Batman: Year 100 (Batman): Year 100 (Batman) - Paul Pope

Best Batman book in quite some time

Batman has represented dozens of things over his various incarnations, and this take, which presents him as the last unknown entity in a world where nothing is private, will (I strongly doubt) ever be considered the definitive interpretation but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun.

Characterisation is light, we know who the characters are and it allows the story to hit the ground running. A pace which the comic maintains as the authorities become delightfully frustrated and batman becomes beaten, bloodied, and exhauseted but just keeps going.

Not only does Paul Pope maintain the grit and grime of his black and white artwork but also the character and presence, there isn't a panel that could be mistaken for another artist, it's lush, dark and dynamic. I'd also venture there's something from hong kong action and gangster flims mixed in, but the author makes every influence into something that's so much his own that it's hard to tell.

In summary, this is a brilliant realisation of the character and after DKR/Batman Gothic probably my favourtie Batman TPB.

There's even the Berlin Batman story included as an extra!

Ugly art.....but good story

Year 100 is a recent addition to the Elseworld series of Batman tales. It is set in 2039 (100 years after Batman first appeared) and features Batman re-appearing long after the authorities thought he had died and most people believed he was an urban myth.

This is Batman's version of 1984, with a Big Brother type regime in control of America, and an underground group led by Batman attempting to thwart their evil schemes, aided by Jim Gordon - our Jim Gordon's grandson.

Although this is a reasonable story I can't get past the ugly art. This may be to some peoples taste but I wasn't impressed. It left me feeling that what could have been a very good graphic novel was harder to read than it should have been. There are lots of good historical references to Batman's past though, and Batman uses his skills as a detective well, so there are definately positives for this unique graphic novel.

There are much worse Elseworld tales out there but this is nowhere near as good as 'Red Rain'. May be one for serious Batman collectors only