Zero Week: EXCLUSIVE first look at Batman’s new origin
One of the biggest comic books of the year promises to be “Batman: Zero Year” – the modern-day origin of the Dark Knight, by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo.
We here at the New York Post’s Parallel Worlds are pleased to launch our new blog with Zero Week – seven days of exclusives and coverage leading into the 11-month event, which begins with Batman No. 21 on Wednesday, June 12. Today, we bring you exclusive pages and an interview with Snyder and Capullo.
For the uninitiated (hey, welcome aboard!): Batman’s origin has gone through many permutations since he debuted in 1939. The basics have always been the same: Mom and Dad killed on the street before young Bruce’s eyes. He vows to dedicate himself to fighting crime. He encounters a bat. Decides to dress like one.
But the details and various elements of been added, subtracted or massaged over the last 74 years. The most recent substantial reboot was in 1987, when writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli produced “Batman: Year One,” a four-part story that not only laid the foundation for the next quarter-century of Batman’s adventures, but helped lead the way to Tim Burton’s films, a wildly successful animated series and, perhaps most significant of all, the Christopher Nolan-directed “Dark Knight Trilogy,” which borrows heavily from the material. (Year One was also adapted in a critically well-regarded direct-to-video animated feature.)
DC Comics rebooted its entire line of comics in 2011, in a publishing effort called the New 52. As time wore on, it became clear that many of the elements from Year One no longer seemed to fit in the modern Batman’s world.
So when the time came to start putting the new origin together, Snyder and Capullo decided to go their own way, rather than, as they put it, do a “pale imitation” of what has long been revered as a graphic arts masterwork.
Hence, “Zero Year,” where Batman battles the Red Hood Gang for – what else? – Gotham’s soul.
To kick things off, here are the first pages (10, 11, 12) released by DC – showing a decidedly brighter world of Batman. That, Snyder and Capullo say, is no accident.
“I can only tell you I never expected to be drawing Gotham as Scott has it written in the first issue,” Capullo told Parallel Worlds. “Within the first five pages of the first script, I was like WTF! You know, what is going on in this thing?”
“Yeah, the fun of it is,” Snyder added, “you will open the book, and see from Page 1, 2 and 3, and 4, how different it is from Year One.”
Said Capullo: “You’re going to close it back up and look at the cover to make sure you picked up the right book!”
Tomorrow, Snyder himself will have a guest appearance on Parallel Worlds. He’ll tell you himself just how New York informs Gotham and how the world of Zero Year is so different than the world of the classic “Batman: Year One,” by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
You will not want to miss it.
Come Friday, Greg will share his thoughts on the art of Zero Year – as well as some exclusive, work-in-progress art.
We’ll have tons more to come after that – and it will all culminate Tuesday – the day before Zero Year goes on sale – with the first installment of Gotham Post, our new weekly Batman column.
If you want to know all about Zero Year, this is the place to be.
Email us at [email protected].
Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NYPost_PW and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYParallelWorlds.