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Varekai
Poozer
Joined: 12 Aug 2010
Posts: 3
Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:53 pm |
 Post subject: The Dark Knight Returns |
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THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
Summary:
Life may not be easy in Gotham City – what with the present heat wave, the increasing violence coming from a gang called “The Mutants” and the imminent retirement of Commissioner James Gordon – but when an aged Bruce Wayne takes it unto himself to don the cape and cowl again after a ten-year unexplained hiatus, life gets a hell of a lot harder. The reappearance of the Dark Knight ignites the city, and captures the imagination and fear of a people who have long since forgotten what it’s like to have a superhero around. While the citizenry revive the age-old debate about whether he is menace or messiah, the Batman and his new Robin take the city back into a semblance of control. But when old friends and foes start to reappear, the real question becomes whether the presence of the Batman has saved the city, or condemned it.
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You don’t go into THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS without any expectations. It has gained a level of both popularity and notoriety for giving a certain darkness to main stream Superhero comics that was previously unheard of and being the precursor in allowing DC’s arguably most popular hero to transcend past the veil of conventionality to a new level of grittiness.
I have to admit that while I am a huge fan of DC comics, I haven’t read a lot of what many would consider “essential” Batman titles. And so going into this title, all my expectations were almost entirely based off my reading of the graphic novel’s sequel, the almost-nauseatingly psychedelic THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN.
The very first impression I got was that this was obviously before Miller became more experimental with his art styles. Anticipating the eye-gouging neon colours or semi-terrifying abstractions, I was surprised (and relieved, really) to be greeted by a mood much more sombre and muted in it's coloring and mood. Also expecting to be assailed with text, the volume turned out surprisingly readable.
The story has an edge in its uniqueness: Frank Miller’s intention for the character was to age him, and to show what would happen to one of the world’s greatest superheroes with a weathered, old body but a terrifyingly resilient spirit – a storyline that, as far as I am aware, went previously unheard of in Superhero comics.
We see how people’s lives changed with his previous disappearance and how they change again with his sudden return. This is not about Bruce’s internal dilemmas about the death of his parents or the death of Jason Todd – this is hardly an issue here. This is more about Batman and how he affects and allows himself to be affected by those around him – with Superman, with the Joker, with the boys who were his Robins, with Commissioner Gordon, and most importantly with his city. The elements used in telling this story are also nothing short of monumental. This was, after all, the seed of a lot of contemporary, “unconventional” Batman plot points – a Female Robin, an old Bruce, a gritty Batman, an army for Gotham, Batman vs. Superman, etc. Reading it now also makes me wish I had read this before any more recent title just so I could’ve felt the full impact of all the twists.
But given the intention of the story, I have to say the characterization of Bruce Wayne was bothersome to me from the moment he appears with his handlebar moustache. I was irked that Bruce was being presented as someone who seemingly fails to consider repercussions, or other options I have no idea whether this is the first time that Bruce’s psychological need to be Batman was ever played up, but it is certainly the first time I’ve ever seen him played so selfishly. We know that he re-donned the cowl as a personal need to jump back into the crime fighting scene. After he does so, he carelessly charges back into physical confrontations, takes to dubbing nicknames, embraces the appearance of a Robin he’s never met before, fails to consider his reappearance’s effect on his old nemesis and takes no action against the vigilantes who masquerade justice under his name until the very end of the story. Despite giving leeway that this is an entirely different Earth, something in me finds it difficult to believe that any incarnation of Batman would act so carelessly.
(At the risk of sounding hypocritical, I was much more fascinated by how Miller wrote several of his other characters. The moments that featured Superman figuratively chained by his own diplomacy, Jim Gordon’s unembellished disdain of his profession and Ollie being Ollie in particular were some of my favourites in the volume. This rendition of the Joker, though, left me feeling very confused).
Then again, we attribute characterization to the writer as well. Every inch of this title oozes MILLER – full page splashes of our lead man ploughing his fist into another man’s face, the lithe action girl, the dark atmosphere, etc. Now while I personally love Miller, I think his employ of the noir-style went overboard here, on a genre that didn’t call for it. In particular, I say this because of Miller’s use of inner-monologing – anyone who reads Sin City before this will be disconcerted with Miller’s re-use of lines, images and situations between Batman and Hartigan.
Which isn’t to say I didn’t appreciate the new take on the character – this was one of the points of the thing after all, and playing him thus was essential to break the Adam West image people were giving the character. I’m willing to forgive Miller what I consider jumps in characterization, because, honestly, I understand that such was essential for the story to turn out the way it did and for the impact to be as strong as it was.
Given my qualms about The Dark Knight Returns, is a timeless, riveting read and is certainly enjoyable on many levels. It leaves little to the imagination as to why exactly it’s considered to be such an important piece of work in the history of the character, and why many deem it one of the best Batman stories ever.
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Sir Pepoy Josepito
Super Special Awesome
Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 603
Location: in sanity
Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:54 am |
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BRUCE WAS SUICIDAL
well no not really only kinda
Anyway, since I'm still kinda busy trying to write my own comics, I'll just say good job with the review. For the most part, you know your comics!
i do have to say that i pity you for starting out with DKSA
thank god you still gave Miller Batman a chance and read DKR
You should check out some of Denny O'Neil's work on Batman during the 70's, an oft-overlooked era where he did start making Batman "serious and dark" again after Adam West's version. He's got classic stories with his very own creation Ra's al Ghul and reverting the Joker to a psychopathic mad clown. And he had Neal Adams on art, too, (IMO right on par with Jim Lee in drawing Batman) which made for a great dynamic.
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