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Batman: Year One

Batman: Year One is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli. Year One was originally published by DC Comics in Batman #404–407 in 1987. There have been several reprints of the story: a hardcover, multiple trade paperbacks, several deluxe editions in hardcover and paperback format, and an absolute edition. Year One was also adapted into an animated feature in 2011, after efforts to adapt it into live-action following the failure of 1997's Batman & Robin didn't pan out.

Batman: Year One
Trade paperback of Batman: Year One
published by Titan Books
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
Publication dateFebruary – May 1987
Main character(s)
Creative team
Written byFrank Miller
Artist(s)David Mazzucchelli
Letterer(s)Todd Klein
Colorist(s)Richmond Lewis
Editor(s)Dennis O'Neil
Collected editions
Trade PaperbackISBN 0930289331
HardcoverISBN 0930289323
Trade Paperback (Warner Books)ISBN 0446389234
Trade Paperback (Titan Books)ISBN 1852860774
2005 Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)ISBN 1401206905
2005 Deluxe Edition (Trade Paperback)ISBN 1401207529
2012 Deluxe EditionISBN 1401233422
Book with Blu-ray & DVD setISBN 1401260047
Absolute EditionISBN 1401243797
2017 Deluxe EditionISBN 1401272940

The story recounts Batman's first year as a crime-fighter as well as exploring the life of recently transferred Gotham police detective James Gordon – eventually building towards their first encounter and their eventual alliance against Gotham's criminal underworld.

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 Crisis on Infinite Earths.[1] Wolfman's plans for the DC Universe after Crisis on Infinite Earths included relaunching every DC comic with a new first issue.[2]

During the production of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Frank Miller was the writer of Marvel Comics' Daredevil. He collaborated with artist David Mazzucchelli to produce Daredevil: Born Again together which was critically acclaimed. Miller later on worked for DC and produced the influential four-issue limited series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Editor Dennis O'Neil also moved to work for DC.

 
Frank Miller, the author of Year One, at the Fan Expo 2016 in Toronto, Canada

The contract Miller signed to produce Dark Knight Returns also required him to write a revamped Batman origin story. Miller's past projects overwhelmed him since he had to handle both writing and illustration duties simultaneously. For Year One, he simply wrote the story and the script, with Mazzucchelli signed on to illustrate the artwork. 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.[3] According to O'Neil, the contract Miller and Mazzucchelli signed to produce Year One in the ongoing Batman series guaranteed publication within 6 months.[4]

 
David Mazzucchelli autographing a copy of the 2005 trade paperback in 2012

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.[4] 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.[3] He also reassured Miller that he and Mazzucchelli "weren't going to lose anything" by serializing it.[4]

Miller has said he kept Bob Kane and Bill Finger's basic story for Year One but expanded it.[5] 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 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 and realism.[3]

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. The newsprint paper used in Batman was unable to reproduce the bright coloring and visual effects of Dark Knight Returns, so Mazzucchelli took on Year One with a more grounded and darker approach.[6]

Publication

In accordance with Wolfman's plans,[2] 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]."[6] Thus, the four "Year One" issues bear no continuity to past issues of Batman.[6]

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

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.

—Mazzucchelli criticizing the 2012 Deluxe Edition[7]

According to Mazzucchelli, Year One was designed to be a graphic novel without advertisement pages. In 1988, DC finally gave the approval to publish Year One as a graphic novel in trade paperback (ISBN 0930289331) and hardcover (ISBN 0930289323), containing 96 pages. Due to the different visual quality printed on the paper of the graphic novel, Lewis subsequently recolored the entire story with a new color palette since the four-issue comic books were originally printed on newsprint paper. Both Warner Books (ISBN 0446389234) and Titan Books (ISBN 1852860774) also published trade paperbacks in 1988.

In 1989, Longmeadow Press published "The Complete Frank Miller Batman" (ISBN 068140969X), collecting Year One, 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 story pages from the 1988 graphic novel 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 Chip Kidd.

The hardcover deluxe edition was re-released in 2012 (ISBN 1401233422).[7] Mazzucchelli clarified that he was not contacted by DC to get involved with 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.". He described the re-release as having "thrown all [his] work [on the 2005 release] in the garbage", citing the redesigned cover, recolored artwork, the "shiny paper" used, and the printing of the color "from corrupted, out-of-focus digital files" as points of contention.

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.[8]

In 2015, DC released a hardcover of Year One (ISBN 1401260047) which included its 2011 animated film adaptation on both DVD and Blu-ray.

In November 2016, DC released a 288-page 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 sketches by Mazzucchelli and remastered coloring by Lewis, while Book Two features scans using pages from the original 1987 issues. Over 60 pages of bonus materials are also included, including Miller's complete scripts in Book Two.[9]

In 2017, the hardcover deluxe edition was re-released again (ISBN 1401272940), this time with the same paper quality and coloring as Book One of the 2016 Absolute Edition.

In March 2022, to coincide with the release of The Batman, DC released The Batman Box Set (ISBN 1779514298), collecting trade paperbacks of Year One, The Long Halloween, and 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.

