A strong 2nd Year
In short:
After Batman: Year One Bruce Wayne continues his war on the Gotham City Mob, led by Carmine Falcone. In the mean time one Hugo Strange strives to psychical perfection by both: exercise and Genetic manipulation. Things escalate when Strange and the mob clash.
What worked:
I was not expecting much of this book, the reviews are pretty mixed on Dark Moon Rising, but it is the perfect second act to Batmans career. Batman: Year One is referenced quite a lot, we get to witness (somewhat) the creation of the Batmobil and we meet the first girlfriend to Bruce Wayne ever since he donned the cape. Now the last part might be the most interesting, because we get to see Bruce Wayne through her eyes. At first she is fascinated by this mysterious prince of Gotham, but soon suspicion and paranoia emerges, when Bruce constantly seems to be late or disappears at night. This is a very interesting point of view, and it is very well written. Another great point is her father slowly decline into paranoia...
Regarding the art, I have to say it is not mind blowing but it is good.
What did not work:
The monster men designs are not the strongest part of the book.
Final Verdict
Great book, which reminded me of Nolans The Dark Knight. Bruce is so focused on the mob, that he does not see the real threat in Strange's experiments. There even is one Sal Maroni, right hand man to Carmine Falcone who debuts i this book. Lucious Fox is only mentioned.
Is it essential to canon?
I would say yes!
- Creation of Batmobil
- Origin of Hugo Strange's interest in Batman
- The Red Hoods fall into chemicals is mentioned (Joker becoming THE Joker)