The Dark Knight Returned, But Was He Batman? Part One

Batman: The Dark Knight (March 1986)

"The Dark Knight Returns"

Frank Miller-Miller/Klaus Janson

Doug: "It Had to Happen!" "Because You Demanded It!" Get set to have your senses shattered and your minds blown as Karen and I begin a four-part discussion of Frank Miller's magnum opus, The Dark Knight. When we were discussing whether or not we'd like to commit to a series of partner reviews once January gave way to February, I suggested this series. Karen hesitated, thinking we'd already reviewed it. We have certainly spent a fair amount of time on this series in various posts and even more conversations -- near as I can tell, there have been over a dozen posts in our history dedicated specifically to some aspect of this graphic novel. But no -- we've never actually given it the BAB partner review treatment. That ends now.

Doug: One of the pledges we made to each other when we cut the deal to do this was that neither of us would be writing any sort of exhaustive plot summaries. Each volume in this series is 48 pages long -- sorry, I don't want to have to summarize that much text and to be honest, who hasn't read this? *note the sorry fellow there in the back with his hand sheepishly positioned near his ear* So what we are going to do is break this thing down into particular themes, scenes, and general impressions. We hope that you'll feel like you're eavesdropping on a couple of consumers at the comic shop racks. And once you join in, that aisle could become a little crowded!

Doug: Below is a page of publicity from DC Comics released in anticipation of what many now consider Frank Miller's masterpiece. Read what Dick Giordano had to say about The Dark Knight:

Scan courtesy of Greg A (@garaujo1) via Twitter. Thanks, Greg!

 

Doug: Let's begin by talking about the Batman and the basic premise of the story. It's somewhat of a psychological/sociological mashup, in that an aging Bruce Wayne, retired from crime fighting for the better part of a decade, has watched his city crumble around him. He satisfies his urge for action by driving race cars. The Batcave has long ago been shuttered. Bruce Wayne is restless as the Gotham City Police Department struggles to maintain any semblance of order in the face of the rising threat of the Mutants street gang. Frank Miller crafts several young/old dichotomies with his plots and subplots: Batman and the Mutants, Commissioner James Gordon and his coming retirement (to be replaced by a woman decades his younger), the new Robin and history. I liked all of this conflict. From the time I first read this I thought Miller had a good handle on these basic antagonisms for the leads of his subplots. Seen as an Elseworlds-type of story, Miller crafted a wonderfully dysfunctional Gotham, really one that would come to life in Tim Burton's 1989 film, Batman.

Karen: When Doug approached me about reviewing this series, my chief concern was being able to separate the work from the influence it has had on comics in the years since it premiered. As he says above, taken as a one-shot, Elseworlds sort of story, it is just fine. But it proved so popular that it became the template for not only Batman but comics in general. Personally I felt it that while the story itself had its merits, the impact it had on comics as a whole was terrible. It continues to this day - one has only to see the commercials for the Batman v. Superman film to see that. So I have very mixed feelings about The Dark Knight but will try to look at the material only for this commentary.

Karen: It's difficult to imagine the Batman ever retiring. One aspect I liked about this story was the fact that we are dealing with an older Batman who has physical limitations. Unlike so many heroes, Batman is truly just a man -yes, he's brilliant, an expert martial artist, rich, but he's still only human and his body has taken a huge amount of abuse. Returning to the role of the Batman at his age is not easy. We also see that being Batman is like an addiction for him: he's fought it, buried it as much as he can, and used other diversions to distract himself from his craving, but eventually, he gives in. 

Doug: We've both hit on Batman's age. Having just read the entire mini-series, it seemed to me (unless I totally missed it along the way) that Miller was all over the place on Batman's "current" age. It seemed I was asked to do a little math in the first issue and came up with an age of 50. Later on, I was leaning heavily toward 60. And if I'm not mistaken the number "55" was finally announced in the fourth issue. I can deal with either of the last two age suggestions; 50 seemed too young to me for this story. Maybe that's because I'm almost there? I did think it was interesting that Miller/Janson aged Bruce Wayne's face as the story wore on.

Karen: Despite Gordon's dedication and skill, Gotham City is still a cesspool. What does that say about him? And the attempt to rehabilitate Harvey Dent was a failure. Gotham feels like a little pocket of Hell, but Batman continues to try to save it.

Doug: Miller returned to the "Gotham City as cesspool" theme in Batman: Year One as well. I really enjoyed this grizzled old Gordon. He was obviously worn out, a man looking 20 years older than the 69 that he was. Whereas Gordon was still in the fight, it was obvious that he was ready to throw his hands up. But we know he welcomed the return of the Batman. So a couple of questions for you: First, what did you think of the cryptic manner in which all of the super-powered types disappeared, and then second, did you like or dislike the ambiguity of "what happened to Jason"?

Karen: At the time, the mystery of what had happened was very intriguing. Obviously, nothing good had happened in the  preceding years! Reading this as a 22 year old, none of the pessimism about the future really got to me, but I find it hard going now. What does it say? Our childhood heroes couldn't make things right. It is just so damned bleak.

