March 3rd - 2022: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. AGAIN

Frank Miller.

Yep, just breath it in, take that glorious name in.

Let it sink into you.

Is it sitting there comfortably?

Yes?

Then let us get started.

When view Batman, The Caped Crusader, or even the DARK KNIGHT, in whole, there is one artist that stands out for me above the others, and that's Frank Miller (okay maybe that's not true, I also have a soft spot for the amazing New 52 Batman Artist, Greg Capullo, who really shone during the ZERO YEAR story arc).

Miller's take on the infamous billionaire playboy by day, violent vigilante by night, was a game changer for the historic and iconic character. In a time which comics were slowly fading from view and had started to lose its audiences due to the change in times, especially in correlation to the media of the 80s. Action movies were now a huge market than they ever had been, violence and action taking the forefront, with gritty and darker stories which touched and dived into the darker elements of life, mentally and physically.

A part of the Batman story which all who know it understand is crucial, is the death of Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Now see how mentioned its Bruce's parents, and not Batman's? I'll get back to that.

The deaths had always been a strong and critical aspect of the story, but had never truly been delved into or made apparent how uncomfortable and evil experience that it is. Until the works of Miller were published.

As well as an overall on the entire character of Batman, now named The Dark Knight by its writer, changed the way we saw and now will forever see the justice driven vigilante. Together, two four-issue comic series, both by Miller, changed everything. These were:

• The Dark Knight Returns

• BATMAN: YEAR ONE

Gone were the silly costumes and cheesy dialogue of the past, now stood in the shadows and menacing embodiment of rage and greed for justice, shattered and broken and living of the torturing burning inside of him for years, the death of those who were closest to him fuelling his path to become what his city needed in order to save it.

BATMAN: YEAR ONE showed the origins of the Batman, in his first year, slowly working his way back into the high rise life of Gotham, staring out over the city from penthouse apartments with champagne glasses in hand, as well as suspending himself from the rooftops of the very same skyscrapers, waiting to make the perfect strike against the money hungry capitalists, mob bosses and villains of Gotham. Gone was the simple mention of Bruce losing his parents, but a narrative which now influenced a stronger and more meaningful reason as to why as a young man he left home and wandered the earth, only to return over a decade later, with his mind and body now trained and shifted to a new perspective, ready to undertake the task that was required of him.

The death of his parents killed Bruce Wayne, and gave birth to a new entity inside the frail and desperate body, screaming with pain and agony. Through the anger, that new being rose and grew, until it was ready to take on the city.

This take of the character helped to ground the character more than it had before, limiting the large number of gadgets and equipment batman had at his disposal, showing him work from the ground up, literally in the caves under his old disused mansion, and his presence in the city of Gotham and a billionaire philanthropist and as 'The World's Greatest Detective.'

Now move forward a couple of decades in the comic world, and a two years backwards in the real world. In 1986 Miller wrote a four issue miniseries called The Dark Knight Returns, with artwork by David Mazzucchelli (DareDevil 1986), which told the story of a much older Batman returning to Gotham, which was one of the first looks at an older batman, instead always being a reckless young adult around the age of thirty. This 55 year old broken man now has to suffer with the torment of his parents, the death of his partner Jason Todd ten years prior to the comics setting, and the death of his home which is now over run with crime and constant violence. Frank Miller did not shy away from the already burning pain in the character which he was reinventing, but built upon it, and enhanced the severity to a realistic and almost psychotic level if one were to really look into this rendition of the character.

Along with the inclusion of the a few other familiar faces, some new faces, a outer-worldy (and for me unexpected) guest appearance, and a exo-suit to keep this fraying caped crusader standing, Miller managed to create a being that reshaped the beloved character for the better.

Now about the artwork to these comics.

In comparison to other works by Frank Miller, such as Ronin, Miller actually did the art for it, as well as the story, yet for The Dark Knight Returns Miller did not do the artwork for his story, but you can feel his words and style in it. I can't imagine the intense descriptions of the panels Miller must have written for his artist David Mazzucchelli. Each of the filled to the brim panels with high amounts of detail and sharp striking colours captures the emotion needed to draw in and hypnotise the reader. It did for me, and even when any form of lettering does come onto the page, it is short, precise and to the point, not taking you out of the story but giving you the information you need, as if the reader was inside Bruce Wayne's head listening to his thoughts.

As well, with the likes of Ronin, The Dark Knight Returns features a multitude of pages with panels that don't feature any lettering, taking on an almost cinematic feel, as if this was a storyboard for an epic blockbuster origin story made after the film was released using shots from the already filmed footage.

Miller continues to tell his stories visually in the art over the text, even when he isn't even doing the artwork himself. This artist, as well as this method of telling a narrative, is definite subject matter to look into further.

References:

• Diaz, E., 2022. The Comics History of Batman's Chief Ally, Commissioner James Gordon - Nerdist. [online] Nerdist. Available at: <https://nerdist.com/article/comics-history-commissioner-james-jim-gordon-batman-dc-comics/> [Accessed 3 March 2022].

• Miller, F., Varley, L., Janson, K., Kane, B. and Costanza, J., 2002. Batman, the Dark Knight returns. New York: DC Comics.

• Miller, F. and Mazzucchelli, D., 1988. Batman: Year One. New York: Warner.

• Youtube.com. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGCHvHQcxfI> [Accessed 4 March 2022].

• Youtube.com. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug5__K_aR54&t=195s> [Accessed 4 March 2022].