As Internet reviewer Linkara says… It’s Miller Time!!!!
As you can tell by the image and title, I’m going to be
talking about The Dark Knight Returns. It’s one of Frank Miller’s most known
works and it’s the story that redefined Batman for a long time. It seems like almost every Batman writer has been
influenced by TDKR. Nolan's last Batman movie was also influenced by this story.The story is written and penciled by Frank Miller. Klaus
Janson provides the inks for the miniseries. Lynn Varley provided the colors.
Since I’m looking at this story, I’ll also talk about the two-part animated
movie that Warner Bros. released last year.
Before I get too far in, here’s a little background with the
story and it all has to do with the public library. I first heard about the
story in a book called Tales of the Dark Knight, a book that talked about the
first 50 years of Batman. I then heard about it in Who Needs A Superhero?, a
Christian-themed book that linked Christian teachings to superheroes. I finally
got to read the story when I found out that my hometown’s public library added
graphic novels to their inventory. It’s now a part of my “little” collection of
trades. Here’s a quick lowdown of the whole thing.
The Dark Knight Returns
Writer/Penciller: Frank Miller
Inker: Klaus Janson
Colorist: Lynn Varley
SYNOPSIS
It’s been ten years since Batman has fought crime in Gotham
City. Also, most superheroes have given up since the government outlawed their
activities. We find an old Bruce Wayne trying to live life without the Batman.
After Jason Todd died, he gave it up. Because of the growing crime in the city
and his personal demons, Bruce dawns the cowl again in order bring order to a chaotic
city. He gets help from a really old Alfred and a retiring Commissioner Gordon.
He takes on the normal criminals, the gangs, and an old foe by the name of
Harvey Dent. After he takes down Dent,
he takes on the biggest threat to Gotham: the Mutant Gang.
Best splash page in the miniseries.
His return does a lot to Gotham City. Folk are questioning
if his return is a good thing or a bad thing for the city. It also makes a man
with a clownish personality wake from his hazed coma at Arkham Home (?). His
return also inspires teenager Carrie Kelley to become Robin. When Batman takes
on the Mutant Gang, he’s almost killed by their leader when Carrie comes to
help. After they escape, Batman takes her on as a ward. After a costume change
and some planning with Gordon, Batman takes on the Mutant Leader again and… you
know the rest. It’s Batman, remember? Some of the former gang members then
decide to become vigilantes inspired by Batman.
I think the comic did this better than the movie.
After Gordon retires, Ellen Yiddel is appointed as the new
commissioner. She issues out a warrant on Batman since vigilantism is frowned upon
these days. The US government also gets involved and sends their top man,
Superman, to make Bruce quit his mission. Meanwhile, the revitalized Joker
makes his plans to wreck havoc again in Gotham. He gets the chance to do that
during a taping of a talk show. As the show’s going on, Batman fights the GCPD.
Joker and Batman then cross paths at a carnival and end their feud in a pretty
brutal way. The cops show up and try to capture Batman again but Robin rescues
him via Bat-copter.
The real Knight Rider!
While Bruce is recuperating, the Soviet Union sends a
nuclear bomb towards an island that’s being fought for. Superman is able to
deflect it, but it still goes off in the atmosphere and its waves knock out all
the power in America. Bruce suits up and gets help from the Sons of the Batmen
to help Gotham through the chaos. The government then comes into Gotham a
couple of weeks later to take Batman out.
In order to get the government off his back, Batman fakes his death
during a fight with Superman. He also has Alfred (who dies afterwards) destroy
the Manor and the Batcave. The miniseries ends with Bruce, Robin, and other
followers setting up a new base of operations. Instead of taking the loud
approach, he’ll teach his followers how to fight crime silently.