Plot

Billionaire Bruce Wayne returns home to Gotham City after 12 years abroad, training for his eventual one-man war against crime. James Gordon moves to Gotham City with his wife, Barbara Gordon, after a transfer from Chicago. Both are swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violent atmosphere of the city. Gordon tries to focus on purging corruption from the Gotham City Police Department after witnessing his partner, Detective Arnold John Flass, abuse his power as a cop. Unfortunately, several officers led by Flass beat him on orders from his corrupt superior, Commissioner Gillian Loeb. In revenge, Gordon tracks Flass down, beats him, and leaves him naked and handcuffed in the snow.

Bruce believes he is still unprepared to fight against crime despite having the skills he learned abroad. He goes in disguise on a surveillance mission in Gotham's red-light district, but is reluctantly drawn into a brawl with several prostitutes, Holly Robinson and Selina Kyle. Two police officers shoot Bruce on sight and take him away in their patrol car. Bruce breaks free, flees from the scene, and returns to Wayne Manor barely alive. He sits before his father's bust, requesting guidance in his war against crime. A bat suddenly crashes through a window and settles on the bust, inspiring him to save Gotham as Batman.

Crimes significantly decline after weeks of Bruce striking as Batman. He even goes after Flass, who is in the middle of accepting a bribe from Jefferson Skeevers, a drug dealer of Carmine Falcone. Batman interrupts a dinner party held at the mansion of Gotham's mayor and announces that everyone in the party shall be brought to justice for their crimes someday. Infuriated by Batman's threats, Loeb orders Gordon and GCPD Sergeant Sarah Essen to arrest him. The two cops later come across a runaway truck that nearly hits an old lady. Batman manages to save the lady's life while Gordon stops the truck. Batman then flees into an abandoned building which Loeb orders a bomb dropped on. He also sends in a SWAT team led by a trigger-happy commander, Branden, to kill any survivors left in the building. Batman uses a signal device to attract a swarm of bats from the Batcave as his only route to escape. After witnessing Batman in action, Selina is inspired to don a costume of her own and begin a life of crime.

Gordon and Essen have a brief affair together and spend two months dating. She, however, chooses to leave Gotham upon learning he is going to be the father of Barbara's unborn child. Gordon is left alone to investigate Bruce's connection to Batman. He travels to Wayne Manor with Barbara to interrogate Bruce, who uses his playboy charms to divert suspicion. While leaving the manor, Gordon confesses his affair with Essen to Barbara. Skeevers gets bailed with the help of a hired lawyer but is attacked by Batman shortly after who convinces him to testify against Flass. Skeevers is drugged with rat poison in an assassination attempt, so that he remains silent about the ties between the police force and the mafia, although Skeevers survives after all.

Bruce sneaks into Falcone's manor as Batman and overhears the private conversation between the Roman and his nephew, Johnny Viti. He predicts their intentions to target Gordon's family, so he disguises himself as a motorcyclist to help Gordon. Gordon leaves home on Loeb's orders, but becomes suspicious and turns back only to discover Viti and his men already holding his family hostage. Viti flees the scene with Gordon's infant son. Gordon chases after him on Bruce's motorcycle. The two men end up fighting on a bridge until the baby falls. Bruce catches up in time and leaps over the bridge's railing to save the baby. Gordon thanks Bruce for saving his infant son's life and lets him go. Flass supplies Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent with the evidence and testimony needed to implicate Loeb, who resigns in disgrace. Gordon is promoted to captain and prepares to meet with Batman to investigate a potential plot orchestrated by a criminal calling himself the Joker.

Reception

Popularity

DC's post-Crisis on Infinite Earths revamp was a major success, raising sales 22% in the first year, and DC beat Marvel in direct market sales for the first time in August and September 1987.[10] The four "Year One" issues were no exception to this. Two years before the relaunch, Batman had all-time low sales of 75,000 copies per month; "Year One" sold an average of 193,000 copies an issue, numbers not seen since the early 1970s. Despite this, it did not outsell other books like Uncanny X-Men, and the collected edition sold well but never matched the sales of The Dark Knight Returns.[3] The story, with the noir-inspired narrative and ultra-violent tone, quickly caught the attention of readers.[11] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Year One" offered an interesting and entertaining update to the origin of Batman.[12]

Critical response

Year One's characterization of Batman and Gordon, has been praised. Hilary Goldstein (IGN) compared their journey to friendship to the plot of the film Serpico; they found that the two characters' respective story arcs—with Gordon's "illustrat[ing] the corruption in Gotham" and Batman's detailing "the transformation from man to myth"—offered an exploration of Batman's world like no other.[13] Glenn Matchett (ComicsVerse) wrote that, unlike The Dark Knight Returns, Batman in Year One is more vulnerable and inexperienced, which made the story more memorable.[11] Nick Roberts (Geek Syndicate) thought the characters seemed believable,[14] and comics historian Matthew K. Manning called the characterization realistic and grounded.[6]

