BATMAN : THE DARK KNIGHT RETURN
Book Description
Release
Date: May 1, 1997
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
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