Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

I'm not familiar with Batman comics, so maybe there was stuff here that would've held more meaning if I knew, say, what happened to Jason (I'm familiar with the broad strokes but haven't read the comic, itself) or what Oliver was spouting off about (yeah, I have no context for this at all). But most of this just seemed nonsensical.

Why return to crime-fighting at all, Bruce? Is it PTSD? If so, the deployment of that motivation needed to be a lot more consistent. Are you suffering from dementia? That would certainly be in keeping with all the harping on about how old and slow you've gotten, but you seem a little too sharp to be struggling with an age-eaten brain. Am I just supposed to assume you've lost your effing mind? Because there show more needed to be more Killing and Maiming (instead of navel-gaze-y philosophizing about it), if so.

Without any of this to go on, this entire comic feels like an excuse to plunge the Batman into DARKNESS. (No, really. Like DARK DARKNESS. Like we're not messing around. Like fighting crime means the ABYSS will STARE BACK. And shit.) Maybe I'm too old or have read too much Profiler!Mulder fanfiction or remember too clearly how it felt to read Watchmen early on in my comics-reading life, but this didn't feel like a fresh, startling take on crime-fighting or superheroes or violence or chaos or the corruption of power or...anything. It felt mostly like a treatise on how growing old in your career will make you bad at it.

...Which. I appreciate. Because there are way too many old-guard authors still writing books who need to be told to either stop writing or get a better editor. But this seems an odd focus for a Batman comic, let alone a legendary Batman comic. And the momentary glimpses of Bruce's realization that he kinda sucks at his job don't make for compelling literature.

And all that other stuff? The navel-gaze-y bits about how killing the killers might be the only way to stop the cycle of violence...or how the world only makes sense if you make it! (what? is that a serious existential question or just poor traumatized Bruce trying to sound tough?)...or how vigilantism is, like, too big to judge in crime-ridden Gotham. All of that seems so narrow in scope, so petulant and childish.

Reading this, I had the exact opposite experience that I had whilst reading Superman: Red Son. That book asks some serious and terrifying questions about power and how we justify its use and where those ideas originate from and how little control we might have over their formation. This book, on the other hand, was akin to being stuck with That Asshole at a cocktail party, ranting about his childhood and his therapy and how everyone who disagrees with him is automatically wrong. No big questions, no insights into the greater world...just a guy reveling in the muck so people will think he's edgy and gritty and, like, DARK. (And shit.) show less

B+ (Very good). Inconsistent. Book 1 (of 4) is remarkably great. But it's hard to get past the fascism - unavoidable in any Batman story, but Miller really leans into it.

(Sep. 2023)

There's an interesting, seemingly neofascist strain in Frank Miller's graphic novels. 300 comes to mind as the most disturbing example of this, but The Dark Knight Returns isn't far behind. The story picks up around 15-20 years after Batman's heyday and he is in retirement. The world has gone amok and through a series of events, Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement. I won't go into the details, but by the end, Batman unites a group of street thugs into a coherent vigilante force who will "bring order" to the world.

This isn't a pretty vision of the world. It reminds me of a sort of Charles Bronson Deathwish universe where a solitary and borderline psychopathic hero will bring peace to the world through violence. I can't quite figure out show more Frank Miller's politics. He parodies Reagan and blatant militarism pretty harshly in The Dark Knight Returns, but also looks to extralegal solutions to crime and basks in ultraviolence. Miller's Gotham is hopelessly corrupt and he seems to think that only a fiery holocaust can cleanse it. He portrays liberals in a stereotypically Bronson-esque fashion -- always ready to coddle wrongdoers and let them off the hook. There are always horrific consequences to such actions. The hard-line, and only the hard-line, is the only real solution according to Miller. He recognizes the harvest of blood and terror that will ensue, but Miller feels this is necessary and justified.

