eric Gapstor and Jordi Belair
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