Batman Earth One Volume 2, brought to us once again by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling graphic novel Batman Earth One (you can check out my review of that one by clicking on the link.)

This one, once again featuring a vigilante trained by a British ex-Special Forces agent Alfred Pennyworth is riding off the popularity of defeating Mayor Oswald “Penguin” Pennyworth. Though he has more experience, he is still learning how to be a detective, which Detective James “Jim” Gordon is willing to teach him.

Meanwhile, a mysterious murderer is leaving question marks at his crime scenes while a “Killer Croc” is haunting Gotham City’s sewer system. District Attorney Harvey Dent and his twin sister, Mayor Jessica Dent, suspect that five city officials have taken over the Penguin’s criminal network, and Harvey suspects Bruce Wayne is involved. Detective Bullock, still traumatized by the events of the first volume is now an alcoholic.

As Bruce Wayne tries to balance his life as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, he finds this new murderer, calling himself The Riddler is after one thing: the identity of the Batman.

After reading Superman Earth One: Volume 2 (you can check out my review of that one by clicking on the link), I was worried that the staff behind Batman Earth One would make the same mistake of not letting the hero grow and go through the same angst as before. I was pleasantly surprised that Batman has grown since the incidents of the first volume. He is much more mature, though he does have some more growing and training to do. 

Once again, the story, writing, and artwork are phenomenal. The writer and artist took great lengths to bring us an excellent story (something the mainstream has lacked in as of late) and I look forward to reading more in the future and maybe more from DC Earth One.