Story of a Legend

"Batman: The Dark Night Returns" is the trade paperback collection of the four issue miniseries of the same name. Story by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley, published by DC Comics.

This is the comic book miniseries that revived the BATMAN franchise and marked a new era for comic books in general and DC Comics in particular. While this ISN'T the first of its kind, it is the first series that drew in a large audience that waited breathlessly for each issue to appear. The reason for this is quite simple: stunning graphics, an excellent story line and a compelling look at how Batman and Gotham City ages. I recommend this collection to anyone who wants a visual feast and a deep, moving story line about heroes being left behind by society.

The setting is Gotham City many decades after Bruce Wayne gave up being the Batman. From urban legend to nearly forgotten by the younger generation, the Batman is now a myth that few believe in anymore. Bruce Wayne, moved by the death of Jason Todd who was Robin after Richard Grayson, gave up the cape and cowl to lead the life of a reclusive millionaire. And in his wake, and in that of other heroic figures who left the crime fighting scene, Gotham City has become rougher and meaner than ever. Although the old criminals have been locked up and have been under psychiatric care for all of these years, their minds are still twisted by their past efforts and ideas. The youngest generation of criminals are just mean, vicious and violent beyond all belief. And it only takes one incident with them on the street where his parents were killed to rekindle the flame of justice within the heart of Bruce Wayne.

With the release of Harvey Dent (TwoFace) and crimes in duplicate Mr. Wayne gives up on his solitude of isolation and returns to the solitude of the crime fighter at night. Batman returns to the disbelief of everyone who believed him dead. This Batman is much older and learns his limitations quickly as his aged body begins to betray him. That does not stop him and he uses his skill and street smarts to augment his waning physical powers to strike fear into the hearts of those who would terrorize the night. Although he is able to save Harvey's life, his mind is beyond fixing by anyone and the trail of bodies left behind thier battle is enough to give even the Batman a pause for reflection on what it means to be this mythic figure.

And that is just the first book of four! I'm not going to get into the twisting, turning plotlines that follow, but this first book was worth the price of admission all on its own. The background work where the psychiatrists use the media to propound the fact that Dent is cured and the Batman is nuts is priceless stuff. A crusader for the public good is lambasted while a deadly criminal is coddled on air by those who want to save face (pun intended) for their own failures. And the left/right political debaters on air would be funnier if they didn't strike so close to home. Everyone wants to use the return of the Batman for their own agenda and gone are the days of simply stopping criminals from killing people.

There is excellent work in foreshadowing the coming storm in Gotham City by having a storm move in after a heat wave. And that storm, being an elemental force, gives us a clue as to the long range plans of the story that will bring in one hero who is the unstoppable lightning to Batman's dark foreboding cloudiness. All of this is given to us via the artwork which is beyond belief! I cannot rate this book highly enough for the artwork, which has a strong blend of the comic tradition and the realistic view that would later show up in "Kingdom Come". From the hero to the news broadcaster, we know all of the people represented in this book by the way they look, act and talk. Read this book once to get the story and then go through it slowly, panel by panel and page by page and marvel at the artwork. These aren't the comics of the 1930's to 1970's, these are the gritty comics that changed how the graphic arts industry approached story telling through real art.

For other good trade paper back compilations of excellent comic book series check out "The Watchmen" and "Kingdom Come", both collections of longer mini-series and each impacting the DC Comic book universe but still approachable by all readers.