The story's depiction of Gotham and darker, realistic, mature and more grittier tone and direction, compared to other contemporary Batman comics at the time, has also been acclaimed. Journalist James Lovegrove described "Year One" as a "noir-inflected pulp tale of vigilantism and integrity, focused on a good man doing the right thing in a dirty world" and noted the brutality of the fight sequences.[15] Jason Serafino (Complex) wrote that by ignoring many of Batman's trademark gadgets and villains and focusing in the core essentials of the titular character, Miller managed to present Batman in a relatable and thrilling way, which felt both fresh, unique and reinvigorating, while still being faithful to the spirit of the character.[16] Goldstein found every moment memorable, writing "Miller does not waste a single panel" in presenting a gritty and dark story.[13] Matchett agreed; he offered particular praise for the scenes depicting Batman clashing with the police, calling them the moment Batman began to become a legend.[11]

Mazzucchelli's art was noted as a standout by many, praising the minimalistic, noir-influenced and realistic art-work.[13][11]

Continuity

Before the New 52 in 2011, Batman: Year One existed in the mainstream DC continuity, and in the same continuity as the other storylines in Miller's "Dark Knight Universe", consisting of The Dark Knight Returns, its sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again, The Dark Knight III: The Master Race, The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade, Spawn/Batman, and All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder.[17] Following the New 52 reboot, Batman: Zero Year replaced Year One as the official origin for Batman and Year One was relegated to the continuity of the other Frank Miller storylines.[18] However, following the DC Rebirth initiative, elements of "Year One" were gradually returned to the mainstream DC continuity.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC rebooted many of its titles. Year One was followed by Batman: Year Two, but the 1994 Zero Hour: Crisis in Time crossover erased Year Two from continuity. In another continuity re-arrangement, Catwoman: Year One (Catwoman Annual #2, 1995) posited that Selina Kyle had not actually been a prostitute, but, rather, a thief posing as one in order to commit crimes.

Launched in 1989, following the success of the film Batman, the title Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight examines crime-fighting exploits primarily, not exclusively, from the first four to five years of Batman's career. This title rotated in creative teams and time placement, but several stories directly relate to the events of Year One, especially the first arc "Batman: Shaman". In 1996 and 1999, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale created Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, two 13-issue maxiseries that recount Batman's early years as a crime-fighter following the events of Miller's original story and retold the origins of Two-Face and Dick Grayson. The Year One story was continued in the 2005 graphic novel Batman: The Man Who Laughs, following up on Gordon informing Batman about the Joker, and thus recounting their first official encounter. Two other stories, Batman and the Monster Men and Batman and the Mad Monk tie into the same time period of Batman's career, filling in the gap between Year One and the Man Who Laughs. The comics Robin: Year One and Batgirl: Year One describe his sidekicks' origin stories.

Sequels

Two sequels, titled Batman: Year Two and Batman: Year Three, were released in 1987 and 1989.

Adaptations

Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, although set during another timespan, adopts some elements directly from the graphic novel. Schumacher claims he originally had in mind an adaptation of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The studio rejected the idea as they wanted a sequel, not a prequel, though Schumacher was able to include very brief events in Batman's past.[19][20]

The DC Animated Universe film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, adopted elements of the storyline, depicting flashbacks of how Bruce Wayne became Batman and also combines it with elements of Batman: Year Two and shows Batman's personal connection with original character Phantasm inspired by the Reaper, another character in the comics with a connection to Batman.

After the critical failure of Batman & Robin, several attempts were made to reboot the Batman film franchise with an adaptation of Year One. Joss Whedon and Joel Schumacher both pitched their own takes.[3] In 2000, Warner Bros. hired Darren Aronofsky to write and direct Batman: Year One. The film was to be written by Miller, who finished an early draft of the script.[21][22] The script, however, was a loose adaptation, as it kept most of the themes and elements from the graphic novel but shunned other conventions that were otherwise integral to the character.[23] It was shelved by the studio in 2001,[24] after an individual who claimed to have read Miller's script published a negative review on Ain't It Cool News.[3] In 2016, Miller explained that the film was canceled because of creative differences between him, Aronofsky, and Warner Bros:[25]

It was the first time I worked on a Batman project with somebody whose vision of Batman was darker than mine. My Batman was too nice for him. We would argue about it, and I'd say, "Batman wouldn't do that, he wouldn't torture anybody" and so on. We hashed out a screenplay, and we were wonderfully compensated, but then Warner Bros. read it and said, "We don't want to make this movie." The executive wanted to do a Batman he could take his kids to.

In 2005, Christopher Nolan began his series with the reboot film Batman Begins, which draws inspiration from "Year One" and other stories.[3] Batman Begins and its sequel The Dark Knight are set during the same timespan and adopt several elements directly from the graphic novel. Major characters like Commissioner Loeb, Detective Flass and Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone are featured prominently in Batman Begins. Film critic Michael Dodd argued that with each major motion picture focused on the Dark Knight's origins, the odes and references to the Year One comic increased. Comparing Mask of the Phantasm with Batman Begins he noted that "...Phantasm was a Batman story with Year One elements, while Batman Begins was a Year One story with added features".[26] The film's end scene, with Gordon revealing the Joker's arrival in Gotham, mirrors the end of Year One.

