jbmorgan86's review against another edition
5.0
Part 2 of the Zero Year arc . . .
The plot: A young Batman faces off with the terrifying Dr. Death as he kills off scientists in Gotham. However, the main baddie is E. Nygma (a.k.a. The Riddler). While the Riddler usually seemed like a nuisance more than a dangerous villain, here he is SCARY. He causes a massive black out in Gotham. At the same time, a massive storm is moving towards Gotham. He wants Gothamites to take control of their minds, think, and live. He does this by creating a post-apocalyptic Gotham where Batman, Jim Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Alfred must work through a labyrinth of riddles.
Perhaps the most enjoyable part of Year Zero is getting a different twist on all of the origin stories (I particularly enjoyed Jim Gordon's back story). There are also many Easter Eggs for Batman fans (for example, an explanation of why there is a giant penny in the bat cave).
My only complaint is minor: Some of the non-Batman comics in the collection are less interesting and seem to take away from the central story
The plot: A young Batman faces off with the terrifying Dr. Death as he kills off scientists in Gotham. However, the main baddie is E. Nygma (a.k.a. The Riddler). While the Riddler usually seemed like a nuisance more than a dangerous villain, here he is SCARY. He causes a massive black out in Gotham. At the same time, a massive storm is moving towards Gotham. He wants Gothamites to take control of their minds, think, and live. He does this by creating a post-apocalyptic Gotham where Batman, Jim Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Alfred must work through a labyrinth of riddles.
Perhaps the most enjoyable part of Year Zero is getting a different twist on all of the origin stories (I particularly enjoyed Jim Gordon's back story). There are also many Easter Eggs for Batman fans (for example, an explanation of why there is a giant penny in the bat cave).
My only complaint is minor: Some of the non-Batman comics in the collection are less interesting and seem to take away from the central story
mymessytbr's review against another edition
3.0
It was ok. Not sure how I feel about the Riddler being the big baddie. A lot of what he was doing felt like something the Joker should be doing.
caterpie_reading's review against another edition
5.0
And again, I really enjoyed this Volume of Batman. Most likely due to the fact that I actually really like the 'Zero Year' Arc. It is kind of a different take on the origin of one of the best superheros, not that dark, but neither light or fluffy. It is somewhere in the middle and I really liked that. It was also nice to see a different Bruce Wayne this time around - more unexperienced and sometimes off balance. The story itself is written excellent and I flew through it, engrossed all the time as I always wanted to know what would happen next, how events would turn out. Moreover, I appreciated the villain we got in this volume - The Riddler (and maybe also Dr.Death.) - he was so entertaining, it gave the story this extra plus. I also liked how the sidecharacters acted in this volume/were portrayed: Lucius Fox, Jim Gordon and of course Alfred. In addition, the art in this was phenomenal, I loved the colours that were used.
To put it all in a nutshell, I am really looking forward to continue with Batman Volume 6 :)
To put it all in a nutshell, I am really looking forward to continue with Batman Volume 6 :)
katieb94's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
matt4hire's review against another edition
5.0
I could practically hear the Hans Zimmer score playing while I read this. And hey, Snyder manages to not do an "everything you knew was wrong" ending! Good job, Scott!
shri_ace13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
manuelte's review against another edition
5.0
Starting with the 1990's animated Batman series the Riddler became my favorite Batman villain. Sure, the Joker is the great nemesis, and Bane is the one who broke the bat, but the Riddler has no brawn, no agility, just an extremely sharp mind which brings out the detective side of DC's proclaimed greatest detective. The Year Zero storyline gives us the New 52 version of the Riddler and brings him to new heights in what is both his and Batman's origin story. Very good second (and final) part to Batman Vol.4 bringing to a close the Year Zero plotline.
ostrava's review against another edition
5.0
I don't comment on the art of this series much, because I take for granted that people have eyes and can see the results for themselves, however this one's a quick stop.
The art is phenomenal, really. The psychedelic 80s colors running through the whole thing are stunning.
The writing is about what you would expect by now, though this might be the weakest volume in the series so far.
But in the greater scheme of things, it does leave the run of Batman in a good spot and I like how the little touches here and there paint a very complete picture of the whole saga. It's biggest flaw is that it refuses to get straight into the question of the Batman as a figure of justice that lives up to the challenge, but neither did Year One and that one is one of my favourites. The early years of Batman's life are always the ones you extract the most hope from, the truest to the real essence of who Batman really is. This whole series did a great job with that.
Very well done.
The art is phenomenal, really. The psychedelic 80s colors running through the whole thing are stunning.
The writing is about what you would expect by now, though this might be the weakest volume in the series so far.
But in the greater scheme of things, it does leave the run of Batman in a good spot and I like how the little touches here and there paint a very complete picture of the whole saga. It's biggest flaw is that it refuses to get straight into the question of the Batman as a figure of justice that lives up to the challenge, but neither did Year One and that one is one of my favourites. The early years of Batman's life are always the ones you extract the most hope from, the truest to the real essence of who Batman really is. This whole series did a great job with that.
Very well done.