Editing Batman: Year One (section)

==Publication history==
===Development===
In an effort to resolve continuity errors in the [[DC Universe]], [[Marv Wolfman]] and [[George Pérez]] produced the 12-issue [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''.<ref name="backissue30">{{cite journal|last1=Greeberger|first1=Robert|title=Crisis at 30: A Look Back at the Most Influential Crossover in Comics History|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|date=August 2015|issue=82}}</ref> Wolfman's plans for the DC Universe after ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' included relaunching every DC comic with a new first issue.<ref name="Slugfest152">{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Reed |date=October 2017 |title=Slugfest |location=[[New York City]] |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |page=152 |isbn=978-0306825477 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hoyYDgAAQBAJ |access-date=2020-12-07 |archive-date=2024-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308084652/https://books.google.com/books?id=hoyYDgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Frank Miller Fan Expo Wiki.jpg|thumb|left|Frank Miller, the author of ''Year One'', at the Fan Expo 2016 in Toronto, Canada]]
During the production of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', [[Frank Miller]] was the writer of [[Marvel Comics]]' ''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'' where he finished his long run with the character in issue #191. He went on to work for DC and produced the influential four-issue limited series ''[[The Dark Knight Returns|Batman: The Dark Knight Returns]]'' (1986), but was put on hold due to unsuccessfully developing ideas for the story. In 1985, Miller returned to Marvel to resume his role as the writer of ''Daredevil'' starting with issue #219. At some point, he fully committed himself into developing ''The Dark Knight Returns'' as ideas came to fruition. By the time the ''Daredevil'' series reached to issue #226 in 1986, editor [[Dennis O'Neil]] who was the regular writer for Daredevil at that time moved on from Marvel to work for DC again where he helped Miller to edit ''The Dark Knight Returns''. For Daredevil #226, Miller and artist [[David Mazzucchelli]] collaborated for the first time and then they collaborated again on the critically acclaimed seven issues #227-233 which eventually titled as ''[[Born Again (comics)|Daredevil: Born Again]]'' in the collected edition.

The contract Miller signed to produce ''Dark Knight Returns'' also required him to write a revamped Batman origin story. Year One was originally conceived as a [[graphic novel]]. O'Neil, who had been asked to edit several issues of ''Batman'', was friends with Miller and was able to learn of the story. Reflecting on poor sales of ''Batman'', O'Neil caught Miller one day while on a walk in [[Los Angeles]] and convinced him and Mazzucchelli to serialize the story in the ongoing series.<ref name="ONeil13th">{{cite web|last1=Greenfield|first1=Dan|title=The DENNY O'NEIL INTERVIEWS — Batman: Year One|url=https://13thdimension.com/the-denny-oneil-interviews-batman-year-one/|website=13th Dimension|access-date=May 20, 2018|date=September 22, 2014|archive-date=October 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014113625/https://13thdimension.com/the-denny-oneil-interviews-batman-year-one/|url-status=live}}</ref> Miller was initially reluctant; he felt this would be hard because he had to ensure the story stayed canonical to the DC Universe, something he did not have to worry about when writing ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns''. In addition, Miller's pacing would have to be altered because of ongoing series' relatively small page counts. O'Neil reasoned that ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' had completely remade the DC Universe, so Miller would be able to have the same creative freedom that ''Dark Knight Returns'' provided.<ref name="nerd">{{cite book|last1=Weldon|first1=Glen|author-link=Glen Weldon|title=The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture|date=2016|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=978-1-4767-5669-1}}</ref> He also reassured Miller that he and Mazzucchelli "weren't going to lose anything" by serializing it.<ref name="ONeil13th"/>

Miller has said he kept [[Bob Kane]] and [[Bill Finger|Bill Finger's]] basic story for Year One but expanded it.<ref name="NPRTalk">{{cite web|title='Batman' Author Frank Miller|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4704766|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=May 22, 2018|date=June 15, 2005|archive-date=October 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014113637/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4704766|url-status=live}}</ref> In writing the story, Miller looked for parts of Batman's origin that were never explored. He left the core elements, such as the murder of Bruce's parents, intact, but reduced them to brief [[Flashback (narrative)|flashbacks]]. Bruce's globe-trotting adventures were removed, as Miller found them uninteresting. Rather than portraying Batman as a larger-than-life icon as he had in ''The Dark Knight Returns'', Miller chose to characterize Batman in Year One as an average, inexperienced man trying to make a change in society because Miller believed a superhero is least interesting when most effective. Examples of this include Batman underestimating his opponents, getting shot by police, and his costume being too big. The story's violence was kept street-level and gritty, emphasizing [[Noir fiction|noir]] and realism.<ref name="nerd"/>