OPINION
I haven’t read a lot of Batman stories, so I’m not going to
claim this as “The Greatest Batman Story Ever” like most folk do. Still, I
thought this was really good. While I do have a couple of qualms, this was a
good Batman story. I liked the characterizations for the most part. I liked
that we got to see Bruce really struggle for the most part. While it is absurd
to see a man in his 50’s play dress up, it’s pulled off well here. I also liked
his interaction with people like Gordon, Alfred, and Carrie Kelley. I also thought
Carrie was pretty cool for a female Robin.
I liked how the story flowed for the most part. Each of his
challenges gets bigger in each chapter. He went from facing random criminals in
the first chapter to facing the US government’s top weapon in the last chapter.
I do have to say that I enjoyed the first two chapters a little better than the
last two. The artwork and story really excelled in the first two parts. I also liked that we really get to see what
Batman’s influence is on Gotham through normal people and the media. I
especially like some of the satire with the media.
Oh Crap. He's back!
I don’t have too many issues with the story itself. I do
have to say that I don’t enjoy the latter two chapters of the story as much as
the first two. I think that has to do with the artwork in those chapters though. I
didn’t enjoy some of the political satire but it was funny to see Ronald Reagan
look kind of ridiculous. While I did like Carrie Kelley, there wasn’t much to
her backstory. We really didn’t know much about her. It’s also weird that
Batman would take on another teenage sidekick, but Batman is a weird one to
begin with.
Then, there’s Superman who’s pretty much a tool of the
government. I know some don’t like it and I’m not exactly a fan of it either.
Maybe I’ve gotten used to a Superman who’s usually getting into fights with the
military, I don’t know. It’s weird because he really doesn’t feel like Superman
here. That might had been the point all
along but who knows? I will say that he does kind of win in the end since
Batman does have to quiet his operations. I did like the fight at the end even
though it feels a little wrong.
The artwork was pretty good. This was before Miller’s
descent into the chicken scratch he’s done in recent years. As I said earlier, I
really liked the artwork in the first two chapters. The pencils, colors, and
inks combine for good artwork. The character designs looked good for
the most part. As for the negatives, I felt like the artwork went downhill in
the last two chapters. It wasn’t all bad, but something just felt off about it.
Maybe it started to feel too stylized, I don’t know. I think it started when
that chick with the painted swastikas on her breasts and butt showed up. I also
wasn’t a big fan of some character designs. My main ones were Selina’s and
Swastika Chick (Bruno). Other than those things, I did still enjoy the artwork.
THE DIRECT-TO-DVD MOVIES
Now, I’ll quickly talk about the two movies. I actually
bought the Blu-Ray that combined both movies into one whole thing. Basically,
the whole miniseries was adapted into these two movies. The story doesn’t
really deviate much from the source material. The stuff they do change or leave
out makes sense for the most part. The Superman/Batman fight at the end is also
made longer in the movie. I actually thought that fight got a little ridiculous
here, but that’s just me. The animation is also made to fit the artwork in the
mini-series. It’s pretty good overall.
Master Bruce, I'm sorry to bring this up, but I left it in the dryer again.
The voice acting is pretty good for the most part. Peter Weller (Robocop!!!!!) put in a good performance as
Bruce/Batman. He really felt like an old Batman. I especially liked the
voice-acting from Ariel Winter (Robin), David Shelby (Gordon), and Michael
Emerson (Ben Linus—I mean, Joker!). The only one I probably wasn’t feeling was
Mark Valley’s Superman. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t that good either. Man, Superman
doesn’t get a good showing in this story. Ah well, at least I have September.
Overall, the movies were pretty good for the most part. All of my opinions on
the story are pretty much the same here.
Ha. I'll admit this was kinda funny here and in the book.
Well, that’s all I got for this story. I do recommend both
the miniseries and the movies. I don’t know if the movies are the best of the
Batman animated movies, but they’re pretty close. Just know that these movies
are pretty violent, so I’d lead the kids towards something else. It looks like
next time will be the 1970’s. Peace, God Bless, and don’t live in Gotham.
NEXT TIME: THE 1970’S!
No comments:
Post a Comment