In 2011, an animated adaptation was released as a DC Universe Animated Original Movie. It was produced by Bruce Timm, co-directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu.[27] It features the voices of Benjamin McKenzie as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Bryan Cranston as James Gordon, Eliza Dushku as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Katee Sackhoff as Sarah Essen, Grey DeLisle as Barbara Gordon, Jon Polito as Commissioner Loeb, Alex Rocco as Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, and Jeff Bennett as Alfred Pennyworth.[28] The movie premiered at Comic-Con, with a Catwoman short shown in October.[29]

The second half of the fourth season of the Batman-based television series Gotham is inspired by Batman: Year One.[30]

Director Matt Reeves cited Year One as one of the inspirations for The Batman, with Robert Pattinson portraying a younger Bruce Wayne who is in his second year as a crime-fighter.[31]

References

  1. ^ Greeberger, Robert (August 2015). "Crisis at 30: A Look Back at the Most Influential Crossover in Comics History". Back Issue! (82).
  2. ^ a b Tucker, Reed (October 2017). Slugfest. New York City: Da Capo Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0306825477.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Weldon, Glen (2016). The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4767-5669-1.
  4. ^ a b c Greenfield, Dan (September 22, 2014). "The DENNY O'NEIL INTERVIEWS — Batman: Year One". 13th Dimension. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "'Batman' Author Frank Miller". NPR. June 15, 2005. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Wallace, Daniel; Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alexander C.; Manning, Matthew K. (2010). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. 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.
  7. ^ a b Schedeen, Jesse (March 28, 2012). "Batman: Year One – Deluxe Edition Hardcover Review". IGN. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  8. ^ "DC Comics Essentials – Batman: Year One Special Edition #1". DC Comics. November 5, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  9. ^ "Absolute Batman: Year One". DC Comics. November 2, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  10. ^ Tucker, Reed (October 2017). Slugfest. New York City: Da Capo Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0306825477.
  11. ^ a b c d Matchett, Glenn (September 4, 2015). . ComicsVerse. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  12. ^ Miller, Frank; Mazzucchelli, Dave (January 10, 2007). Batman: Year One (Paperback ed.). DC Comics. ISBN 978-0290204890.
  13. ^ a b c Goldstein, Hilary (June 17, 2005). "Batman: Year One Review". IGN. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  14. ^ Roberts, Nick. "'Classic Comic' Review – Batman: Year One". Geek Syndicate. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  15. ^ Lovegrove, James (2016). "Batman: Year One". The 100 Greatest Graphic Novels of All Time. Future plc (1): 92–93.
  16. ^ Serafino, Jason (January 17, 2018). "The 25 Best DC Comics Of All Time". Complex. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  17. ^ Sanderson, Peter (2006-02-06). "Comics in Context #119: All-Star Bats on IGN". Comics.ign.com. from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  18. ^ "THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Announces BATMAN: ZERO YEAR". dccomics.com. 11 March 2013. from the original on 22 October 2015.
  19. ^ Reinhart, Mark S. (31 July 2013). The Batman Filmography, 2d ed. ISBN 9780786468911.
  20. ^ "Batman Forever: How to Be a Superhero | The Reverse Gear". Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  21. ^ Dana Harris (2000-09-21). "WB sends Pi guy into the Bat Cave". Variety. from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  22. ^ Greenberg, James (2005-05-08). "Rescuing Batman". Los Angeles Times. p. E-10. from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  23. ^ Brian Linder (2000-10-16). "The Bat-Men Speak". IGN. from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  24. ^ Dana Harris (2002-06-30). "WB: fewer pix, more punch". Variety. from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  25. ^ Kit, Borys (March 3, 2016). "A Rare Interview With Frank Miller: 'Dark Knight,' the Unmade Darren Aronofsky Batman Movie, and Donald Trump". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  26. ^ Dodd, Michael, "Back to the Beginning: The Evolving Influence of Batman: Year One 2017-07-12 at the Wayback Machine," The Missing Slate.
  27. ^ "Batman: Year One Animated Update". worldsfinestonline.com. June 13, 2010. from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  28. ^ Kit, Borys (April 20, 2011). "'Batman: Year One' Lines Up Voice Cast, Sets Comic-Con Premiere (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  29. ^ "BATMAN: YEAR ONE Animated Film Sneak Peek Video & Character Designs". The Daily BLAM!. from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  30. ^ "Gotham Season 4 Draws from Long Halloween & Batman: Year One Comics". Screen Rant. July 27, 2017. from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  31. ^ Davis, Johnny (2022-02-08). "Director Matt Reeves on the Iconic Comic That Influenced 'The Batman'". Esquire. Retrieved 2022-08-22.

