Rating:  -
Got this as a gift for Christmas. Had already read The Dark Knight Returns nearly 15 years ago and loved it. This edition is the way it was meant to be presented. The supplemental preliminary sketches and artwork is also an excellent addition. While Dark Knight Strikes again is a fun addition to the pack, Dark Knight Returns is BY FAR the better novel. Any fan of Batman should have this, and a MUST HAVE for collectors.
Rating: -
This visionary work of art is among the finest Batman stories I've ever read, and among the finest works of literature I've ever expeirienced. It's complex reflections on human nature, phscology, duality, what citizens owe to society and what it means to be a hero mixed with politics and social commentary make it ambitous, gripping, and meaningful.
Here, Miller virtually reinvents Batman for modern times, first in the 80s then in the 2000s, creating a masrvelous timpiece. The diolouge is beautiful, and the art and coloring unparralled.
Ultimately, I would reccommend this to anyone.
Rating: -
Pretty much the perfect presentation of one of the best Batman Stories ever told (The Dark Knight Returns), and one of the most controversial (Dark Knight Strikes Back!), with lots of extras like promo art and oversized so you can better appreciate the artwork.
My only complaint is it's too heavy to read comfortably when sitting on the can.
Rating:  -
I still remember with stunning clarity when Dark Knight burst (and it did burst, big and bloody) onto the comic book scene. I bought the original 4 issue Prestige Format mini-series, bought the soft-cover collection, bought the hard-cover (a rarity in those days), and was lucky enough to win a signed-and-number special edition of the hard-cover as well. Even had the poster.
That was the impact the series, and the vision of Frank Miller, had on me.
And I couldn't be more thrilled to finally own the Absolute Edition.
It should be noted that 2 very different stories are contained in this edition, the ground breaking Dark Knight Returns of the 1980s, and the more controversial Dark Knight Strikes again of the 2000s. My rating is actual 5 Stars for DKR (a rating I seldom, if ever, give to anything), and 3 for DKSA. This review will focus on the former rather than latter.
Story - The original series deals with Batman coming out of retirement to reclaim his place in legend and to deal with a world spiraling more and more out of control. This is one of the best stories I've read in any medium, with the plot and pacing working in perfect synchronicity with dialog that doesn't seem as much written as channeled. 20 years later, and the quotes still fill my thoughts. Miller fires on all cylinders here, in one stroke eradicating the plague-filled shadow of the Adam West Batman, and creating a vibrantly dark icon for the generation to come. Through the four chapters, we see the Dark Knight return to face an old nemesis in Two-Face, a new threat in the Mutant gang, the parallel return of the Joker, and a final showdown with Superman. It's a scary, almost fascist future, but Miller brilliantly counter-points it all with very human emotion.
Art - Dark Knight marks an artistic departure for Miller. Similar to the departure he took, also post Daredevil, in Ronin, this is not the typical 80s comic art. Miller's figures here are simplified but not simplistic, and have a very real sense of weight and space about them. While they may not be rendered as cleanly or perfectly, they tell the story with great success, and show Miller as a person still growing and experimenting as an artist, even as he hits the height of his skills. Klaus Jansen inks, and Lynn Varley provides what, at the time, were a whole new level of color and color-design to the work.
Bonus - Most Absolute Editions provide considerable bonus material, and this is no exception. Included here are the original outline for what became background material in Dark Knight, and the core of Batman Year One. Script pages and pencils are also shared, along with work for the many covers and even DC Direct toys.
All in all, one of the most important works of the latter 20th century is finally given the Absolute treatment is so richly deserves.
A must for any collection.
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