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Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre, then The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller--known also for his excellent Sin City series and his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil--is probably the top contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. The great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argued that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task.Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon, and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, street gangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. --Mark Thwaite

Amazon.com Review:
If any comic has a claim to have truly reinvigorated the genre, then The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller--known also for his excellent Sin City series and his superb rendering of the blind superhero Daredevil--is probably the top contender. Batman represented all that was wrong in comics and Miller set himself a tough task taking on the camp crusader and turning this laughable, innocuous children's cartoon character into a hero for our times. The great Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, the arguably peerless Watchmen) argued that only someone of Miller's stature could have done this. Batman is a character known well beyond the confines of the comic world (as are his retinue) and so reinventing him, while keeping his limiting core essentials intact, was a huge task.

Miller went far beyond the call of duty. The Dark Knight is a success on every level. Firstly it does keep the core elements of the Batman myth intact, with Robin, Alfred the butler, Commissioner Gordon, and the old roster of villains, present yet brilliantly subverted. Secondly the artwork is fantastic--detailed, sometimes claustrophobic, psychotic. Lastly it's a great story: Gotham City is a hell on earth, street gangs roam but there are no heroes. Decay is ubiquitous. Where is a hero to save Gotham? It is 10 years since the last recorded sighting of the Batman. And things have got worse than ever. Bruce Wayne is close to being a broken man but something is keeping him sane: the need to see change and the belief that he can orchestrate some of that change. Batman is back. The Dark Knight has returned. Awesome. --Mark Thwaite

Rating : - A flawed classic
The Dark Knight Returns is a classic piece of comic book literature that helped transition Batman from the campy character he had been turned into back to the grim and gritty protector of the streets that he was meant to be. The story depicts a Gotham City that has been without Batman for years, since Bruce Wayne has gotten old and finally put away the cape and cowl. However, a series of crime waves in the city drives Batman to return despite his age, taking on a world that has become more violent and deranged than anything he faced in his younger days.

The Dark Knight Returns deserves some major recognition for the way it renewed the character of Batman. Years later, many writers are still basing their Batman stories on the themes that Frank Miller re-introduced. Unfortunately, the story also suffers from an immense shortcoming in Miller's writing repertoire -- namely, the ability to make characters seem human.

Batman is an antihero who goes against the law if needed to make sure that justice prevails. He is anything but the square-jawed paragon of perfection that Superman is. At the same time, he is supposed to be a thinking, feeling person who has a greater view of the world than his war on crime. That is unfortunately not the case with Miller's Batman. This Batman seems to have no empathy for other human beings, viewing them as nothing more than soldiers in his war on crime. He offhandedly ignores the fact that Robin died in his crusade, referring to him only as a "good soldier." And he seems willing to place anyone in the path of danger if it means winning a victory against the criminals he is fighting. Quite simply, Frank Miller takes the "man" out of Batman -- he takes away the human element of the character, leaving very little reason for the reader to care about what happens to him rather than viewing him as a psychopath who just happens to solve some crimes.

The Dark Knight Returns is a key piece of Batman history, and Frank Miller's art style and narrative tells an innovative and dark tale that helped breathe new life into the character. Unfortunately, as Frank Miller often does, he ignores the human element of the character, assuming that the reader will side with Batman simple because he is Batman. Because of this failing, I can only give The Dark Knight Returns three stars. It is a solid story, but one that lacks a true hero to follow.