External links

batman, year, film, film, american, comic, book, story, written, frank, miller, illustrated, david, mazzucchelli, year, originally, published, comics, batman, 1987, there, have, been, several, reprints, story, hardcover, multiple, trade, paperbacks, several, d. For the film see Batman Year One film Batman Year One is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli Year One was originally published by DC Comics in Batman 404 407 in 1987 There have been several reprints of the story a hardcover multiple trade paperbacks several deluxe editions in hardcover and paperback format and an absolute edition Year One was also adapted into an animated feature in 2011 after efforts to adapt it into live action following the failure of 1997 s Batman amp Robin didn t pan out Batman Year OneTrade paperback of Batman Year Onepublished by Titan BooksPublication informationPublisherDC ComicsPublication dateFebruary May 1987Main character s BatmanJames GordonCreative teamWritten byFrank MillerArtist s David MazzucchelliLetterer s Todd KleinColorist s Richmond LewisEditor s Dennis O NeilCollected editionsTrade PaperbackISBN 0930289331HardcoverISBN 0930289323Trade Paperback Warner Books ISBN 0446389234Trade Paperback Titan Books ISBN 18528607742005 Deluxe Edition Hardcover ISBN 14012069052005 Deluxe Edition Trade Paperback ISBN 14012075292012 Deluxe EditionISBN 1401233422Book with Blu ray amp DVD setISBN 1401260047Absolute EditionISBN 14012437972017 Deluxe EditionISBN 1401272940The story recounts Batman s first year as a crime fighter as well as exploring the life of recently transferred Gotham police detective James Gordon eventually building towards their first encounter and their eventual alliance against Gotham s criminal underworld Contents 1 Publication history 1 1 Development 1 2 Publication 1 3 Collected editions 2 Plot 3 Reception 3 1 Popularity 3 2 Critical response 4 Continuity 5 Sequels 6 Adaptations 7 References 8 External linksPublication history EditDevelopment Edit In an effort to resolve continuity errors in the DC Universe Marv Wolfman and George Perez produced the 12 issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths 1 Wolfman s plans for the DC Universe after Crisis on Infinite Earths included relaunching every DC comic with a new first issue 2 During the production of Crisis on Infinite Earths Frank Miller was the writer of Marvel Comics Daredevil He collaborated with artist David Mazzucchelli to produce Daredevil Born Again together which was critically acclaimed Miller later on worked for DC and produced the influential four issue limited series Batman The Dark Knight Returns 1986 Editor Dennis O Neil also moved to work for DC Frank Miller the author of Year One at the Fan Expo 2016 in Toronto Canada The contract Miller signed to produce Dark Knight Returns also required him to write a revamped Batman origin story Miller s past projects overwhelmed him since he had to handle both writing and illustration duties simultaneously For Year One he simply wrote the story and the script with Mazzucchelli signed on to illustrate the artwork 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 3 According to O Neil the contract Miller and Mazzucchelli signed to produce Year One in the ongoing Batman series guaranteed publication within 6 months 4 David Mazzucchelli autographing a copy of the 2005 trade paperback in 2012 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 4 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 3 He also reassured Miller that he and Mazzucchelli weren t going to lose anything by serializing it 4 Miller has said he kept Bob Kane and Bill Finger s basic story for Year One but expanded it 5 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 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 and realism 3 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 The newsprint paper used in Batman was unable to reproduce the bright coloring and visual effects of Dark Knight Returns so Mazzucchelli took on Year One with a more grounded and darker approach 6 Publication Edit In accordance with Wolfman s plans 2 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 6 Thus the four Year One issues bear no continuity to past issues of Batman 6 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 1987Collected editions Edit 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 Mazzucchelli criticizing the 2012 Deluxe Edition 7 According to Mazzucchelli Year One was designed to be a graphic novel without advertisement pages In 1988 DC finally gave the approval to publish Year One as a graphic novel in trade paperback ISBN 0930289331 and hardcover ISBN 0930289323 containing 96 pages Due to the different visual quality printed on the paper of the graphic novel Lewis subsequently recolored the entire story with a new color palette since the four issue comic books were originally printed on newsprint paper Both Warner Books ISBN 0446389234 and Titan Books ISBN 1852860774 also published trade paperbacks in 1988 In 1989 Longmeadow Press published The Complete Frank Miller Batman ISBN 068140969X collecting Year One 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 story pages from the 1988 graphic novel 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 Chip Kidd The hardcover deluxe edition was re released in 2012 ISBN 1401233422 7 Mazzucchelli clarified that he was not contacted by DC to get involved with 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 He described the re release as having thrown all his work on the 2005 release in the garbage citing the redesigned cover recolored artwork the shiny paper used and the printing of the color from corrupted out of focus digital files as points of contention 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 8 In 2015 DC released a hardcover of Year One ISBN 1401260047 which included its 2011 animated film