Having said all this, The Dark Knight Returns warrants the praise it has received. It's storytelling is powerful and its vision of a corrupt world is appealing in a "Blade Runner" sort of way. The retelling of Batman is effective as a graphic narrative and there is a real sense of moral ambiguity. I disagree with pretty much everything Miller seems to believe in, but I felt engaged as a reader. I was willing to suspend my disbelief and horror and go along for the ride. In the end, I'm not sure that's such a good thing. I feel sort of corrupted and a bit more cynical about the world. show less

‘Batman: The Dark Knight Returns' is not only a good Batman story, it is a great graphic novel. Gotham has never been so forsaken or forlorn, as this story begins. It is in need of its hero, though its hero has also become a dark reflection of the city’s increasing madness. The story never lets this dynamic go. Batman and his city are always a reflection of each other, always in conflicting harmony and always a reflection on what our society could become. The plot is well-penned and engaging both for its bone-crunching action as well as it’s themes. Fans of Watchmen and Sin City alike will find things they can enjoy here.
The art is before the advent of computers and is thus all done with markers and pens. Though it is show more stylistically reminiscent of a different time, the masterful work holds up to this day. The movement and framing in many of the panels adds to the tension and drama, and the skill of the draftsmanship is impressive. Anyone who has an interest in hand-drawn art should flip through this just to take notes.
The ending is extremely dark - so be set for a hard journey if you pick this up. The story is full of some of the worst aspects of humanity, and even Joker takes things further than you would have thought he could. But as with most Batman stories this is a tale of a man overcoming himself and a world that has degenerated to the brink of madness. It is great to watch Batman come into his own again and then see where his life culminates. Fans of graphic novels in general should read this for the excellent story and art and this is a must for any fan of the Bat. show less

So many aspects of the movies and other Batman comics I have read make much more sense now after reading this. The fact that this is 30 years old is astonishing, it still feels so fresh. The story is great, the asides told through television interviews and bulletins are genius, and the illustrations are out of this world. The comic picks up with the mutants causing more and more trouble in Gotham, Batman has been in retirement for a decade but feels he must put on his cape and save Gotham from itself. Understandably not everyone is happy to see him back and many are quick to lay Gotham's problems at Batman's feet. He has to battle evil, save face, and try to stay healthy and fit (which is hard because he's legit old now). Throw in the show more fact that Harvey Dent is let out (they fixed his face, no more two sided evil nature!) and there are rumors that the Joker is sane enough to do interviews on television, and that a young girl has started tagging along as Robin and you've got one hell of a great graphic novel. Solid from start to finish. show less

Although I am not much into comics in general, and especially not into superhero type ones, Batman is the kind of morally ambiguous antihero that I enjoy. And nowhere more so than in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, which examines the morality and psychology of the superhero vigilantism.

Gotham's psychologists, televangelists, law-enforcement officers, criminals, concerned citizens and others all weigh in on the matter. Is Batman a hero, or a fascist oppressor of civil liberties, at whose feet much of the blame for the dismal state of society can be laid?

Bonus: Misters Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent finally get to shed some light on who beats whom.

I've seen better art and I wasn't a fan of the thirteen year old female Robin, but other show more than that, this is as good as American superhero comics get. show less

People almost always cite [book: Batman Year One] as the best of the Batman comics, or at least the most influential. While I understand how vital it was in changing the general comic book narrative - how the gritty realism affected Batman comics for a long time to come, and how revolutionary it was to tell the story from Commisioner Gordon's perspective... while all of that may be so, [book: The Dark Knight Returns] is a comic both revolutionary and relatively unscathed from the ravages of time. I can't help but feel that this is the story [author: Frank Miller] wished to tell from the beginning.

This is Bruce Wayne, age 55, long having retired from being the Batman. This is Gotham, slowly catching up with modern sensibilities and all show more that it means. Can men like Harvey Dent be rehabilitated? Does Batman coming out of retirement create more criminals than he eradicates? What is the nature of Batman, and what does it mean? And ultimately... what does it all matter? Mix in a female Robin (brilliant), Superman, and Green Arrow and what you have is something psychotic and beautiful, and just... right. It was as if at long last I'd finally found the Batman comic I had always wanted.

The art works extremely well, and the palette is beautiful. This book, more than any other I've read, seemed to fully capture the Joker in all of his insanity and strangeness. Superman in particular was exceptionally drawn, and his introduction was spot-on and the best mirror to Batman imaginable. I adored the new Robin, and how fully Jason was remembered. In truth, there was just about nothing I didn't love about this comic. Everything that rubbed me oddly about [book: Dardevil: Born Again] and [book: Batman: Year One] were absent in this title. This is pure [author: Frank Miller] without so many of the tropes people often complain about.

If only he got to include Bat Mite. show less