General Information

Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Credited to: Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley
Original Publication Date: 1996 reprint of material first published in 1986
ISBN: 1-56389-342-8
Cover Price: $14.95 US, $24.95 Can
Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Premise

A 55 year old Bruce Wayne brings Batman out of retirement to take back Gotham City.

High Point

"There are seven working defenses from this position."

Low Point

The lack of description for Oliver. I'm only casually aware of the DC Universe, so it took me a while to figure out he was the Green Arrow.

The Scores

This is original in the fact that it centers around a hero who is too old to do his job. Superheros in comics tend to be suspended in their ages to avoid the problems that this volume made a conscious effort to face head-on. Ideas like that, and the end of the third book, and the entire fourth book, are the kinds of things that I was not expecting at all when I picked this up. I can't think of another comic that had the guts to do things on that level before this came out. I give it 6 out of 6.

The artwork grew on me by the time I was finished, but it irked me at first. There are a lot of panels on most of the pages, and a lot of the images are cramped and lacking detail. I understood by the end how well this style fit with the story that was being told, but it was still pretty jarring at first. I give it 4 out of 6.

The story is well plotted, and rather majestic. The visual medium helps, but this could have just as easily been a novel. The structure is that of four books, each of which contains a complete story, but which still add up to something of an epic. I give it 5 out of 6.

The characterization is excellent. The reader knows Batman and Bruce Wayne inside and out right from the start. The first book also does an excellent job of setting up the idea that they are two people; Bruce is constantly fighting his duality in that book, but Batman is Batman alone. Batman's adversaries are not quite as well defined, but we still know who they are, and why they do what they do. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was powerful, especially considering this is the first real Batman comic I've ever read. (Caveat: I had one other issue about 15 years ago, but it was part of a larger story arc and didn't make sense on its own, so I've pretty much forgotten all of it.) All I know of the comic character is what we saw in Death of Superman and Return of Superman. This showed exactly who Batman is, and made me care about him in the first few pages. There were a few shocking moments as well, especially in the last two books. I give it 5 out of 6.

The flow is consistent, and things clearly progress from scene to scene. Conversations in battle are kept to a minimum, and in some cases, the dialogue is even omitted, even though conversation is happening. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, this is a great comic, and it shows the reader exactly who Batman is, and why Batman is. I give it 6 out of 6.

In total, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns receives 36 out of 42.