The Millennium Chronicles is a regular column that explores the Millennium Edition reprint series that DC Comics released throughout 2000. Visit the archive for previous installments.

This time we look at:
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
(Originally Published March, 1986)

Writers: Frank Miller
Artists: Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley
Price: $5.95 US

Now that the full run of The Dark Knight Strikes Back has (finally) been released, I think it’s worth looking back at the original comic and examine what made The Dark Knight Returns a classic; and why, for the same reasons, DK2 is utter crap.

The success of Dark Knight Returns can be attributed to the right people coming together at the right time. When the project was first planned in 1985, DC Comics was reinventing itself, and its super hero universe, with Crisis on Infinite Earths. Frank Miller’s star was still rising following a very successful run on Marvel’s Daredevil, and the DC miniseries Ronin. And, while Batman had been brought back to his dark roots in the comics, the most publicly known version of the character was appearing in the Superfriends cartoon. At a time when DC was giving its characters a facelift, it asked a hot young writer/artist famous for his cinematic style of samurai/film noir stories to do a Batman story in the new, expensive, (for 1985), prestige format.

If DC editorial expected something good, they were totally blown away.

Miller’s story of a middle-aged Batman coming out of retirement would become one of the most sophisticated, complex, entertaining, frightening, amazing, and intellectually and artistically mature works of graphic fiction of the 20th Century. Only Alan Moore’s Watchmen surpasses the story on every level, and some fans still debate that point. The Dark Knight Returns was more than a deconstruction of the Batman. It re-energized the character for the modern age. From the first issue, Miller lets the reader know that this story is happening in the real world. It’s much more complex and hostile than the average comic book world. But Batman is a very basic character. At his core is a man who beats up other men who do bad things. Miller demonstrates how such a simple man can exist in such a complicated world. Then he goes one step further and shows how such a world needs men like Batman.

Dark Knight Returns isn’t just another story where Batman beats people up. It’s also a sharp social satire. And I mean “satire” in the traditional sense. Pop psychology, media driven public debate, and cold war politics are attacked with simple, direct blows of irony and wit. In other words, the idea of Batman beats up the ideas of a corrupt society. Miller achieves this satire with both his dialogue and his art. Words and pictures work together to communicate a story, an idea, and a message. Even after a century of comic books growing and maturing, such a cohesive work of art and story is rare in comics. Few are the men who even attempt it. Fewer still do it well.

And since this is such a perfect marriage of art and story, credit for the book’s success must be shared equally by Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley. Janson had worked with Miller on most of his run on Daredevil. Janson’s varying line weight adds just the right amount of definition and detail to Miller’s pencils. His shadows, while ominously deep and dark, never distract the reader from the scene’s action. Varley adds the final touch with her broad palette of water colors. Her ability to vary the shades and tones of colors, both throughout the book and within the same panel, literally bring life to the story’s world and characters. Taking into consideration that this was achieved without the use of computers, one must regard Varley as a talent equal to the finest illustrators in her field.

The impact of The Dark Knight Returns spread beyond normal comic book fandom. The mainstream media reported on the book, and its impact on the Batman mythos. Book critics praised the series as a uniquely intelligent look at superheroes in modern society. The climatic battle between Batman and Superman is used by some law professors as an example of the traditional opposition between justice and law. The series’ trade paperback, one of the first of its kind, was carried in bookstores and became a best seller.

The Dark Knight Returns became one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed comic books of all time because:

- Three very talented artists were working at the top of their game.
It looked at an old character in a way that made him fresh and new.
- It made a statement on society and its relationship to an iconic character.
- It was a rare work of words and pictures coming together to tell a story. It was truly a “graphic novel”.

So what the hell made DC think it could repeat that success?

A better question: Who wanted to see a sequel to Dark Knight? The story ended with no loose plot threads. And while it left the possibility for more stories, there was no pressing need for any more.

You’ve all heard other critics say why DK2 sucked, including me. There are even a few who liked the book. (Ray Tate at Silverbulletcomicbooks.com is one of them. I always wondered about that guy.) All I’ll say at this point is everything that made The Dark Knight Returns a great comic is completely absent from The Dark Knight Strikes Back. In fact, I consider the two stories to be diametric opposites.

If you’re reading this months, or even years, after DK2 came out in 2002, and you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor. Don’t. Just read The Dark Knight Returns and pretend that there was no sequel. Just like Star Wars fans do with the original trilogy.

Quality:
It doesn’t get any better than this. 5/5 Slushies.

History:
Considered the second best comic book ever written. Also DC’s first prestige format comic. It’s also credited with inspiring the Elseworlds line of comics. 5/5 Slushies.

Total:
5/5 Slushies. A must-have in every reader’s collection.

Related Works:
The trade paperback of The Dark Knight Returns has been in print since its initial publication in 1987. The 10th anniversary edition includes a script for an alternate ending to the story. A hardcover edition is slated for a December 2002 release.

Miller and Frank Mazzuchelli teamed up in 1987 on the story Batman: Year One. It gave a modern origin for the Batman similar in mood to Dark Knight. Miller himself, however, considers the story to be more about Commissioner Jim Gordon.

The cartoon series The New Batman/Superman Adventures paid homage to Dark Knight Returns in the episode “Legends of the Dark Knight.” The episode also paid tribute to Dick Sprang’s stories of the 1950’s, and took a sharp jab at director Joel Shumaker’s Batman movies.

DC’s Elseworlds stories often feature its characters in alternate histories. While the line is hit and miss, notable Elseworlds include Superman: Speeding Bullets, Justice League: The Nail, and Batman: Bloodstorm.

To see more of Frank Miller’s work, check out the three volume set of Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, Daredevil: Born Again, The Complete Frank Miller Spider-Man, Elektra: Assassin, and Elektra Lives, all from Marvel, all either in print or soon returning to print; The Sin City stories, available in TPB, from Dark Horse Comics; and 300, a tale of an historic Spartan battle, also from Dark Horse.

And finally, we must reluctantly acknowledge the existence of The Dark Knight Strikes Back. This 3-issue, 240-page, $25 dollar mini-series should be easy to find, as it was one of the highest ordered comic books of the last decade. A hardcover collection is also slated for a December 2002 release. But as the hardcover of Dark Knight Returns is cheaper, and since the DK2 miniseries is so plentiful at comic shops, I see no reason to buy the reprint book at all.