My introduction to “The Dark Knight Returns”

I RECALL the moment like it was yesterday. I was standing around “the quad” as they called the lunch and gathering area for the students at Thousand Oaks High School (CA) and a few of my friends mentioned something about this graphic novel called “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns”.  I remember the tremble in their voices as they went over a few of the scenes and were just so floored at the way Batman was being presented and of course his nemesis the Joker.  Although I had been reading comic books since about 1986, I was sticking with the oddball books, and Marvel comics of the time.  I was a fan of Spiderman and the X-Men but had not delved further into the DC side of things until that fateful moment which really in some respects changed my life.   After hearing their testimonial about how good this book was I knew my after school special was not going to be watching the drone of TV, nor was it going to be an afternoon heading over to the arcade (mind you this was 1989); no this time I was going to the comic book store with dedication in my step and a laser focus to go and find “The Dark Knight Returns”. 

I needed to find out first hand what made this book so special, what made these buddies of mine almost teetering on that brink of where passion for a character like Batman completely enraptured them.  WHY?  How could this be possible?  Could a comic book be emotional?  I picked up a few Batman titles over the years, or “floppies” (monthly books) as we called them; but the run-of-the-mill Detective Comics did not stick with me like this story.  Sure there were a few highlights over the years, but most of those were legacy books coming from the 1970s (Denny O’Neil / Neal Adams) version of Batman that I was fortunate enough to find in the back issue bins at the comic book shop.  I was in luck, my local shop had the graphic novel, one copy left!  I devoured the book during the weekend and honestly, it felt like a right of passage.  

Did I understand at the time every conceit, every layer of the plot, the depth to the material of what Frank Miller intended in his writing and artwork?  Of course not.  But what I did glean from this read was that the monument to the perfect Batman story had been attempted and by all accounts, it appeared that Frank Miller may have actually achieved it.  This book had grit, it had the gravitas one could only dream of as a comic book writer or for that matter a writer of any genre or medium.  This was a story that hit on all cylinders and I could not wait to be back in its fold.  So I read it again, and again, and again….decade after decade I would go back to the book and reap more about what made the work special, what makes the work relevant today, and what makes the work deeply important for tomorrow.  

Alex Gray

studiowestpictures.com

For the full story of Alex Gray’s introduction to Batman, check out his podcast blog page.

The Extras is an Amazon affiliate and by selecting these links you are supporting the podcast and website.  Thank you.

Batman images copyright DC Entertainment.