adaptation on both DVD and Blu ray In November 2016 DC released a 288 page 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 sketches by Mazzucchelli and remastered coloring by Lewis while Book Two features scans using pages from the original 1987 issues Over 60 pages of bonus materials are also included including Miller s complete scripts in Book Two 9 In 2017 the hardcover deluxe edition was re released again ISBN 1401272940 this time with the same paper quality and coloring as Book One of the 2016 Absolute Edition In March 2022 to coincide with the release of The Batman DC released The Batman Box Set ISBN 1779514298 collecting trade paperbacks of Year One The Long Halloween and 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 Plot EditBillionaire Bruce Wayne returns home to Gotham City after 12 years abroad training for his eventual one man war against crime James Gordon moves to Gotham City with his wife Barbara Gordon after a transfer from Chicago Both are swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violent atmosphere of the city Gordon tries to focus on purging corruption from the Gotham City Police Department after witnessing his partner Detective Arnold John Flass abuse his power as a cop Unfortunately several officers led by Flass beat him on orders from his corrupt superior Commissioner Gillian Loeb In revenge Gordon tracks Flass down beats him and leaves him naked and handcuffed in the snow Bruce believes he is still unprepared to fight against crime despite having the skills he learned abroad He goes in disguise on a surveillance mission in Gotham s red light district but is reluctantly drawn into a brawl with several prostitutes Holly Robinson and Selina Kyle Two police officers shoot Bruce on sight and take him away in their patrol car Bruce breaks free flees from the scene and returns to Wayne Manor barely alive He sits before his father s bust requesting guidance in his war against crime A bat suddenly crashes through a window and settles on the bust inspiring him to save Gotham as Batman Crimes significantly decline after weeks of Bruce striking as Batman He even goes after Flass who is in the middle of accepting a bribe from Jefferson Skeevers a drug dealer of Carmine Falcone Batman interrupts a dinner party held at the mansion of Gotham s mayor and announces that everyone in the party shall be brought to justice for their crimes someday Infuriated by Batman s threats Loeb orders Gordon and GCPD Sergeant Sarah Essen to arrest him The two cops later come across a runaway truck that nearly hits an old lady Batman manages to save the lady s life while Gordon stops the truck Batman then flees into an abandoned building which Loeb orders a bomb dropped on He also sends in a SWAT team led by a trigger happy commander Branden to kill any survivors left in the building Batman uses a signal device to attract a swarm of bats from the Batcave as his only route to escape After witnessing Batman in action Selina is inspired to don a costume of her own and begin a life of crime Gordon and Essen have a brief affair together and spend two months dating She however chooses to leave Gotham upon learning he is going to be the father of Barbara s unborn child Gordon is left alone to investigate Bruce s connection to Batman He travels to Wayne Manor with Barbara to interrogate Bruce who uses his playboy charms to divert suspicion While leaving the manor Gordon confesses his affair with Essen to Barbara Skeevers gets bailed with the help of a hired lawyer but is attacked by Batman shortly after who convinces him to testify against Flass Skeevers is drugged with rat poison in an assassination attempt so that he remains silent about the ties between the police force and the mafia although Skeevers survives after all Bruce sneaks into Falcone s manor as Batman and overhears the private conversation between the Roman and his nephew Johnny Viti He predicts their intentions to target Gordon s family so he disguises himself as a motorcyclist to help Gordon Gordon leaves home on Loeb s orders but becomes suspicious and turns back only to discover Viti and his men already holding his family hostage Viti flees the scene with Gordon s infant son Gordon chases after him on Bruce s motorcycle The two men end up fighting on a bridge until the baby falls Bruce catches up in time and leaps over the bridge s railing to save the baby Gordon thanks Bruce for saving his infant son s life and lets him go Flass supplies Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent with the evidence and testimony needed to implicate Loeb who resigns in disgrace Gordon is promoted to captain and prepares to meet with Batman to investigate a potential plot orchestrated by a criminal calling himself the Joker Reception EditPopularity Edit DC s post Crisis on Infinite Earths revamp was a major success raising sales 22 in the first year and DC beat Marvel in direct market sales for the first time in August and September 1987 10 The four Year One issues were no exception to this Two years before the relaunch Batman had all time low sales of 75 000 copies per month Year One sold an average of 193 000 copies an issue numbers not seen since the early 1970s Despite this it did not outsell other books like Uncanny X Men and the collected edition sold well but never matched the sales of The Dark Knight Returns 3 The story with the noir inspired narrative and ultra violent tone quickly caught the attention of readers 11 The Los Angeles Times wrote that Year One offered an interesting and entertaining update to the origin of Batman 12 Critical response Edit Year One s characterization of Batman and Gordon has been praised Hilary Goldstein IGN compared their journey to friendship to the plot of the film Serpico they found that the two characters respective story arcs with Gordon s illustrat ing the corruption in Gotham and Batman s detailing