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. The artwork by Mazzucchelli--from the Milton Caniff school by way of Alex Toth (Zorro) and Doug Wildey (Jonny Quest)--may be the best Batman has ever had. 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. The Batman storyline is quite hectic, and full of adrenaline as he learns his trade - the police trapping him in a building is a really good example of this. In addition to telling the entire dramatic story of Batman's first year fighting crime, this collection includes reproductions of original pencils, promotional art, script pages, unseen David Mazzucchelli Batman art and more!

Over time, both Batman and Gordon start making names for themselves – and crime and corruption in Gotham is in decline. Yet this graphic novel is also a fascinating and emotional adventure, and I thoroughly recommend it to adult fans of Batman. Miller re-defined the presentation of comic book characters and heroic fiction with his grand-daddy of graphic novels, “The Dark Knight. Miller's retelling of Batman's origin is well thought through and the subtlety of Mazzucchelli's art adds dimension and depth to the story.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. A Rare Interview With Frank Miller: 'Dark Knight,' the Unmade Darren Aronofsky Batman Movie, and Donald Trump".

But Batman gets involved … and, in the final showdown, the Dark Knight rescues Gordon’s infant child, with Gordon himself deciding not to arrest the vigilante. In addition to telling the entire dramatic story of Batman's first year fighting crime, this collection includes loads of reproductions of original pencils, script pages, promotional art, unseen Mazzucchelli Batman art and more! 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. Nick Roberts ( Geek Syndicate) thought the characters seemed believable, [14] and comics historian Matthew K.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. Gordon tries to focus on purging corruption from the Gotham City Police Department after witnessing his partner, Detective Arnold Flass, abuse his power as a cop. Unfortunately, the villains get evidence that Gordon has had an affair – and they seek to use this against him. The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Year One" offered an interesting and entertaining update to the origin of Batman. In addition to telling the entire dramatic story of Batman's first year fighting crime, this collection includes new introductions by Miller and Mazzucchelli, loads of reproductions of original pencils, promotional art, unseen Mazzucchelli Batman art, Richmond Lewis's color samples, script pages and other surprises.

The second half of the fourth season of the Batman-based television series Gotham is inspired by Batman: Year One. 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 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. A bat suddenly crashes through a window and settles on the bust, inspiring him to save Gotham as Batman.He also reassured Miller that he and Mazzucchelli "weren't going to lose anything" by serializing it.