Comix Zone: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Since Matt reviewed The Dark Knight, it's only fitting that the first Comix Zone review be of Frank Miller's classic, the book that gave him fame in the comics industry.The book that is considered, along with Watchmen, to be responsible for the more mature comics that followed in the 90's. The book that is considered by most to be the best Batman comic off all time. The story that took Batman out of the cheesy precedent set by the 1960's television series. Hell, there is even an episode of Batman: The Animated Series based on this. I'm talking about the 1986 book, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

The book takes place in the near future. Most of the superheroes and supervillains are either retired, dead, or in the case of supervillains, incarcerated. Bruce Wayne, now an old man, has retired from being Batman. Commissioner Gordon, an even older man, is still chief of the Gotham City Police and is aware that Wayne was Batman. Jason Todd, the second Robin is dead. And Alfred is still a butler.....and realllllllly old.

In Batman's long absence, a new generation of young villains has arisen, a gang called the mutants. Calling the mutants a gang is actually putting it lightly; a small army is a better description. The mutants terrorize Gotham City with a level of violence not seen before, and only matched by the most dangerous of the old generation's villains.

As he lives day by day watching crime increase, the urges of becoming Batman continually try to resurface, with Wayne pushing them back because of a promise he made to Jason Todd about never being Batman again. (The circumstances of the promise and why it was made is never stated, although it's probably related to Todd's death.)

However, after being attacked by two mutants in the alley where his parents die, and after the reemergence of Two-Face, Wayne can no longer hold back the impulses. He wears the cape and cowl once again to battle Two-Face and the Mutants. Along the way Batman is saved in a fight against the leader of the mutants by a 13 year old girl named Carrie Kelly, who becomes the new Robin.

Along with Two-Face and the Mutants, Batman and Robin battle other threats. After Gordon is forced to resign, a new commissioner named Ellen Yindel vows to capture Batman. Batman's greatest foe, The Joker returns, and he and Batman face off one more time, this time the final battle between the two. But Batman's last fight in the story will prove to be his greatest, as the government orders an agent to stop Batman. An agent who happens to be the other half of the World's Finest....

I'd have to agree that TDK is the best Batman comic ever made. So many things go into this. First, Miller's artwork fits Batman like no other. His dark, gritty style is the essence of Batman. And the way Gotham City is drawn, makes it different yet familiar. (Not super different though; this isn't Batman Beyond.) The same goes with some of the characters. Miller's Joker looks different, almost effeminate. But it's still The Joker. And when The Joker does his laugh, you know for damn sure it's the same old Joker.

Art only goes so far though. Luckily, the writing doesn't disappoint. Miller uses his noir style writing that was last seen on his run on Daredevil, and that would be later used in Sin City. This fits Batman like a glove, and at the same time is different than anything done before it. But Miller pulls out a few other tricks too. Batman being old is current theme. Although still better fit than most young men, Batman is still old, and it shows in the art and the writing. Batman says many times in the narration that he used to have better reaction time, and there are moments when he is almost killed by actions that his younger self could more easily overcome. The extreme case is Batman's first fight with the Mutant leader, who would have killed Batman if not for the intervention of Robin.

The other thing Miller does in the writing, and what was unique for the time, is that Miller often shows clips from the Gotham news. During these times, the reader gets to see the public opinion on Batman's return. Some responses approve of Batman, others do not. Some responses are smart, some are dumb. But there is a lot of social and political commentary, at one point even about nuclear war and paranoia resulting from it. (Keep in mind, this was written in the 80's, towards the end of the cold war). Public opinion about Batman would be used in later works, most recently the movie, The Dark Knight.

If your a Batman fan, or just a fan of good comics or even a fan of good stories, give this a read. It is influential not just in comics, but in media overall. You can thank The Dark Knight Returns for things like Lost, Heroes, and.......well The Dark Knight.

5 out of 5