When Frank Miller was asked to redo
Batman he could have done it a number of ways, but he knew he wanted to make
Batman as human and as mature as possible. In an interview with Comic Journal Miller said, “In think
that in order for [Batman] to work, he has to be certain ways is beyond good
and evil. It can’t be judged by the terms we use to descried something a man
would do because we can’t think of him as a man” (qtd. In Jameson). Frank
Miller knew Batman was not a black and white character, and his motives and
actions are not seen as equally justified from others. Miller conveys this
creatively by using brief television segments throughout the comic.
With the use of this Miller is able
to keep the reader informed about the current situation of Gotham, and allow
the people in Gotham to add their opinion about Batman. A perfect example of
this is on page 65 and 66 in which people are asked how the return of Batman
will impact the society. In one of the panels on page 66 Dr. Wolper says,
“Every anti-social act can be traced to irresponsible media input. Given this,
the presence of such an aberrant, violent force in the media can only lead to
anti-social programing” (Miller 66). Dr. Wolper is arguing that because the
news is advertising Batman’s actions, they are allowing it to influence the
minds of the community. This concept is further supported when the Joker finds
out Batman is still alive and relapses. This idea tears away the belief that
heroes always have a positive impact on the city, while doing so Miller creates
a serious question that creates a mature Batman. After all every hero needs its villains.
Flipping
through The Dark Knight Returns your
eyes will pleasantly shift away from the words and linger on the authentic art,
and the lush coloring (or lack of). This is a graphic novel after all. The art
style Miller went on is gruff. For a while it may seem displeasing to the eye,
but it serves a greater motive to the story.
At
the start of the novel you learn that Bruce Wayne has retired as Batman, due to
old age and the lost of a sidekick. Instead of going with bold clean lines
Miller needed to convey an old, broken, and used Bruce Wayne. This art style is
not only featured on Bruce, but on the whole city as well. A coloration of this
can be featured in another Batman graphic novel from Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. Year One features a young Bruce Wayne rising up to be Batman. The
illustrations, done by David Mazzucchelli, features clean bold lines that help
you distinguish the bold brave hearted hero from Miller’s old rugged hero.
With illustrations like this Frank
Miller is able to tell the Batman story he wants to tell, allowing the reader
separate the beginning from the ending.
One pet peeve about comics that annoyed Miller was how limited coloring
was in comics, and he knew there was so much more that can be done. After
realizing this Miller said he needed, “more time, better production, and near
absolute creative control (Jameson).” When it came to coloring Lynn Varley,
Miller’s colorist, looked at European comics for inspiration. In his dissection
of The Dark Knight Returns Jameson
states, “the superior paper and printing processes used for both Ronin and The Dark Knight Returns allowed Vaerley to
use gouache, employing a far subtler color palette than that seen in any other
mainstream American comic at the time” (Jameson). As color appears during the
course of the novel colors really do pop out as they flourish and dance around
your eye, forcing you to glance and stare at the eye-candy. Perhaps what is
interesting is the scale in which the amount of color appears throughout the
novel. At the start of the comic everything is black and white. Later in the
pages, colors start appearing more once Batman returns. As you go down further,
colors start to appear solid and brighter, especially during the Superman arc.
The final panel in the novel showcases a skin colored Bruce Wayne. In a way this
illustrates the happiness of Bruce Wayne.
At
the start of The Dark Knight Returns
Bruce Wayne is black and white, and he compares himself to a zombie as being a
dead and empty. Progressing through the novel you can slowly see Bruce Wayne
gain color, but he is only full when he appears as Batman. Bruce Wayne is not
complete without Batman, in other words. Even close to the end, when Bruce is
talking to Green Arrow on page 187, Bruce is not fully colored his skin still looks
dead. Until Bruce’s death is when we finally see a light colored happy Bruce
Wayne, as he realizes he crated a legacy.
From the start Frank Miller knew what he
wanted in his reinvention of Batman. He knew he need to input different aspects
from different cultures to create a unique Batman. Miller knew his demographic
when he said, “right now, the comic audience obviously consists of children and
adults who enjoy childlike entertainment” (qtd. In Jameson). Miller knew there
were older people reading comics and longing for a serious deep comic story.
Miller’s impact on the Batman franchise can been seen in the recent comics. He
created a role model for future generations to follow.
Jameson,
A.D. “Reading Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.” Big Other. Ed. John
Madera. 11 August 2011. Web. 13 June.
2014.
Miller,
Frank, writer. Batman: Year One.
Illus. David, Maxxucchelli. New York: DC Comics,
1986. Print.
Miller,
Frank. The Dark Knight Returns. New
York: DC Comics, 1986. Print.
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