As for the assertion by many that DKR was the harbinger of the comic book world's `grim-and-gritty-anti-hero' era-- well, if this assertion does have merit, I see it as a good thing. `Cuz back in the day, I really enjoyed reading the adventures of rival Marvel's two grimmest-and-grittiest guys: Ghost Rider version 2 and the Punisher, both of whom got their own ongoing titles shortly after DKR hit the stands. I also liked how Batsy really laid the smack-down on his criminal foes-- especially his crippling of the Joker, who managed to finish himself off immediately after being incapacitated in a most amazing and disquieting manner. And despite his superior strength, speed, and agility, I always figured Batman could hold his own in a knockdown drag-out against Superman-- which he does and the some at the story's climax. I only wish he fought a bit more cleanly than he did, but that wouldn't have been `grim-and-gritty' enough I guess...

The tenth anniversary edition of this TPB includes the original text script to the last issue of this story arc. I found it to be a fairly interesting look at the creative process involved in the conception of a four-color story. I also found it interesting to see the stuff that was originally gonna be put to the Bristol board, and compare it to what eventually did make the cut, and what was changed or removed. If you've ever wondered how they come up with some of those comic stories you're so fond of reading, this bonus feature is a must-read.

Anyhoo, like I stated before, I found Batman: "The Dark Knight Returns" a really good super-hero comic story, but it falls short of being among the all-time-greatest tome that most fanboys have told me it is. I might read this once more in my lifetime, but that's about it. It isn't even Frank Miller's best work on the character in my opinion-- that honor goes to "Batman: Year One", which you can check out at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0930289331/ref=pd_sim_books_2/002-6135121-8178428?v=glance&s=books. Happy reading!

`Late


Holds up amazingly well   July 23, 2005
 16 out of 18 found this review helpful

I read the original 4-issue miniseries in 1986 (wish I still had those copies!) and it turned me on to a whole new world of comics that I still feel quite passionate about...but I hadn't looked at the original DKR in a long time.

With the recent Batman movie, I pulled this book off the shelf and re-read it from the beginning for the first time in years. What struck me this time is, considering that it's nearly 20 years old, how un-dated and still contemporary it seems. Miller did a masterful job of imagining a near future world with speaking styles, dress conventions and an urban look and feel that feel fresh and just-out-of-tomorrow as it did in 1986. The one jarring anachronism is the Reaganesque president, but an out of touch flaky President doesn't seem that unrealistic after all...the master stroke, then as now, though, is the overlay of snippets of media coverage providing a narrative framework of background information and reaction to Batman's re-emergence after 10 years of "retirement". A world of 24-7 news coverage, much of it vacuous and filled with stupid chatter, was more on the horizon than "of the now" when this book was first written, but the device gives it a current day timeliness that even Miller might be surprised at.

An amazing accomplishment then, and remains one today, and a seminal influential work on the storytelling style of just about every comic book out there now, as Frank Miller's "edge" has become solidly, even cliched mainstream. See where it all began.


The Dark Knight Returns: The pinnicle of the Batman legend!   May 22, 2001
 15 out of 20 found this review helpful

In the year 2000, Wizard comics voted and announced which were among the greatest comics book stories ever told. "The Dark Knight Returns" was listed as #2. ("Watchmen" was voted #1). While "Watchmen" was a brilliant, orignal novel written by Alan Moore, who also wrote "Batman: The Killing Joke" (please see my review on that classic), I personally believe that "The Dark Knight is the greatest comic book story ever told. It shows how the Batman/Bruce Wayne relationship has evolved, as has the world. Back when this comic book was written in the 1980's, No one believe how dark the world would have become as Frank Miller had portrayed in this novel. But in this new century, Miller had come close to how the world has become, where violence in the city has run amok, as it has in the world. Batman returns from retirement to battle crime "in its many macabre forms" even though he is not wanted. The world has become different in this book because the world does not want to be reminded that superheroes still exist. James Gordon is forced into retirement to make way for a new Gothman City, where the Batman is outlawed. Only the shadow of Superman working as a agent for the government still exist. Batman is force to deal in this new world where he is no long consider a hero, but a menance. This story has no happy ending for Two-Face, who still fights his inner demons even though he has a new face. ( a personal loss for Bruce Wayne). When the Batman retired, the Joker remained almost comatose until ten years later when Batman returned. As worlds collide in the brink of nuclear war, the battle between Batman and the Joker ends when The Joker does the most hideous thing to the Batman, something Batman could never do. But this is nothing compared to the final battle between Batman and Superman. Only one is left standing, while the other must live with the concequences. The end of this story has its beginnng and endings for Batman...and Bruce Wayne. During this story, we also see that Bruce Wayne has become bitter and angry when he retired from being a superhero to live a mundane life and becomes a new person when he becomes what he was always meant to be...Batman. While I cannot tell the whole story, this novel brings Batman to full circle and makes Batman what he should always be...a hero.


This book gets way too many props   August 8, 2000
 14 out of 47 found this review helpful

If you're looking for a purely one-dimensional violence machine portrayal of Batman, you'll adore this book. However, if you love Batman as written by such writers as Bill Finger, John Broome, Gardner Fox, Steve Englehart, Paul Dini, Len Wein, and Jeph Loeb, this book is a total mess. While those writers succeeded in giving Batman depth and characterization beyond his war on crime, Frank Miller's take on Batman in a depthless, bland, completely unlikeable masochist who only cares about inflicting pain on his enemies and nearly nothing else. While the book's premise (Batman coming out of retirement to save Gotham from a disatrous crime wave) is worthy, Miller's execution, as both a writer and an artist, sinks the book like a rock. In addition to making Batman a lead character you have to hate, we're given such idiotic characters like the lame Carrie Kelley/Robin and the Mutants, disgusting characters like Bruno and the bloated Selina Kyle, silly plot devices (mind-controlling lipstick, talking doll bombs), and a Superman so poorly handled that it's embarrassing. Miller's treatment of Superman and Batman's relationship is totally off-base and uncalled for; instead of the Spock/McCoy friendship the characters have shared for years, Miller's Batman has a sheer hatred and contempt for Superman that only reinforces the the total lack of personality Miller gave him in the story. Add poor dialogue (the Mutants' lingo is ludicrous and unreadable) and bad artwork, and what you get is a complete disaster. There are so many better Batman stories out there; don't waste your money on this.


Dark Knight - A Modern Comics Classic   October 1, 2001
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Frank Miller's groundbreaking 1986 comic book series still packs a punch today. (I first read it only a few years ago.) This was the story which proved superhero comics can be powerful drama and social commentary. This tale of a middle-aged Bruce Wayne returning one last time to fight crime as the Batman is an original and interesting mixture of ironic frivolity and serious themes. It is the themes in the subtexts of the story that most make this work intersting. These themes include the issue of pure justice (as typified by the Batman) versus the corruptible system, and whether the power of justice best belongs in the hands of the legal system or to individuals. Miller offers scathing satirical sketches of spineless politicians, vacuous mass-media, and criminal-coddling pop psychology. Miller's fascinating portrait of Batman as a complex, tortured, and three-dimensional human being cannot be soon forgotten. The Dark Knight Returns is a compelling story of of a troubled hero in an unheroic world.