Librarian's Pick of the Week: Batman, the Dark Knight Returns

Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Author: Frank Miller (Author), Klaus Janson (Illustrator), Lynn Varley (Colorist)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult
Published: 1997
Age: 14+

In 2005, Time magazine chose the collected four-issues of Batman, the Dark Knight Returns as one of the 10 best English language, graphic novels ever written.

Synopsis: "A tour de force of powerful storytelling and intense characterization, "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" is the tale of a tortured man's effort to save a city spiraling into chaos. An aging, time-worn Batman struggles with the acceptance of a new Robin while facing the latest generation of vicious, hyper-violent criminals. Old foes like the Joker and Two-Face add to the maddening mayhem which Batman must face and somehow conquer. Even Batman's relationship with his friend and ally Superman takes a fresh and inventive turn that would have been unthinkable outside of Frank Miller's richly imagined vision of the Dark Knight's future."

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 " - Mark Thwaite


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!