===Artwork===
[[File:6.28.12DavidMazzuchelliByLuigiNovi36.jpg|thumb|[[David Mazzucchelli]] autographing a copy of the 2005 deluxe edition trade paperback in 2012]]
{{quote box|width=33%|align=right|thumb|quote=Comics printed on newspaper had an available palette of only about 60 colors, which Richmond utilized brilliantly. — Bonus pages in the 2005 deluxe edition, 2016 Absolute Edition Book One, and 2017 deluxe edition.|Mazzucchelli explaining Lewis did an amazing job with her hand painting technique in coloring Year One for the 404-407 monthly issues even thought the newsprint paper material can only print limited amount of colors to match visuals.}}
Miller's past projects for ''Daredevil'' overwhelmed him since he had to handle both writing and illustration duties simultaneously. For ''Year One'', he once again relied on a comic book artist for illustrations while he simply wrote the story and the script. Mazzucchelli signed on to illustrate the artwork after accepting Miller's offering to do Batman. The team also consisted of Mazzucchelli's wife [[Richmond Lewis]] who was in charge of coloring, [[Todd Klein]] as the story's [[letterer]], and O'Neil editing the overall story.

In illustrating, Mazzucchelli sought to make Year One look grimy, dark, and muted. His interpretation of [[Gotham City]] was designed to symbolize corruption, featuring muddy colors that gave the impression of the city being dirty and needing a hero, so Mazzucchelli took on Year One with a more grounded and darker approach.<ref name="visual"/> Newsprint used in most ''Batman'' titles served as the printing paper for Year One during its monthly issues run. In 1988, Year One was published in the collected edition format with Mazzucchelli specifically opted to change the printing paper from newsprint into the [[CMYK color model|process color paper]] that was used in Miller's ''Dark Knight Returns''. He felt this paper material is designed to print lots of colors, more than what newsprint was capable of. With many sets of color available from the [[Hue|color hue]], Lewis recolored the entire story in order to match the visuals printed on the paper.

{{blockquote|'''Mazzucchelli:''' There's a big difference coloring for full process instead of newsprint. Although you have a wide range of colors available in regular comics, the paper can only take so many different colors before they start to look the same. The colors have to be pretty bold for the reader to differentiate between characters and objects.<br>'''Lewis:''' I think newsprint has a lot of possibilites that haven't been explored yet, but of course with [[CMYK color model|process color]] you have a lot more to work with. The trick is in trying to control it, to keep to the simplicity of newsprint color while using the fuller range available in process ... but only where it's needed.|source=Interview of Mazzucchelli and Lewis on why the 1988 collected edition did not reuse newsprint as printing paper. ''DC Direct Currents #1, published on February 1988'' [https://ultimatebatmancomicswebsite.weebly.com/batman-year-one-coloring.html]}}

===Publication===
In accordance with Wolfman's plans,<ref name="Slugfest152"/> O'Neil initially saw "Year One" as the start of the second volume of ''Batman'' and expected the first part to be its first issue. However, Miller rejected this idea. He explained: "I don't need to slash through continuity with a sharp blade as I thought. Doing ''The Dark Knight Returns'' has shown me there's been enough good material... I didn't feel that fleshing out an unknown part of Batman's history justified wiping out 50 years of [adventures]."<ref name="visual"/> Thus, the four "Year One" issues bear no continuity to past issues of ''Batman''.<ref name="visual">{{cite book |title=DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle |author-first1=Daniel |author-last1=Wallace |author-first2=Alan |author-last2=Cowsill |author-first3=Alexander C. |author-last3=Irvine |author-first4=Matthew K. |author-last4=Manning |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7566-6742-9 |page=227 |quote=Melding Miller's noir sensibilities, realistic characterization, and gritty action with Mazzucchelli's brilliant iconic imagery, "Year One" thrilled readers and critics alike... as well as being one of the influences for the 2005 film ''Batman Begins''.}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Issue
! Cover date
|-
| "Chapter One: Who I Am – How I Come to Be"
| ''Batman'' #404
| February 1987
|-
| "Chapter Two: War Is Declared"
| ''Batman'' #405
| March 1987
|-
| "Chapter Three: Black Dawn"
| ''Batman'' #406
| April 1987
|-
| "Chapter Four: Friend in Need"
| ''Batman'' #407
| May 1987
|}

