5 Reasons You Should Be Reading Batman: Zero Year

4. The Reverence I realise the previous section may have been somewhat vague with only a few actual examples of the innovations found within Zero Year. However I felt if I started listing specifics not only would that be a rather tedious affair, it would also take something away from the work itself and I would fail in my mission to get you to read it. This section however will deal with more specific examples to highlight the references to pre-existing canon rather than spoiling things. This too will hopefully create a certain sense of curiosity. Earlier I spoke of how Snyder has taken certain motifs and turned them on their head. What is interesting to note is that Zero Year is as reverent as it is iconoclastic in regard to previous canon, much in the same way Bruce honors and seeks guidance from his departed father. I also spoke of core elements of the Batman mythos and how they can almost restrict a story teller, but not so with Snyder. Since its publication Frank Miller's Year One has been regarded as the de facto Batman origin story and though Snyder's work ultimately aims to become the de facto Batman origin story for the New 52 it builds upon elements taken from not only Year One but also Batman Begins which in itself was influenced by Miller's work. As a a quick aside one could also argue that the idea of Bruce working out of a garage in Crime Alley is a nod to Miller's reworked vision of Year One for the big screen. Let's list a few of these just to make sure: A young Bruce falling into the cave? Check. Bruce's absence from Gotham? Check. Bruce's adventures being preparation for what is ultimately to become a war? Check. Incidentally Bruce choosing that phrase over the previous idea of a vow, is itself a nod to Year One, but to continue... Bruce's initial efforts failing to a certain degree? Check. Bruce bloodied and beaten sat before his Father's image inspired by a bat sat atop it? Check. A swarm of Bats attracted by a certain piece of gadgetry? Check. And so on and so on... Snyder realises that these and other elements are still very much part of audience psyche, and subtly integrates then into his new narrative. Of course, the mythos of Batman isn't the only one treated in such a manner. We'll be presented with Snyder's vision of not only the Riddler, Dr. Death and quite possibly Poison Ivy, much in the same way we were presented with an initial tale about the Red Hood, that may very well have been tale about the Joker. One could quite easily write an entire academic study or book on the allusions in Zero Year as much as one could write a similar work about the innovations. As Charlie Oldfield shows in his article one single issue is so rich in allusion and reference one wonders how much there is in the six issues we've had so far, let alone those to come. Let's instead move on to how Zero Year is visually presented to us returning later to discussions of specific story elements when we explore the narrative(s) so far and also the narrative(s) to come...