Guy at the shop made me rethink that whole Frank Miller Batman run

My buddy Derek pointed out how the Dark Knight Returns is basically just an old man yelling at clouds, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for three days. He said Mr. Miller wrote Batman as an angry boomer before boomers were even a thing. Has anyone else had a comic they loved look different after someone broke it down like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

anna_fox71mo ago

Derek's got a point there. The whole "I'm the goddamn Batman" vibe does feel pretty bitter and out of touch when you look back at it now. Used to think that run was the coolest thing ever, but now I can't unsee the old man screaming at clouds energy.

wendy_jackson28d ago

Oh man, thank you for saying this @anna_fox7 and @the_kevin. I remember when those issues hit and everyone was losing their minds over how "edgy" and "badass" it was. Now it just reads like a dude who's mad the neighborhood kids keep stepping on his lawn. The constant yelling at cops, the over the top narration, it's honestly kind of embarrassing. I used to defend it so hard back in the day but now I can't even get through a re-read without cringing. It's like Frank Miller forgot Batman is supposed to be smart, not just angry.

blake32228d ago

Wait, are you serious @wendy_jackson? I still see people online calling that run the greatest Batman story ever written, I had no idea the tide had turned that hard. The "old man screaming at clouds" comparison is brutal but it honestly fits way better than I want to admit. Gonna have to dig out my old trades and see if I can even finish a single issue now.

the_kevin1mo ago

@anna_fox7 nailed it, I used to worship that run but now I see the grumpy old man in the cape.