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Sep 10, 2011

Stephen rated it:

........................ FIRST A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON................

................BEFORE "The Dark Knight Returns".............................

HOLY ASSCLOWNS BATMAN

and don’t forget (though I know you WANT TO)

UHH, UMM....I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO THIS AS IT IS JUST TOO PAINFUL....WAITER....CHECK PLEASE!!!!
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BUT THANKFULLY........
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.....................AFTER "The More...

21 comments like (56 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2010

Buck rated it:

Call it art if you want to, but at the end of the day it’s still a dopey comic book about a guy in a form-fitting outfit who runs around beating people up. Am I missing something?

But really, I’m just mad at myself for giving four stars to Batman: Year One the other day, apparently during a manic episode. So I’m downgrading this bad boy. Year One has the stronger artwork anyway, and its ectomorphic Batman is drawn on a more human scale, with some of the ludicrous pathos of a young More...

36 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Missy rated it:

When I was young, I was the dutiful Good Daughter. No smoking, no drinking, no sex, good grades. Comic books were frowned upon in my household, but I read them anyway, in a rare burst of defiance. X-Men, to be precise, because, OMG, Jean Grey was smart AND had both Scott Summers and Wolverine in love with her. Batman was a joke back then, thanks to that moronic TV show. But Batman, the real Dark Knight, wasn't a joke--if Superman is who America yearns to be; Batman is who we're afraid we are.
More...

3 comments like (20 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2010

Mykle rated it:

(UPDATE: just to be pedantic ... reading the other reviews, I've come to realize that people use "The Dark Knight" as a nickname for any old Batman these days -- like calling Satan "Old St. Nick," or George Bush "Dubya". So to whomever may have said "Frank Miller isn't my favorite Dark Knight writer" I'd just like to point out that FRANK MILLER INVENTED THE DARK KNIGHT! If there's any earlier use of that phrase in history, I'm bat-ignorant. Back in the More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Jul 14, 2008

Heather rated it:

I know I'm alone in this, but I didn't really like The Dark Knight Returns. I struggled with the story structure -- all the perspective switching left me frequently scratching my head to figure out who was speaking, where we were, and what the Heck was happening. I was confused by some characters (the guy with the freaky flying baby bombs?). I was bothered that there was no discussion of Ellen/Robin's family -- we have VERY little information on her or why she wants to join Bats, how she really More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2008

Evil_Dead_Junkie rated it:

Oh Frank Miller you might now be a batshit looney whose books are entertaining only because of how unbelievably stupid and gonzo they are. But once you where golden.

Nobody writes the apocalypse better then Frank Miller, he captures a horrifying feel as society destroys itself with a mix of apathy, anarchy, and entropy which no one can or even cares to stop. Ronin, Martha Washington, and Sin City all capture this elusive, terrifying, and strangely beautiful tone. But DKR did it the More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 18, 2008

Katie rated it:

I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I know that this is one case where there must be something wrong with *me* and not with the book, because it's been lauded as one of the greatest graphic novels in superhero history, and I thought it sucked.

The story is very difficult to follow - and this coming from someone who is well-versed in Batman lore, and who is used to the comic book medium for storytelling. Poor writing.

The pictures are sometimes difficult to interpret - it's hard More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2008

Amie rated it:

I can't really see why this is considered one of the best Batman stories ever. There's nothing here that really makes it special. It has a slow-moving, weak plot and less than stellar artwork. There is too much word repetition - you already said that 10 pages back, I did not forget already. Along with the stupid repetition are phrases which make absolutely no sense whatsoever. I guess it was an attempt at future slang, but it failed miserably. "Balls rad"? What the HELL does that even More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2008

Kevin rated it:

For 30 straight years, the Batman has battled the enemies of Gotham City. For the next 10 years, Bruce Wayne, the Batman’s alter ego, has watched from the sidelines as he struggles to enjoy his “retirement” and purge himself of the guilt he feels over all that he had to sacrifice to clean up Gotham. Now, with Commissioner Gordon on the verge of retirement, Harvey Dent (AKA Two Face) about to be released from Arkham Asylum, and the Joker ready to explode at any moment, Wayne feels himself being d More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2008