Doug: I guess on my first read, and it's difficult to remember, I saw some of Miller's politics across the story. Here's a bit of irony for you: When this came out I was a sophomore at Eureka College, alma mater of Ronald Reagan. To attend that school while he was in the White House was an experience that had a little good and a little bad, as you might imagine. Anyway, upon leaving high school I suppose if I had a political worldview I would have been characterized as "moderate". However, the friends I soon began to run in college with were pretty left-leaning. So there I was at the school associated with Reagan, yet interested in the political ideas of Illinois Senator Paul Simon (for one). But I have to tell you -- when I read this first issue of Dark Knight, I rooted for this aging Right-winger Bruce Wayne! But if you think of the Left's view of the Reagan years, many of the themes present in Dark Knight were social concerns of the day. Miller chose to portray those issues as solvable by force. Hmmm... not unlike some of those criticisms of the Reagan administration.

Karen: And yet... Batman, when he shows up, is wearing that bright blue cape. For some reason that really struck me this time around. Now he soon winds up in a dark grey and black outfit, but here, as he makes his return to the city in a night of sheer, in-your-face domination of Gotham's criminal element, he could easily be a humongous version of Adam West.  

Doug: The splash where Batman first appears in the traditional colors is one of my favorite panels in the series. It's just so powerful, and a real "Oh, yeah!" moment for the reader as the suspense has built.

Doug: Let's talk about the panel layouts. What did you think of telling the story through a series of small panels emulating television screens? I liked it. I think by the mid-'80s we were becoming so inundated with media coverage and the dawn of media "stars" (beyond the journalists of previous decades, who had their start in radio and/or in TV's infancy) across the many cable channels that became available. It made sense to use the storytelling itself as a form of commentary for Miller. Interesting that Miller chose Lana Lang for a mouthpiece rather than, say, Vicki Vale. I'd also pick your brain on the aforementioned Harvey Dent and his "curing" by Dr. Bartholomew Wolper. Did you like this element of the greater story? I thought the addition of a psychiatrist who can rehabilitate the "un-rehabilitatable" served as an interesting consideration opposite the Batman's increasing presence in Gotham City.

Karen: One thing I did notice regarding layout was the small panel size. By and large, pages are laid out on a tight grid of about 16 panels. Now when Batman is in action, that changes, but otherwise there is a sort of staccato rhythm to the art due to this layout. The TV screens -was this a new idea? So hard to recall now! It seems reasonable -- obviously, Miller had a lot to say about the media, and it's not good! I know we had some discussion about the media here on the blog recently, and it wasn't favorable. Our news programs are full of 'personalities' and a lot of fluff, and it had its beginnings in that era. I don't have any real problems with that. It's Miller's contempt for psychiatry that  I do take issue with, as I think the practitioners of psychology and psychiatry can provide valuable help to some people. Are you going to be able to rehabilitate, or save, everyone? No, I don't think so. But we have to try. I think the effort is as important as the result. Back in the 80s, everyone was so concerned about being "soft" on crime, that we often got reactions that went too far in the other direction. You could make the argument that in some areas, that never stopped,  but this is a comic review and not a political forum, so let's move on. I will say that the politics of TDKR bother me much more now than when I first read it. When I was younger, I could enjoy it as over the top satire, like Robocop. But with all the years between, it becomes less humorous to me.

Doug: Across this nation we see the results of inadequate care for the mentally ill. Perhaps Miller was harping on that. Or, maybe he wanted to use both Two-Face and the Joker as counter-weights to the Batman's terminal obsessions. Either way, they were interesting elements to the story that proved thought-provoking throughout. You know, in the end if you wrap in Superman and even Green Arrow, no one really changes from how they begin this tale. Maybe that's part of Miller's statement.

Doug: Of course we're not going to leave today's post without any discussion of the new Robin, Carrie Kelly. We only just meet her in this first issue; in fact, I'm not even sure I knew she was going to become the new Robin. It's hard to remember the publicity of the story ahead of it's release -- mostly I remember wire service stories telling of the basic premise of an aging Batman and so on.

Karen: I've never had much of an opinion on her, one way or the other. I've heard that it was John Byrne who insisted that this new Robin be a girl. That's intriguing. She's got spunk, which is nice. And she does what Robin should do -she helps keep Batman human.

Doug: Do you have a favorite scene in this issue? The one I distinctly recall having an "Oh, maaaaaaan..." reaction to is on page 39, where the Batman lay in wait under some stairs for a descending thug. Miller makes it quite clear that this is not the Silver Age Batman, but one that hearkens back to the 1930s roots. "The other... hurts." Indeed.

 

Karen: That full page shot of Batman in his blue and grey outfit is still stunning to me.

 

Doug: Wrapping up today's installment, I wanted to discuss the art and coloring. I've gone on record a few times as saying that I feel Miller's art devolved throughout this series. But after having re-read the entire graphic novel recently I think I'd come off that complaint. Overall Miller delivered the goods throughout the series. Sure, it's a little inconsistent here and there, but I almost feel now like that's a storytelling device in and of itself. When Batman's down, Miller draws him very big and heavy, really sketchy. But when Batman's strong and in control, it's seems he's drawn in a more toned fashion, tighter. The art in this first issue is magnificent, and Klaus Janson's inks really let Miller's pencils do the talking. Miller's wife, Lynn Varley, completes the package with excellent colors throughout. This first issue is a sight, yes it is.