images as courtesy of DC Entertainment images as courtesy of DC Entertainment

Kicking off this June, BATMAN: ZERO YEAR is an epic and grand 11-issue arc that chronicles the untold details of Batman’s origin story within DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. From the #1 New York Times bestselling creative team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, Zero Year takes flight in BATMAN #21.

“He becomes Batman pretty early in this,” Snyder teased about Bruce Wayne picking up the Dark Knight’s cape and cowl. “You’ll see him as Batman not too far in. So in terms of that origin, that’s part of it. But part of this is the first big adventure he had as Batman. It’s not just how Bruce becomes Batman. That’s certainly a big part of ‘Zero Year’ at the beginning, but it’s also about how the city changes for him. It’s about how he becomes its hero. What does that mean? And what kind of threat is it going to throw at him to challenge him and make sure he’s worthy of that?”

“It’s fun stuff,” continued Capullo. “It’s a bit of a challenge to make Bruce look only a few years younger. It’s not like we’re turning him back into a teenager, which is easy, right? It’s a fun challenge in doing that. And you have to modify your personality. You’re not the same guy you were five years ago or ten years ago. You’re constantly changing. Some of your core mannerism may be in tact but there’s a different flavor on it. Bruce is far less controlled and calculated. He’s kind of like an angry puppy with big feet so he trips over them once in a while. It’s all fun to explore an earlier version of that character.”