Yes, Batman: Earth One is Still Happening

Announced over two years ago, the status of Batman: Earth One has been up in the air for at least a last year (we even included it in our Most Wanted Comics of 2011, woops!). The plans for Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's original graphic novel that modernizes the origin of the Dark Knight have been sketchy to say the least, particularly in light of the New 52 relaunch.

However, today DC Comics posted on their official blog a few pages from the book, along with some words from Johns and Frank.

"Gary and I are tackling Batman from the beginning, before he knows what he's doing and with a very different ultimate goal in mind," said Johns. "He's never left Gotham. And our Gotham and the people in it are very gray. Our heroes unlikely. Our villains hidden. Our story is only beginning with volume one."

"It's essentially the first piece of the jigsaw," said Frank. "He's not the Batman people know, but he might be one day. He's certainly not yet a superhero. The fun is to watch him piece the persona together drawing on his experiences and the influences of those around him and, at this stage, the idea of becoming a 'superhero' hasn't even entered his head."

So, that's that! No solid release date was given, aside from "2012." Its counterpart book, Superman: Earth One, was released back in September 2010 and has a second volume hitting this summer.

You can check out the unlettered preview pages below.

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