World Famous Comics: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
By: Frank Miller Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 224 Publication Date: May 01, 1997 Release Date: May 01, 1997
Amazon.com: If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre, then The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller--known also for his excellent Sin City series and his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil--is probably the top contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. The great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argued that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task.
Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon, and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, street gangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. --Mark Thwaite
Product Description: If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre, then The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller--known also for his excellent Sin City series and his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil--is probably the top contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. The great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argued that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task.Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon, and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, street gangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. --Mark Thwaite
So You've Never Read DKR? "This book got me back into comics..." I'm not the only one who's said those words over the last 22 years. It was 1989 and the first Batman movie was about to be released when I read it. I was blown away and realized that in my time away from comics, I'd grown up and so had comics...
Now, for anyone who has never read this... comics have continued to grow up since this was first published in 1986, so for those readers it might seam over-rated. Please realize though that at the time no one had ever done anything like this with Batman. It was groundbreaking and it's effects have "darkened" the superhero genre to this very day. Read this and then compare it with any mainsteam comic from 1986 and you will see it's superiority.
The young modern reader has read and enjoyed the waves left by Miller's Dark Knight Returns, and this IS a must read for anyone who spends too much time and money at a local comic book shop. MUST READ.
Fun, but dated and overrated. Some of the sequences are classic and well drawn, but as soon as the mutants become the major villains the book becomes too ludicrous for its own good.
I immediately stopped caring. Yes, it's gritty, but Alan Moore's killing joke is much better.
Heck, Batman: Year One is much better.
If you want good Miller read Daredevil: Born Again, Sin City Vol. 1 or Daredevil: Man Without Fear.
so poorly illustrated it's often un-readable I gave up after about 20 pages of not being able to tell what was going on because of how terribly sloppy the drawings are.
it's not worth the time or the $.
Superior story and characters A great storyline and take on the batman mythos, not to mention the other DC characters featured. I've never been a huge fan of Miller's art, or it would have gotten 5 stars from me.
Masterpiece
Miller's version of Batman reflects Bob Kane's concept about the Dark Knight: a brooding, lonely crimefighter, obsessed by his parents' death. "The Dark Knight Returns" is a cornerstone: it redefines the essence of the character, finally obliterating the facetious side of the 60's tv show. This book inspired the first Batman movie, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as Batman, Jack Nicholson as The Joker and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale!
In other words: this is a definitive "must-have" for true Batman fans!!
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