the transformation from man to myth offered an exploration of Batman s world like no other 13 Glenn Matchett ComicsVerse wrote that unlike The Dark Knight Returns Batman in Year One is more vulnerable and inexperienced which made the story more memorable 11 Nick Roberts Geek Syndicate thought the characters seemed believable 14 and comics historian Matthew K Manning called the characterization realistic and grounded 6 The story s depiction of Gotham and darker realistic mature and more grittier tone and direction compared to other contemporary Batman comics at the time has also been acclaimed Journalist James Lovegrove described Year One as a noir inflected pulp tale of vigilantism and integrity focused on a good man doing the right thing in a dirty world and noted the brutality of the fight sequences 15 Jason Serafino Complex wrote that by ignoring many of Batman s trademark gadgets and villains and focusing in the core essentials of the titular character Miller managed to present Batman in a relatable and thrilling way which felt both fresh unique and reinvigorating while still being faithful to the spirit of the character 16 Goldstein found every moment memorable writing Miller does not waste a single panel in presenting a gritty and dark story 13 Matchett agreed he offered particular praise for the scenes depicting Batman clashing with the police calling them the moment Batman began to become a legend 11 Mazzucchelli s art was noted as a standout by many praising the minimalistic noir influenced and realistic art work 13 11 Continuity EditBefore the New 52 in 2011 Batman Year One existed in the mainstream DC continuity and in the same continuity as the other storylines in Miller s Dark Knight Universe consisting of The Dark Knight Returns its sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again The Dark Knight III The Master Race The Dark Knight Returns The Last Crusade Spawn Batman and All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder 17 Following the New 52 reboot Batman Zero Year replaced Year One as the official origin for Batman and Year One was relegated to the continuity of the other Frank Miller storylines 18 However following the DC Rebirth initiative elements of Year One were gradually returned to the mainstream DC continuity After Crisis on Infinite Earths DC rebooted many of its titles Year One was followed by Batman Year Two but the 1994 Zero Hour Crisis in Time crossover erased Year Two from continuity In another continuity re arrangement Catwoman Year One Catwoman Annual 2 1995 posited that Selina Kyle had not actually been a prostitute but rather a thief posing as one in order to commit crimes Launched in 1989 following the success of the film Batman the title Batman Legends of the Dark Knight examines crime fighting exploits primarily not exclusively from the first four to five years of Batman s career This title rotated in creative teams and time placement but several stories directly relate to the events of Year One especially the first arc Batman Shaman In 1996 and 1999 Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale created Batman The Long Halloween and Batman Dark Victory two 13 issue maxiseries that recount Batman s early years as a crime fighter following the events of Miller s original story and retold the origins of Two Face and Dick Grayson The Year One story was continued in the 2005 graphic novel Batman The Man Who Laughs following up on Gordon informing Batman about the Joker and thus recounting their first official encounter Two other stories Batman and the Monster Men and Batman and the Mad Monk tie into the same time period of Batman s career filling in the gap between Year One and the Man Who Laughs The comics Robin Year One and Batgirl Year One describe his sidekicks origin stories Sequels EditTwo sequels titled Batman Year Two and Batman Year Three were released in 1987 and 1989 Adaptations EditJoel Schumacher s Batman Forever although set during another timespan adopts some elements directly from the graphic novel Schumacher claims he originally had in mind an adaptation of Frank Miller s Batman Year One The studio rejected the idea as they wanted a sequel not a prequel though Schumacher was able to include very brief events in Batman s past 19 20 The DC Animated Universe film Batman Mask of the Phantasm adopted elements of the storyline depicting flashbacks of how Bruce Wayne became Batman and also combines it with elements of Batman Year Two and shows Batman s personal connection with original character Phantasm inspired by the Reaper another character in the comics with a connection to Batman After the critical failure of Batman amp Robin several attempts were made to reboot the Batman film franchise with an adaptation of Year One Joss Whedon and Joel Schumacher both pitched their own takes 3 In 2000 Warner Bros hired Darren Aronofsky to write and direct Batman Year One The film was to be written by Miller who finished an early draft of the script 21 22 The script however was a loose adaptation as it kept most of the themes and elements from the graphic novel but shunned other conventions that were otherwise integral to the character 23 It was shelved by the studio in 2001 24 after an individual who claimed to have read Miller s script published a negative review on Ain t It Cool News 3 In 2016 Miller explained that the film was canceled because of creative differences between him Aronofsky and Warner Bros 25 It was the first time I worked on a Batman project with somebody whose vision of Batman was darker than mine My Batman was too nice for him We would argue about it and I d say Batman wouldn t do that he wouldn t torture anybody and so on We hashed out a screenplay and we were wonderfully compensated but then Warner Bros read it and said We don t want to make this movie The executive wanted to do a Batman he could take his kids to In 