===Collected editions===
Following the completion of the 404–407 monthly issues run, Year One received several reprints over the years: collected edition in [[hardcover]] and [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperbacks]], several deluxe editions in hardcover and paperback format, an ''[[DC Comics Absolute Edition|Absolute Edition]]'', and an [[Artist's Edition]] externally published by [[IDW Publishing]].

In 1988, Year One was published as collected edition in [[hardcover]] ({{isbn|0930289323}}) and [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]] ({{isbn|0930289331}}). Both [[Warner Books]] ({{isbn|0446389234}}) and [[Titan Books]] ({{isbn|1852860774}}) also published trade paperbacks in 1988 for other regions across the world.

In 1989, Longmeadow Press published ''The Complete Frank Miller Batman'' ({{isbn|068140969X}}), collecting ''Year One'', ''[[DC Special Series|Wanted: Santa Claus - Dead or Alive!]]'', and ''[[The Dark Knight Returns]]''.

In April 2005, DC released the "Deluxe Edition" of ''Year One'' in hardcover ({{isbn|1401206905}}) and trade paperback ({{isbn|1401207529}}) to coincide with the release of ''[[Batman Begins]]''. This edition reuses the printing paper from the 1988 collected edition with Mazzucchelli supplying the promotional and unseen Batman art, Lewis' color samples, some of the original penciled artwork, and some pages of the original script as bonus materials. The cover was designed by Mazzucchelli and graphic designer [[Chip Kidd]].

The hardcover deluxe edition ({{isbn|1401233422}}) was re-released in March 2012.<ref name="IGN2012"/> Mazzucchelli clarified that DC did not contact him to get involved with designing this edition. Having been sent a copy of the book by DC, Mazzucchelli was unhappy with the quality and opined that "Anybody who's already paid for [the book] should send it back to DC and demand a refund.". 

{{blockquote|Several years ago, DC asked me if I'd help put together a deluxe edition of Batman: Year One, and Dale Crain and I worked for months to try to make a definitive version. Now whoever's in charge has thrown all that work in the garbage. First, they redesigned the cover, and recolored my artwork — probably to look more like their little DVD that came out last year; second, they printed the book on shiny paper, which was never a part of the original design, all the way back to the first hardcover in 1988; third — and worst — they printed the color from corrupted, out-of-focus digital files, completely obscuring all of Richmond's hand-painted work. Anybody who's already paid for this should send it back to DC and demand a refund.|source=Mazzucchelli criticizing the 2012 Deluxe Edition<ref name="IGN2012">{{cite web|last1=Schedeen|first1=Jesse|title=Batman: Year One – Deluxe Edition Hardcover Review|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/28/batman-year-one-deluxe-edition-hardcover-review|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=May 28, 2018|date=March 28, 2012|archive-date=March 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308140555/http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/28/batman-year-one-deluxe-edition-hardcover-review|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In November 2014, to celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary, DC released a sample of Year One as a part of its ''DC Comics Essentials'' line of promotional comics.<ref name="DCEssentials">{{cite web|title=DC Comics Essentials – Batman: Year One Special Edition #1|url=https://www.dccomics.com/comics/batman-year-one-1987/dc-comics-essentials-%E2%80%93-batman-year-one-special-edition-1|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|date=November 5, 2014|access-date=May 28, 2018|archive-date=October 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008142714/https://www.dccomics.com/comics/batman-year-one-1987/dc-comics-essentials-%25E2%2580%2593-batman-year-one-special-edition-1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2015, DC released a hardcover ({{isbn|1401260047}}) of Year One which included its [[Batman: Year One (film)|2011 animated film adaptation]] on both DVD and Blu-ray.