Hillary rated it:

Oh my lord. What I learned is that Frank Miller is an effing nutjob. I should have learned that earlier, and it doesn't mean he's not talented or that this isn't a good book, but there is something quite messed up in his head. The art is a bit lumpy throughout and just sort of not clean enough, and it feels like there are panels missing that could provide a little more exposition (thank god for the script of the last issue that's provided at the end of this edition, or I would have definitely mi More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2007

Michael rated it:

Completely revitalized the genre, yes. Superman as fascist enforcer for Reagan, amazing. Batman vs. Superman in an actually conceivable battle, makes the 14 year old in me jump for joy while the adult goes "oh CRAP!"

But I just can't stop being creeped out by Frank Miller and his moral universe, which seems to think psychotic vigilantism is actually pretty okay compared to the Evil Namby Pamby Liberals who Don't Mind Letting Psychos Chop Good Citizens To Pieces. Somehow I re More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2008

Tony rated it:

I originally read the comics when they were released in 1985, and they were a ground breaking piece of work. Taking place during the Reagan era, all the heroes have been driven into retirement, some by force. No one has seen Batman for a decade, till he mysteriously returns.
Brilliantly written, Frank Miller questions not only what it means to be a hero, but also what price we are willing to pay for our own security. It also asks the question, what woul we as people think, if we knew t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 17, 2011

Shannon rated it:

This is a totally different spin on Batman.

Don't expect it to be like the old cartoons.

Definitely not like the Adam West Batman from the 60s.

Not the Justice League of America.

Batman and Superman are hardly on speaking terms. The governments have passed laws against vigilante super heroes so most of them are in prison or banished, or, like Superman, secretly working for the government.

Batman, after a series of traumatic incidents, h More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2011

Reformed added it

I had never read a single thing by Frank Miller before picking up this graphic novel. After reading this, however, I immediately found the sequel and devoured it as well.

There's something about the way that Frank Miller tells this story that sucks you in from the very beginning and won't let go. Straight from the introduction you get the feeling that this comic is his tribute to someone that has had an incredible overwhelming influence on his life.

I loved the fact that More...

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Dec 31, 2008

Andrew rated it:

I know a lot of people crap on Frank Miller. And I'm not really sure why. I mean, yeah, his art isn't that sophisticated nor is his writing really. But he gives Batman, Marv, Dwight, whoever he is writing for a more of a brutish, hard boiled, blue collar appeal. Which sometimes, after seeing Batman jump around like an acrobat and battle tigers and whatnot for so long, we need to see him return to a more solid root of being that noir, haunted character we know him as. The writing for this, with t More...

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Jan 20, 2012

Deacon rated it:

There comes a point in a creator's lineage of work, where you find sympathetic resonance, or not. You pass a point of relevance where you recognize the Quality of a work, as Pirsig might imply, and the Quality forces a response. And in that moment you know if a work is good for you, or not. It is an endless argument, whether a work is "good" or "not good", but bottom line- you literally resonate at a different frequency when you find a deserving work. That moment, that point More...

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Dec 13, 2011

Brian rated it:

This is the one that changed everything. One can easily divide the history of comic books into Before DKR and After DKR. In Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller tells a very dark, gritty story of a urban world gone mad. Years after Batman has retired, Gotham City has fallen into decay. An aging Bruce Wayne dons the costume again, but this time as a slower, more vulnerable hero.
Written in 1986, The Dark Knight Returns explores a dystopian future where out-of-control media rules the airwa More...

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Nov 04, 2011

Zohar - ManOfLaBook.com rated it:

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller is a graphic novel originally published in 1986. The graphic novel, written and drawn by Miller, was originally released in a four-issue limited series called Batman: The Dark Knight.

*** CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

Set in a dystopian future of Gotham City, The Dark Knight Returns opens a decade after the last sighting of Batman and the American President (which bears a striking resemblance to then President Ronald Reagan) st More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2011

Brandy rated it:

Batman hung up his cape 10 years ago. Since he's been in retirement, Gotham City has been run into the ground, overrun with crime and corruption. Bruce Wayne is stuck in his past, reliving the night of his parents' murder over and over. With Gotham falling apart around him and his mental state falling apart within, he comes out of retirement, determined to clean the city and cleanse his troubled mind. Unfortunately for him, he's been away from crime-fighting for ten years--and his body is a deca More...

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Oct 19, 2011

Maximillian rated it:

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Oct 11, 2011

Max rated it:

Like Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns is about a superhero who comes out of "retirement". Unlike Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns does not explore the poignant emotional side of being a middle-aged has-been. Frank Miller's Bruce Wayne returns to fighting crime with all the strength, single-minded determination, and emotional burden of a PCP freak.

I feel that this is indicative of the larger problems with The Dark Knight Returns, the most important of which being that it e More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 08, 2011

Upom rated it:

Though it has been claimed to be one of the best graphic novels ever published, I really couldn't get into it. It has its strong points. Miller brings Batman back in middle age with a more gritty feel. His characterization of Batman as a sadistic fascist makes one wonder if it's a good idea to root for the caped crusader. Also, a world rotten not only in domestic crime, but in media and politics shows that it may not be possible for batman to fix this world with anything less than an army. At th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 25, 2011

Matthew rated it:

A decade ago, Batman disappeared and left Gotham City to fend for itself. Bruce Wayne, the billionaire behind the mask, has grown old while he's watched Gotham become more controlled by criminals and the vicious Mutant gang. Now though he has returned and nothing will ever be the same. So begins The Dark Knight Returns, the 1986 story that saw writer/artist Frank Miller reinvent Batman in a fine tale of one man's battle against both a city and world on the brink of destruction.

It al More...

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Jun 11, 2011

JAK rated it:

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May 07, 2011

Justin rated it:

I peeked through some of the reviews and have to wonder if this one hasn't aged too well. In the late 90's I was toying with the idea of getting back into comics and a friend brought me a small box containing his favorite graphic novels to see if they could rekindle my interest, Batman:the Dark Knight Returns was among them. I can see where people's frustration with this book is coming from; for a book that's considered a "a classic of comic book literature" it does seem to fall short. More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Oglaigh na rated it:

Enter the Dark Knight !! Ok here is the set up,...bruce wayne is old. His body is twisted and hulking from steroids,...he is alone on a rainy night pondering the past ,....half in the bottle !! Now the megaton bomb ,... street punks surround him which in turn cause him to mentally break. Oh yes there is no tying up criminals,...there is no regret , no remorse, and if your f'ing with gothem he will not stop until your DEAD !! so what if I stole it from the terminator,....this rocked !!!! This tw More...

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Apr 09, 2011

Aaron rated it:

Many claim that this is one of the graphic novels/comic book series that really changed the way superheroes are portrayed in the media. Batman has always been one of the darkest of the heroes presented by DC Comics, which is probably not all that surprising when you consider that he is inspired by the murder of his parents and the fact that he flirts with vigilante-ism and the darker side. That becomes quite evident as this story progresses.

This one is set in the "future." Batman re More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 25, 2011

Marsha rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 24, 2011

Karly rated it:

What to say about Frank Miller's Batman? Well, the biggest problem with it is that it is, in fact, Frank Miller's Batman. He's an unrecognizable interpretation of the Caped Crusader that is strictly Miller's. He's not brooding, noble, or empathetic. He's... Frank Miller's Batman. He's a little dark, a little noir, a little philosophical. But mostly, he likes to inflict damage. So much damage, as graphic as page can get, without letting the Dark Knight ever break his one rule.

Still, More...

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Feb 06, 2011

Myles rated it:

I had my doubts coming into this, not being a real fan of Miller's work in 300 and the few Sin City comics I had read becoming less interesting as I thought more about them, but with The Dark Knight Returns Miller has brought Batman to its fullest dark potential.

Set in a vague near-future (on Earth-31 for those of you who keep track of that thing), Batman retired ten years before after the death of Jason, the second Robin. The other superheroes, with the exception of Superman, have ret More...

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