2005 Christopher Nolan began his series with the reboot film Batman Begins which draws inspiration from Year One and other stories 3 Batman Begins and its sequel The Dark Knight are set during the same timespan and adopt several elements directly from the graphic novel Major characters like Commissioner Loeb Detective Flass and Carmine The Roman Falcone are featured prominently in Batman Begins Film critic Michael Dodd argued that with each major motion picture focused on the Dark Knight s origins the odes and references to the Year One comic increased Comparing Mask of the Phantasm with Batman Begins he noted that Phantasm was a Batman story with Year One elements while Batman Begins was a Year One story with added features 26 The film s end scene with Gordon revealing the Joker s arrival in Gotham mirrors the end of Year One In 2011 an animated adaptation was released as a DC Universe Animated Original Movie It was produced by Bruce Timm co directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu 27 It features the voices of Benjamin McKenzie as Bruce Wayne Batman Bryan Cranston as James Gordon Eliza Dushku as Selina Kyle Catwoman Katee Sackhoff as Sarah Essen Grey DeLisle as Barbara Gordon Jon Polito as Commissioner Loeb Alex Rocco as Carmine The Roman Falcone and Jeff Bennett as Alfred Pennyworth 28 The movie premiered at Comic Con with a Catwoman short shown in October 29 The second half of the fourth season of the Batman based television series Gotham is inspired by Batman Year One 30 Director Matt Reeves cited Year One as one of the inspirations for The Batman with Robert Pattinson portraying a younger Bruce Wayne who is in his second year as a crime fighter 31 References Edit Greeberger Robert August 2015 Crisis at 30 A Look Back at the Most Influential Crossover in Comics History Back Issue 82 a b Tucker Reed October 2017 Slugfest New York City Da Capo Press p 152 ISBN 978 0306825477 a b c d e f g Weldon Glen 2016 The Caped Crusade Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 1 4767 5669 1 a b c Greenfield Dan September 22 2014 The DENNY O NEIL INTERVIEWS Batman Year One 13th Dimension Retrieved May 20 2018 Batman Author Frank Miller NPR June 15 2005 Retrieved May 22 2018 a b c d Wallace Daniel Cowsill Alan Irvine Alexander C Manning Matthew K 2010 DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle Dorling Kindersley p 227 ISBN 978 0 7566 6742 9 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 a b Schedeen Jesse March 28 2012 Batman Year One Deluxe Edition Hardcover Review IGN Retrieved May 28 2018 DC Comics Essentials Batman Year One Special Edition 1 DC Comics November 5 2014 Retrieved May 28 2018 Absolute Batman Year One DC Comics November 2 2016 Retrieved May 28 2018 Tucker Reed October 2017 Slugfest New York City Da Capo Press p 157 ISBN 978 0306825477 a b c d Matchett Glenn September 4 2015 Frank Miller s Batman Part One YEAR ONE or How Legends are Made ComicsVerse Archived from the original on October 8 2019 Retrieved May 30 2018 Miller Frank Mazzucchelli Dave January 10 2007 Batman Year One Paperback ed DC Comics ISBN 978 0290204890 a b c Goldstein Hilary June 17 2005 Batman Year One Review IGN Retrieved May 30 2018 Roberts Nick Classic Comic Review Batman Year One Geek Syndicate Retrieved May 30 2018 Lovegrove James 2016 Batman Year One The 100 Greatest Graphic Novels of All Time Future plc 1 92 93 Serafino Jason January 17 2018 The 25 Best DC Comics Of All Time Complex Retrieved May 31 2018 Sanderson Peter 2006 02 06 Comics in Context 119 All Star Bats on IGN Comics ign com Archived from the original on 13 December 2010 Retrieved 2011 01 04 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Announces BATMAN ZERO YEAR dccomics com 11 March 2013 Archived from the original on 22 October 2015 Reinhart Mark S 31 July 2013 The Batman Filmography 2d ed ISBN 9780786468911 Batman Forever How to Be a Superhero The Reverse Gear Retrieved 2020 06 21 Dana Harris 2000 09 21 WB sends Pi guy into the Bat Cave Variety Archived from the original on January 17 2012 Retrieved 2008 10 17 Greenberg James 2005 05 08 Rescuing Batman Los Angeles Times p E 10 Archived from the original on 2008 12 02 Retrieved 2019 05 11 Brian Linder 2000 10 16 The Bat Men Speak IGN Archived from the original on 2008 12 06 Retrieved 2008 10 17 Dana Harris 2002 06 30 WB fewer pix more punch Variety Archived from the original on January 17 2012 Retrieved 2008 10 17 Kit Borys March 3 2016 A Rare Interview With Frank Miller Dark Knight the Unmade Darren Aronofsky Batman Movie and Donald Trump The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved May 28 2018 Dodd Michael Back to the Beginning The Evolving Influence of Batman Year One Archived 2017 07 12 at the Wayback Machine The Missing Slate Batman Year One Animated Update worldsfinestonline com June 13 2010 Archived from the original on August 12 2014 Retrieved June 13 2010 Kit Borys April 20 2011 Batman Year One Lines Up Voice Cast Sets Comic Con Premiere Exclusive The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on 21 July 2011 Retrieved June 18 2011 BATMAN YEAR ONE Animated Film Sneak Peek Video amp Character Designs The Daily BLAM Archived from the original on 2013 01 25 Retrieved 2013 01 23 Gotham Season 4 Draws from Long Halloween amp Batman Year One Comics Screen Rant July 27 2017 Archived from the original on July 28 2017 Retrieved July 28 2017 Davis Johnny 2022 02 08 Director Matt Reeves on the Iconic Comic That Influenced The Batman Esquire Retrieved 2022 08 22 External links EditBatman Year One movie official site Batman Year One The World s Finest Current edition at DC Comics ISBN 0 930289 33 1 Deluxe Hardcover edition at DC Comics ISBN 1 4012 0690 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Batman Year One amp oldid 1131613645, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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