In November 2016, DC released a 288-page [[DC Comics Absolute Edition|Absolute Edition]] of Year One ({{isbn|1401243797}}). This edition comes in a slipcase with two hardcover books. Book One features a whole new scanning from the original artworks by Mazzucchelli and remastered coloring by Lewis, while Book Two features scanning pages directly from the physical copies of the 404-407 monthly issues. Over 60 pages of bonus materials are also included, including Miller's complete scripts in Book Two.<ref name="DCAbsolute">{{cite web|title=Absolute Batman: Year One|url=https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batman-year-one-1987/absolute-batman-year-one|publisher=[[DC Comics]]|access-date=May 28, 2018|date=November 2, 2016|archive-date=October 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008142845/https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batman-year-one-1987/absolute-batman-year-one|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2017, the hardcover deluxe edition ({{isbn|1401272940}}) was re-released again, this time with the same printing paper and coloring as Book One of the 2016 Absolute Edition.

In March 2022, to coincide with the release of ''[[The Batman (film)|The Batman]]'', DC released ''The Batman Box Set'' ({{isbn|1779514298}}), collecting trade paperbacks of ''Year One'', ''[[Batman: The Long Halloween|The Long Halloween]]'', and ''[[Batman: Ego|Ego and Other Tails]]'' in a slipcase with art by [[Jim Lee]]. Director [[Matt Reeves]] cited the three graphic novels as the major influences for the film.

In August 2024, [[IDW Publishing]] published the [[Artist's Edition]] ({{isbn|9798887240039}}) of Year One in a 144-page hardcover. Mazzucchelli personally supplied the artworks for scanning with [[Chip Kidd]] serving as the designer of the book. [https://bleedingcool.com/comics/batman-year-one-neal-adams-classic-dc-get-idw-artists-editions/] The 250 copies limited edition ({{isbn|9798887241975}}) [https://firewireblog.com/2024/07/29/david-mazzucchellis-batman-year-one-artists-edition-signed-and-numbered-idw-exclusive-edition/] was exclusively available only for pre-ordering on the IDW's official website; this version includes a slipcase, a variant design of the front cover, and Mazzucchelli's personal signature printed in an interior page.

{|class="wikitable sortable" width=98%
|-align="center"
!Title
!Material collected
!Format
!Publisher
!Region
!Released dates
!ISBN
|-align="center"
|rowspan=4 style="text-align: left"|'''''Batman Year One'''''
|rowspan=11|''Batman'' #404-407
|HC
|rowspan=2|[[DC Comics]]
|rowspan=3|US
|rowspan=4|{{dts|1988}}
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|0930289323}}}}
|-align="center"
|rowspan=3|TPB
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|0930289331}}}}
|-align="center"
|[[Warner Books]]
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|0446389234}}}}
|-align="center"
|[[Titan Books]]
|UK
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|1852860774}}}}
|-align="center"
|rowspan=3 style="text-align: left"|'''''Batman Year One: Deluxe Edition'''''
|HC
|rowspan=5|[[DC Comics]]
|rowspan=7|US
|rowspan=2|{{dts|Apr 2005}}
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|1401206905}}}}
|-align="center"
|TPB
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|1401207529}}}}
|-align="center"
|rowspan=5|HC
|{{dts|Mar 2012}}
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|1401233422}}}}
|-align="center"
|style="text-align: left"|'''''Absolute Batman Year One'''''
|{{dts|Nov 2016}}
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|1401243797}}}}
|-align="center"
|style="text-align: left"|'''''Batman Year One: The Deluxe Edition'''''
|{{dts|Sept 2017}}
|{{nowrap|{{ISBNT|1401272940}}}}
|-align="center"
|rowspan=2 style="text-align: left"|'''''David Mazzucchelli's Batman Year One Artist's Edition'''''
|rowspan=2|[[IDW Publishing]]
|rowspan=2|{{dts|Aug 2024}}
|Standard edition: {{nowrap|{{ISBNT|9798887240039}}}}
|-align="center"
|Limited edition: {{nowrap|{{ISBNT|9798887241975}}}}
|}