Batman The Dark Knight Saga Deluxe Edition Review

Dark Knight and Day

♦ Since the end of 2015 saw the release of the first issue of DKIII: The Master Race and next year is the 30th anniversary of Dark Knight Returns, DC obviously thought it made sense to stick Dark Knight Returns and Dark Knight Strikes Again in a single hardcover edition…

The problem here is one that many people have been aware of since Dark Knight Strikes Again was released in 2001. There is an analogy here between Miller’s Dark Knight Batman stories and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather movies. The Godfather 1 and The Godfather 2 were brilliant works of cinema whereas The Godfather Part III, released in 1990, was a messy retread of its progenitors. Let’s start with Dark Knight Returns here. Miller had come off a well-regarded run on Marvel’s Daredevil and his creator-owned series Ronin showed that he was able to bring a lot of refreshingly different influences to bear on his work. So reteaming with his collaborator Klaus Janson on DKR was a stroke of genius as Janson adds a layer of dynamism to Miller’s pencils. Batman here is a much older man who is forced to come out of retirement when Gotham is riven by gang violence caused by the psychotic mutants and the police can’t cope. On top of that, his old adversary The Joker has been released from Arkham intent on creating havoc in a city that’s already under siege. It is a tale that has been much parodied since but there is no denying the power and impact of Miller and Janson assisted by the colours of Lynn Varley. Miller understands the importance of pacing and splash pages are used here for very intentional story beat purposes. His Batman is an elderly man who has been reinvigorated by returning to his raison d’être, protecting Gotham as Batman. We have a new Robin, young girl Carrie Kelly, who is a Robin with a difference. Miller and Janson’s portrayal of The Joker and Two Face as degraded and past their best is a stroke of genius. Dark Knight Returns is still a brilliantly realised Batman tale produced by two creators at the top of their game.

Now we come onto Dark Knight Strikes Again. Klaus Janson has gone and only Lynn Varley remains from Dark Knight Returns. It had been fifteen years since Miller created Dark Knight Returns and artists change and evolve during their career. However, without Janson to rein him in, Miller’s art is ugly and cumbersome. Figures are badly drawn, page composition goes out the window and Varley’s garish colour palette doesn’t help proceedings. The story doesn’t help matters either. The plot of DKR was tight and well-constructed but Dark Knight Strikes Again is all over the place. Batman goes up against his old Robin, Dick Grayson, who has been genetically altered to look like The Joker while assisted by a group of Batboys, young men who made up the Mutants gang in the first series. Miller has also inserted Lex Luthor as one of the main villains here and there are also cameos from the likes of Green Arrow and The Question. There is the odd flash of the old Miller but mostly it is a series of ugly grotesques. So like Coppola, Miller didn’t understand that less is more and without Janson to improve his pencils, his work is often unreadable here.

So there you have it. Two Frank Miller Dark Knight stories together in one volume. One is a work of timeless genius while the other is a disaster. Let’s see if DKIII can help to remind people what Miller once was.

JOEL MEADOWS

Batman: The Dark Knight Saga Deluxe Edition

Writer: Frank Miller, Artists: Frank Miller & Klaus Janson

Colourist: Lynn Varley Letterers: John Costanza, Todd Klein

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Deluxe Edition HC