At first it was hard to even determine what was “good”, mostly because you need a frame of reference before you can honestly judge a piece of work.

While that frame of reference is still growing, I have no problem in telling you all how amazing Batman: Year One was to read.

I’m sure this review is nothing new to those of you comic book fans who read it many, many years ago, but for me, it was like a brand new present waiting to be unwrapped.

It felt like the way Batman Begins redefined the franchise with the dark origins story of how the Dark Knight became a vigilante in the form of a giant bat. In fact, Batman: Year One was one of the inspirations for the “reboot” of the Batman movie franchise.

Written by Frank Miller, Year One shows us the early stages of Batman, James Gordon and Selina, who becomes Catwoman. I just loved the way Batman is displayed as a man struggling to find his symbol, and once he does, the mistakes he makes during his early days.

Just as good as the Batman story was Gordon’s arrival in Gotham City and what it took to be a good cop amidst the corruption surrounding him.

I love the way the novel gives us the history of both men, their ascension into the roles we know so very well, and the collision course that they are on with each other. The artwork is also great, it looks a bit retro, old school, which just gave it a more authentic feel. David Mazzucchelli was responsible for the illustrations.

This was a fantastic read and Frank Miller is really one of the great comic book writers out there. I would recommend Year One to read first, and then go ahead and grab his The Dark Knight Returns, to get an even darker version of Batman.

There is so much out there to read when it comes to Batman, but those two graphic novels would be a great way to dive right in and check out what you’ve been missing.

Mike’s Rating: 10 out of 10

(I’m currently reading Kingdom Come, so watch for a review of that soon)

IGN.com has begun a big series of articles entitled the Ultimate Reader’s Guide that aims to help inform you about everything under the sun about comic books, whether you are a newbie or a returning fan.

Their first volume is all about DC Comics and it also explains the basics of comics, plus all the titles out there from the DC universe that you should read.

I like this little section below explaining how comic books make it from their “flimsy” form to a trade paperback/graphic novel. I’ve gotten a few friends asking me what the heck the difference is, but this is a great way to describe it:

In the last decade the trend has become for publishers to collect storylines (or arcs) in longer books, often called trade paperbacks. The standard practice for most mainstream books is for each storyline to be broken up into five or six individual issues, which are then collected in a trade. Many times, multiple trades will then be collected in larger, deluxe hardcovers.

Ultimate Spider-Man is a perfect example of this practice. Each arc tends to be about six issues long. These issues are collected in a trade paperback. Two trade paperbacks are then combined to form a hardcover. Sometimes a publisher will take things a step further, as when Marvel combined the first three Ultimate Spider-Man hardcovers into a larger hardcover.

Occasionally a comic will skip the monthly format altogether and be released as a trade. These books are often referred to as original graphic novels, or OGNs. OGNs are increasingly rare as they are generally less profitable for publishers.

Check out the rest of it, I think it’s worth a read if you are looking to get into this arena of pop culture. If you are ALREADY a comic book expert, I’m curious what you think of what IGN has to say and also the choices of comics they give us from the DC world.

Also, today (Friday) they should also come out with their guide to the Marvel Universe, so take a peek at that too.