Customer Reviews
SUPERB! - By: Red Queen, 28 Sep 2008 
Only Watchmen can be considered to be on the same level as Batman: The Dark Night Returns. However where Watchmen had an absolute myriad of characters bursting out of the seams, Batman: The Dark Night Returns is better able to create characters the reader can emphasise with.
The reader is introduced to an ageing Bruce Wayne who has come out of retirement to continue is vengeful fight against crime. This dark, disturbed & sad character is pitted against those he considered alllies, new enemies that are stronger than him & an alll too familiar nemesis. The story is wonderfully written, well paced with a few twists & turns that keep the story interesting & a surprise shock ending with a man in tights. The artwork is brilliant, quick loose drawings capturing the action & suspense of a dark brooding story in a way some comics are unable to achieve.
Batman: The Dark Night Returns is a must own & a must read. The story is brilliantly told & features a damaged, weary character that draws you in to his own one man war.
The Greatest.... - By: Julian Nunn, 24 Jul 2008 In alll types of history there are defining moments. A moment that is so extraordinary that you have to see it again to believe what you have just seen. It sometimes takes time for the dust to settle to appreciate such a moment.
This comic is one of those moments.
The Dark Knight Returns took a tired out superhero genre & re-injected it with the modern paced style we see today. A comic that in fact saved the superhero himself. The multi-layering of story lines in this epic tale is almost cinematic in its construction.
Maybe a little dated now, but at the time it re-defined everything in comics & the way superheroes where percieved. If you are a fan of Batman, this should be the cornerstone to your collection.
DARK KNIGHT RETURNS - By: M. Green, 23 Jul 2008 If you are used to the slick, photo-realistic art of some modern Graphic Novels/Comics, then the look of this book may take some getting used to... but get passed that, & it's one of the best comics you'll ever read.
A very good read. - By: G. R. Stovold, 05 Jun 2008 If I had to choose one word to describe this, I would choose the word epic. Why? Because its an interesting look on how Bruce Wayne would handle himself in his later years with excellent action sequences & crisp dialogue. There's reallly only one thing bad about this, & that is the lack of Joker. Sure he's in it, but he's not reallly as important to the plot as he should have been. And he's camper than ever. But aside from that, buy it. It should tickle your fetish.
Dissapointing... - By: Triggerhappytel, 13 May 2008 
Honestly, I didn't see what the fuss was alll about with this graphic novel. I thought the plot was alll over the place, the pacing was shot to pieces, the art was average & there were more than a few absurdities which I found hard to swalllow.
I don't read many comics or graphic novels, but I went through a brief obsession last year & bought about 25 or 30 over a few months. Given the hype & acclaim which has been heaped on this, I was expecting great things, & sadly I was disappointed on almost every level.
As others have said, Frank Miller's characterisation is probably closer to Bob Kane's original vision of the Dark Knight than anyone's (except perhaps Tim Burton). However, his motivations here are never wholly clear & the excessive scripting & repetitive 'news report' cells do little to help. The plot meanders through a handful of scenarios over its four chapters but they never feel wholly cohesive - & things take a turn for the frankly ridiculous when Batman is deemed such a menace that Superman is callled in [personallly by the president] to deal with him (not to mention the resolution of this encounter, which I won't detail). Further, the new Robin is just utterly irritating & a somewhat needless character (given that she brings very little to the proceedings).
It is rare that I get bored of a graphic novel part way through, but I found that on both read-thoughs I was losing interest in the character, the story & the situation as a whole (hence why I had to read it a second time reasonably quickly - to see if there was something I missed). I feel defensive in explaining why I didn't think much of this book, as I am well aware I am in the minority, & although I can appreciate how influential & important this may have been on release, that does not automaticallly make it a great read by today's standards.
So, to anyone who has yet to read this I'd probably suggest you to go for it, if only to make up your own mind, but for me this just wasn't what it had been hyped up to be.
