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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I only give this book three stars because I recognize its status as a pop cultural touchstone. I hate the Batman represented herein. For that matter, I hate all these characters, with the notable exception of Carrie Kelly. Miller gives us the ugliest, nastiest characterization of Superman I've ever read, and for that I can't fully forgive Miller or this book. Each panel and every word balloon ooze Miller's hackneyed misogynistic, radical libertarian political shtick, and that just sucks.
I don't really like Batman. Let's just put that on the table. With that in mind, I'm hoping we can see a 3-star review, although I would prefer 3.5, is not too shabby.
I found this story more interesting than others as Batman struggles to figure out the new challenges his age has presented him with. As always, the villains are some of my favorite parts of a DC comic, and I would recommend reading this comic just for the appearance the Joker makes, if nothing else.
I found this story more interesting than others as Batman struggles to figure out the new challenges his age has presented him with. As always, the villains are some of my favorite parts of a DC comic, and I would recommend reading this comic just for the appearance the Joker makes, if nothing else.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Fantastic story! Felt like I was watching one of the films.
This is only the second graphic novel that I've read and I really enjoyed it. The comic takes place in the 1980s but the ideas still ring true. I found part of the story hard to follow but it might be because of my lack of familiarity with the genre. Regardless it was very entertaining.
Favorite quotes:
1. "This should be agony. I should be a mass of aching muscle - broken, spent, unable to move. And, were I an older man, I surely would ... but I'm a man of thirty - of twenty again. The rain on my chest is a baptism - I'm born again."
2. "We live in the shadow of crime with the unspoken understanding that we are victims... of fear, of violence, of social impotence. A man has risen to show us that the power is, and always has been, in our hands. We are under siege. He's showing us that we can resist."
Favorite quotes:
1. "This should be agony. I should be a mass of aching muscle - broken, spent, unable to move. And, were I an older man, I surely would ... but I'm a man of thirty - of twenty again. The rain on my chest is a baptism - I'm born again."
2. "We live in the shadow of crime with the unspoken understanding that we are victims... of fear, of violence, of social impotence. A man has risen to show us that the power is, and always has been, in our hands. We are under siege. He's showing us that we can resist."
Read a comic after 15-16 years. Strange feeling. They're a little hard to read now, or maybe I need to get used to them.
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, Gotham is overrun by crime.
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, Commissioner James Gordon is retiring.
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, the world is on the brink of nuclear war.
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, Bruce Wayne has had enough!
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, The Dark Knight Returns!
The first time I read The Dark Knight Returns, I was an impressionable lad of twenty. Now, two decades later, I've revisited it.
The Dark Knight Returns is still a powerful book. Bruce Wayne crawls out of a bottle, shaves off his mustache, and puts on the cowl to fight crime once again, heading toward inevitable showdowns with Joker and Superman once he restores order to the streets of Gotham.
The art shows the evolution of Frank Miller's style from his Daredevil days, bridging the gap between that style and the style he'd be known for on Sin City years later. The writing is why the book was influential at the time, though, and is still influential decades later. This is the birth of the chronically pissed off, over-planning Batman of today. It also paved the way for Batman: Year One, the Tim Burton Batman movie, and even Batman Beyond to some degree. Broken down Batman in this volume isn't that far removed from broken down Batman in Batman Beyond.
I'm a sucker for tales of the aging hero trying to fix things while he still can and that's pretty much what this story is. However, this book has not aged nearly as well as Watchmen or even Miller's own Batman: Year One. It screams 1980s on almost every page. I also forgot how damn wordy it is.
For good or for bad, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is an influential Batman book and an important piece of Batman lore. However, I don't think it holds up nearly as well as Batman: Year One or Batman: The Killing Joke. 3.75 out of 5 stars.
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, Commissioner James Gordon is retiring.
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, the world is on the brink of nuclear war.
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, Bruce Wayne has had enough!
Ten years after the last appearance of Batman, The Dark Knight Returns!
The first time I read The Dark Knight Returns, I was an impressionable lad of twenty. Now, two decades later, I've revisited it.
The Dark Knight Returns is still a powerful book. Bruce Wayne crawls out of a bottle, shaves off his mustache, and puts on the cowl to fight crime once again, heading toward inevitable showdowns with Joker and Superman once he restores order to the streets of Gotham.
The art shows the evolution of Frank Miller's style from his Daredevil days, bridging the gap between that style and the style he'd be known for on Sin City years later. The writing is why the book was influential at the time, though, and is still influential decades later. This is the birth of the chronically pissed off, over-planning Batman of today. It also paved the way for Batman: Year One, the Tim Burton Batman movie, and even Batman Beyond to some degree. Broken down Batman in this volume isn't that far removed from broken down Batman in Batman Beyond.
I'm a sucker for tales of the aging hero trying to fix things while he still can and that's pretty much what this story is. However, this book has not aged nearly as well as Watchmen or even Miller's own Batman: Year One. It screams 1980s on almost every page. I also forgot how damn wordy it is.
For good or for bad, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is an influential Batman book and an important piece of Batman lore. However, I don't think it holds up nearly as well as Batman: Year One or Batman: The Killing Joke. 3.75 out of 5 stars.
I liked it, too young to understand and analyze every single theme but it was good, also why was Selena’s hair pink
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the fourth issue because I felt like everything felt rushed at the end, but overall it was a great story with really interesting art design!