The Dark Knight is the better of the Frank Miller series, he is pretty much like the Rembrandt of Comic Makers; Batman and Joker are no longer hokey but realistic and even sinister to a degree.
This issue is a look at Bruce Wayne hardened and hammered by age and years of crime fighting. This issue really gives you the essence of the Batman in comparison to all the supercharged, super powered superhero.
We get a deep sense of the psychological themes and symbols of dual nature that Miller masterfully executes. If you are a Batman fan, you will enjoy this read. ( )

What does a superhero who is human, aging and without real super powers do when time is catching up with him? In this volume, we meet an older Batman who has been out of the limelight for ten years while Gotham has been overrun by the Mutant Gang. A brief turn out of retirement is possible, but not sustainable.

In this volume, Miller manages to weave familiar foes and friends together in a volume that deals with the end of the run for our hero. Age, of course, is the least of our hero's issues. Our hero is a vigilante in the age of media, so while his battles are very real, the talking heads endlessly debate the merits of the legality of his actions. While our hero has chosen a path against the grain, another hero has chosen the path of assimilation and cooperation with civic leaders and this story is played out between the two of them. Miller even has room for gender politics.

Most impressive is the inking and coloring for Miller's already expressive drawings. I found myself going over some panels multiple times just to admire the work. ( )

For me, this is THE Batman book. This defined my idea of him, and his relationship with Superman. I loved the take on Joker and Two-Face as well. It's unfortunate that this book helped to touch off the Grim & Gritty era of comics, as not much good came out of that, but standing on it's own this book was amazing. I just love the idea of a retired Batman. They took him out of comic-book time and showed how he would be like as an old man; cementing the fact that he is indeed human. ( )

This series of 4 interlinked sections centres on an ageing, tormented Bruce Wayne, who starts the novel not having become the Batman for a decade. He's watched the city decay and become riddled with crime, and he's watched himself become haunted further by his own past, and a gnawing sense that only as the Batman did his life ever feel right, have purpose. Although now in his mid 50's and out of shape, he brings himself back into the action as Batman, with various old foes returning as well (particularly the Joker). He moves jarringly from each foe to the next until he faces down Superman, with both men only half-heartedly wishing to fight their old friend. I enjoyed the whole dark atmosphere of a man towards the end of his life battling himself as much as anything else, searching for purpose, and for a way to deal with his past traumas. This injection of depth certainly made the novel interesting. However, I found the incredibly frequent scene changes, especially in the middle sections, rather too frequent and confusing. I also found the plot surprisingly difficult to follow at times. I know there is a balance in graphical novels between describing the action, and letting the images speak for themselves, but I felt that the balance here had tilted too much towards the opaque. And I actually found some of the plot devices, particularly in terms of the battle with Superman, just a little cheesy and immature. I was hoping for something of the quality of Batman: The Killing Joke, and sadly this didn't live up to that expectation. ( )

"I’ve just been handed this bulletin — A large, bat-like creature has been sighted on Gotham’s south side. It is said to have attacked and seriously injured three cat-burglars who have plagued that neighborhood... You don’t suppose..."

Bruce Wayne approaches old age with little dignity or grace. An apathetic malaise slowly devours the man as he impassively watches his city decay into a sweltering pit of fear and despair. He has cold, casual flings with Selina Kyle. His relationship with his only true friend, retiring police chief James Gordon, is strained at best. Wayne’s only family is still his faithful caretaker Alfred, whose words of wisdom cannot shake Bruce from a nightly routine of brooding in his empty manor whilst drinking like a diabetic fish. It’s been like this for years now - ever since the Bat Man went away.

So begins The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller’s graphic novel that set out to both demythologize the comic landscape while at the same time inventing new lore to ponder. Bruce Wayne plays both the reluctant hero and the hungry wolf-like avenger pining for the days of old at the novel’s threshold. Miller plays on the popular theory that, much like Superman’s alter ego is Clark Kent, the Bat Man’s alter ego is really Bruce Wayne. Is it possible that the emotionless cowl and cape is the real person living inside that body, and that the real Bruce Wayne actually died alongside his parents in Crime Alley on that fateful night so many years ago?

The theory is left somewhat open for interpretation by Miller, because there’s no denying that when the man finally caves in to the demon that dominates his thoughts and becomes the Caped Crusader once again to take on the filthy Mutant gang plaguing Gotham City, it’s both an ascension to heroism and a fall from grace. The story’s backdrop is a cyberpunk tinged neo-Cold War-era Gotham City, yet the story retains all the elements of a classic Western - the hero rides into town one last time to save the day, driven home by the fact that Batman literally rides into battle on horseback in one famous scene.

Duality is one of the major recurring themes of this graphic novel: the difference between the two personalities of Batman and Bruce Wayne is clear. For example, Wayne stays away from the cowl because of Jason Todd’s death ("For Jason. Never. Never again."), yet Batman’s obsessed, consumed mission for justice leads to a polar conclusion as he drafts in a new Robin to his army ("I will never forget Jason. He was a good soldier. He honored me. But the war goes on."). Wayne gladly donates generous portions of his considerable wealth towards the rehabilitation and restorative surgery for Harvey Dent. As Batman, no matter how convincing the plastic surgery looks, he can see nothing but the scarred Two-Face of yesterday... and a reflection of himself.

The characters in the story also appear to only exist in pairs with the Bat Man - Batman and Robin, Batman and Gordon, Batman and Superman. Even the villains cannot be themselves without Bats to play off. DKR and The Killing Joke went miles to establish the star-crossed, anti-lovers relationship that Batman and the Joker have with one another. In the case of DKR, when Batman went away, so did the Joker, for his existence was meaningless without his hated antagonist. Like the Batman, the Joker has changed over time, and relies less on the zaniness, more on the sadistic; his dark sense of humor a foil for the bleak narration going on inside Batman’s head. Bits and pieces of the character portrayed here have most certainly been channeled for the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

However, this isn’t a tale told only from the eyes of the Dark Knight. DKR is an all-encompassing story, managing to get inside nearly every major (and some minor) characters' heads. Unlike a typical comic strip from days gone by, the lines between heroes and villains aren’t nearly as cut and dry as they once were. There are those like James Gordon who believe Batman is a tool for fighting injustice and evil, while others, like Gordon’s replacement as police chief Ellen Yindel, feel that the man is nothing more than a monster, a fascist vigilante who blatantly ignores civil rights and takes the law into his own hands. Neither side is right, nor are they wrong, but they are both presented equally within the pages of the novel.

Meanwhile, the media stands back with its cameras and microphones and watches the whole charade, praying under their breath for carnage to ensue so the feature film can be rushed to the networks. The paparazzi of Gotham are just as bloodthirsty as the slavering Joe Public they cater to. MTV-styled shot bursts flash across the pages, as the masses sit huddled together, glued to their televisions expecting to see ample amounts of death and destruction in the nightly newscast (another embellishment lifted by Nolan in his recent film). On the national front, the United States hurtles itself towards a devastating World War III. There are too many satires to count here; some of them humorous, some downright chilling.

It may be cheap hyperbole to say, but this graphic novel is to the comic book what Revolver is to music, or what King Kong is to film. A true artifact for either the cult fandom geek or the serious literature buff, The Dark Knight Returns is without question the most important and influential Batman story ever written. It ranks with some of the most important, industry-changing comics of all-time, right up alongside Moore’s Watchmen, Spiegelman’s Pulitzer winning Maus, and Siegel and Shuster’s "Superman" from Action Comics #1. Essential for any bookshelf. ( )