BATMAN: EARTH ONE, VOLUME TWO

In case you missed the 2012 debut of Batman: Earth One, don’t fret: you’ve got another chance with Volume Two. The Batman: Earth One series of graphic novels reimagines the Dark Knight at the beginning of his journey to become a legend. This second volume, timed six months after the events of the first volume, takes place in the aftermath of the mayor’s death. The new mayor, Jessica Dent, and her brother, crusading District Attorney Harvey Dent, are trying to clean the criminal elements from Gotham City. But the criminal empire of the former mayor has been taken over by five city officials hell-bent on keeping business as usual. Unfortunately for them, business is not usual, not with a serial killer with a penchant for riddles stalking them and blowing up portions of the city. Batman, who is notably not a detective at this point in his career, ends up fighting a war on two fronts as he contends with the deadly machinations of the Riddler while trying to assist the Dents in their own investigation. Add in the debuts of Killer Croc, an insane recreation of Two-Face and a very sly, subtly perfect introduction of Catwoman, and the Dark Knight has his hands full. Geoff Johns, whose stellar career includes turning burned-out hero franchises Green Lantern and Aquaman into must-have titles, crafts a fast-paced storyline full of twists and turns that even a veteran comic book lover won’t expect. And the art team of Gary Frank, Jon Sibal and Brad Anderson delivers images worthy of the tale—lots of shadows and sharp-edged lines, which are perfect when telling tales in Gotham City.