The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

Ah, now we have a chance to discuss some elite Batman content. This comic series came out in the 80s and kinda was the first Batman comic series to be super dark and serious. It is also widely considered the best Batman comic ever written.

It was the first comic I read when I was first getting into Batman, and I can tell you now that that was the exact wrong choice. This comic takes place a decade after Batman's "retirement" when he is deciding come back now that crime is back on the rise. You really need a good understanding of this character to appreciate the decisions he makes, the dilemmas that he's grappling with, and the principles he's working through. In fact, what makes this story so compelling is that he acts so contrary to the Batman we are so used to.

This book is incredibly philosophical. All the action is spliced with TV interviews and debates with people within Gotham debating whether what Batman does is right or not. I kinda love that because this was written in the 80s, and not every issue was so politicized, there was some room for exploration on both sides. There is a lot of discussion on mental illness, crime and punishment, means vs ends, and things like that. Nothing is really ever resolved and I like that the readers are able to grapple with it. It's definitely a little try-hard at times, and I think Frank Miller thinks he's a little smarter than he should, but in the end I think he succeeds with giving readers things to think about.

That also leads to one complaint I have, and that is that this book definitely feels too edgy at times. This is the Batman that Zach Snyder draws his inspiration from, which is problematic for a lot of reasons, but one is just that it is hard to always take seriously something that is trying to this hard (a similar complaint I had with Watchmen - a comic pretty similar in tone). It kinda goes along with the art in this, which is a cool style, but also like, take it down a notch. It mostly feels appropriate, but sometimes just needs to chill.

But yeah, the story has a lot of intrigue, there are lots of good, fleshed out characters, and it's cool to see what a post-Gotham Batman would look like (as well as some aged regular characters). This book has a ton of awesome qualities, and is indeed among one of my favorite pieces of Batman media. It's certainly highly recommended, but please just don't make this your first/only Batman comic you read.