A YEAR ONE STORY is a mini-series (stand-alone or within an ongoing series) which reveals the early--and often, rocky--days of a superhero before they became an established crimefighter. The concept was invented and made famous by Frank Miller's BATMAN: YEAR ONE story, appearing in BATMAN [1940] #404–407 in 1987. A YEAR ONE STORY can be in- or out-of-continuity and often expands the breadth and depth of a character's origin story. Many DC heroes, especially in the Batman family, have had a YEAR ONE STORY, but the familiar concept has spread to other publishers as well. Not all series with "YEAR ONE" in the title are an actual YEAR ONE STORY, as YEAR ONE can also refer either to the publishing year in a multi-year series or to an associated television series season.
