Comic Book Review: Batman - The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Writer/Artist: Frank Miller

Illustrator: Klaus Janson

Colouring: Lynn Varley

Publisher: DC Comics

Date of Publication: November 2012 (first pub. 1986)

Number of Pages: 197

See it on Goodreads: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Summary

Crime runs rampant in the streets, and the man who was Batman is still tortured by the memories of his parents' murders. As civil society crumbles around him, Bruce Wayne's long-suppressed vigilante side finally breaks free of its self-imposed shackles.

The Dark Knight returns in a blaze of fury, taking on a whole new generation of criminals and matching their level of violence. He is soon joined by this generation's Robin—a girl named Carrie Kelley, who proves to be just as invaluable as her predecessors.

But can Batman and Robin deal with the threat posed by their deadliest enemies, after years of incarceration have made them into perfect psychopaths? And more important, can anyone survive the coming fallout of an undeclared war between the superpowers—or a clash of what were once the world's greatest superheroes?

Review - Who is Batman?

1986... What a year that was for comics! Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was first published that year, influencing the way we see Batman, even to this day. As someone who has enjoyed various Batman comics and movies, I have been meaning to read it for a long time. Finally, I got the chance to do it. Would it live up to its fame?

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns revolutionized Batman by the way it depicts him. In this comic, we get a much darker and authoritative version of him. This is a trend that you will encounter in many of the comics published during this time. Superheroes have become human, thus they are tortured and flawed. I can see why this comic book turned out to be an important one at that time in history. 

And this is the point where the good things I have to say about this comic end. I have really struggled to find a way to appreciate it and understand why The Dark Knight Returns has left a mark. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder whether a comic has to be good in order to be influential. In fact, I can go as far as to say that any book doesn't have to be good to be influential (I have written plenty of bad reviews for classics anyway).

So, let's begin with what I didn't like about The Dark Knight Returns:

The story. It sounds basic, but the story of this comic book is ALL OVER THE PLACE. We get so many story threads and none is really treated as the main story. We have Two-Face that sort of plays like a potential villain in the first issue, but we soon forget about him. Of course, we have Joker as a villain. Then we have the mutant gang, that (I guess) they aren't really mutants. When their leader is killed the members of this gang become Batman fanatics. On top of this, we have a nuclear threat and Superman enters the stage. Why should Batman and Superman fight in the end? I guess because it's cool. Will it end in tragedy? No, not really. 

Did anything of the above make sense? I wouldn't even attempt to try and summarize this book. 

The way that the story is told. The Dark Knight Returns is very political. The whole comic book is a dialogue of Batman's personality and influence in society. Psychologists, politicians, and reporters argue about his sanity and whether the real villain is actually him. We get to read this as a part of news reports. Even though this is a great trick for quick exposition, I find that in this comic it was overused. So much, in fact, that the dialogues feel awfully repetitive. I have been feeling that I am reading the same arguments again and again.

Batman. Yes, I've told it. This is the book that redefined him and I can't stand him! The first thing I have to say about him is that he is one-dimensional. There is not a single characteristic I could think to attach to this character. Throughout the comic, we are constantly reminded that Batman's parents were murdered and that's it. What I get is that he is someone who blindly enjoys violence. He has tried to stay away, but he couldn't keep it in any longer. And he even takes a teenage tomboy as Robin. He says that he only hunts down criminals, but he does nothing to stop the ex-mutants, now Batman fanatics. Some of his expressions reminded me of Rorschach from Watchmen, even though he is a much more complex character.

The art style. This is the first comic book that I couldn't read in one sitting, even if I wanted to! The ratio of text within the illustration was a bit much. Moreover, the smaller panels are a complete pain. There are some that I have to look for a long time until I understand what they are showing. With the being said though, I have to comment that some of the full-page illustrations are more than impressive and completely iconic. 

I think that all these things sum up my opinion on The Dark Knight Returns. I had high hopes that they were unfortunately never met. The page I include here (⬅️) is one of my favourites in the whole comic. Even on this page, you can see that the smaller panels aren't some of the greatest. 

I also enjoy that Batman says "I am born again" as it reminds me of another Frank Miller comic I have read and enjoyed very much, Daredevil: Born Again. It's very interesting if you take into consideration that both of these comics were published at the same time (February 1986), yet the result is so vastly different.  

However, 1986 is the year of publication of two other comic books that are both on my list for the best books ever written. First, we have the first issue of Maus. Then, we have Watchmen that was released just a few months after The Dark Knight Returns. 

In Watchmen you will find all the politics, dialogue, doubt, confusion, deconstruction, humanization of superheroes, flawed characters, in a much richer way than in this comic book. If you want to read something impactful, then you'd better read Watchmen. Unfortunately, time wasn't kind on The Dark Knight Returns. 

(Somehow, this review ended up being a continuation to my love letter to Watchmen).

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