Paul Pope seemed to come out of nowhere in the early 1990s with his self-published series THB. THB was part science fiction, part noir, part romance and all Paul Pope. Influence by European comics and manga, Pope was brought an excitement to all his comic work. Pope alternated between self-publishing, smaller comic publishers and the occasional mainstream superhero work for the next decade before his first mainstream superhero mini series, Batman: Year 100.

It’s the year 2039 (one hundred years after the first publication of Batman) and Gotham City (and the US) is a police state. But, as always, there is Batman. Our story begins with a huge gun battle where a federal agent is murdered. The Gotham Police and the Federal Agents are after Batman as the murderer. But is Batman the real villain or was he simply a convenient scapegoat. As always, there is Batman’s cast of characters who do everything to save him but raise him from the dead. There is also James Gordon. But in this case, he’s a Police Detective who’s the grandson of the original James Gordon. Gordon is tasked by federal agents with gathering all the information Gotham Police has on Batman. But when Gordon finds his grandfather’s personal notes, he has to determine whether or not to turn them over.

This Batman is not a crime fighter, he’s an independent actor who’s against the tyrannical government…we think. We’re never really given a great explanation or what he’s doing besides fighting the government and we are given no information on who Batman really is. Is he Bruce Wayne (rejuvenated somehow) or is he a new person who took up the mantle? There is no answer. Overall the artwork is wonderful

Pope does a great job making Batman look both more human (his costume looks like real clothes) and scarier than ever. The coloring by Jose Villarubia, especially in the video scenes helps set the mood. Overall the story is fairly mediocre. We’re not always sure what’s going on and why, but it is a fun journey. Mildly recommended