BATMAN: YEAR 100

By: KURT AMACKER
Review Date: Friday, May 19, 2006

Given the bevy of Batman miniseries that complement the character's already overloaded schedule of monthly titles, it's always pleasant to read one that both portrays the character faithfully and takes him in a new direction. While at first glance, Paul Pope's BATMAN: YEAR 100 sounds like a DARK KNIGHT RETURNS knock-off, it feels more like BLADERUNNER or NEUROMANCER. And, thankfully, it doesn't rehash V FOR VENDETTA, either.

In 2039, Batman operates in a Gotham City without superheroes. After federal agents frame him in the murder of one of their own, he must both clear his name and learn why the dead agent carried the recipe for a deadly chemical weapon called Fleshkiller. All the while, James Gordon of the GCPD must answer to the ruthless federal agent Tibble, who wants the files on the mysterious Bat-Man of Gotham hidden in the home of the late Commissioner Gordon. What James found there shocked him, and, frankly, still confuses me a bit. I won't give it away, though. Pope has written a genuinely engaging Batman story that involves several conspiracies within conspiracies. While the big reveal at the issue's end feels a little forced, the story never falls to convolution.

Though Pope spent the first three issues of BATMAN: YEAR 100 exploring a rich, involving mystery (though not wanting for action), he really takes the gloves off this month and delivers some genuinely exciting action sequences. He shows a prolonged motorcycle chase with agents pursuing both Batman and the new Robin (also dressed as Batman) which, in other creators' hands, could just bore the reader. However, he conveys most of his action scenes with wider panels, lending a cinematic feel to the whole affair. And, while his art seems more suited for a Top Shelf biography about growing up in a family of polygamists or something, it serves as a unique and welcome change of pace from DC's regular fare.


I certainly wouldn't jump on BATMAN: YEAR 100 with the final issue, but I'd recommend reading the entire series. It's a unique, dystopian take on Batman that's well worth your time.

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