Frankly Incredible :) - Rated 
Batman pops on the cape and comes out of retirement. He's older and wiser, but physically time has taken its toll. The challenges of the new criminal element force Batman to rethink his approach to crime fighting, or hang up his cape for good.
As a result we see a smarter, more ruthless crimefighter....and somehow although physically older, much more visceral. When you see the rematch with the mutant leader, you'll see what i mean.
Its an incredibly tale, told from a very human perspective. His triumph over other "superheroes" at the end of the novel is that much more compelling for it. He is after all a mortal human being, taking on the world - plus those beyond it. Motivated only by his belief in what is right.
One of the best graphic novels i have ever read.
Age has not been kind to our Dark Knight - Rated 
It must be said that I can't appreciate the impact that the Dark Knight Returns would have had at the time of being published - which I believe was huge. However, for this reader the artwork in The Dark Knight is far from appealing whilst the story is too long. It is not a book that I would look to read again or personally recommend. It has its moments but as a whole it was a big disappointment.
Batman's finest hour. Shame about the art - Rated
The story is Batman's finest hour. The victory at the end. The split Gotham city. The return of old enemies. The idea of what the world could come to, the presentation of the American president. Mankind's greatest asset is an alien and yet, a simple man shows the world the power to defend itself was always in it's hands.
The artwork is, simply awful. I personally can live with it, because the story is perhaps the most inspiring of all Batman's works, but had it been drawn by someone like Jim Lee in his 'HUSH' style, it would of been perfect.
Buy this book, with year one, dark victory, The killing joke, a death in the family and Hush, and you will know all you need to about batman. His transition from camp crusader to dark knight through these books correct batman's fundamental flaw in the 80's. But this was the book that showed the world just what he should be like, he's relentless, he's a genius, he's fear itself but he's human.
Must buy for those than can live with Miller's fairly awful art(Which he subsequently gave up on in year 1). I only hope that Bruce Wayne returns in the main series so this can be considered for all time, Batman's greatest and final hour.
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Batman - Rated 
The Dark Knight Returns was recommended to me by a friend who suggested that without it, there would be no cinema Batman as portrayed by Michael Keaton and Christian Bale (let's leave Val Kilmer and George Clooney aside!)
In it, Batman is ageing and bitter, and has suppressed the Dark Knight to live full time as Bruce Wayne. But looking around an increasingly liberal and permissive world, he finds that he cannot stand by and do nothing.
Batman is portrayed as the real man, for whom Wayne is a mask, and he is an unapologetic right-wing militant. Whilst I disagree with Miller's portrayal of a liberal world as an inherently wrong one, it is an exemplary study of what drives Bruce Wayne.
Renaissance - Rated
Storytelling was changed forever. The comic book lost its universal stigma. A symbol became a phenomenon. Revolution can take ages, but it takes its course quickly. It may eventually settle, but radicalism means nothing will ever be the same. The ground-breaking conglomeration of comic-book symbolism and contemporary cinematic perception refined a national myth and defined the DNA of modern sequential art. This is the mother-and-father of all graphic novel storytelling - a sinister cabal of superior storytelling. Frank Miller's operatic opus tells the tale of a tortured warrior in the twilight of retirement. Vengeance twists and turns in a crossroads as an urban legend rises in resurrection from the abyss of a burning city to save the people from the denizens he once swore to protect. Chaos is a spiral that is dark and relenting, and the lexicon of popular culture finds fate in interlaced seams that are both explosive and intimidating - a mythic rite of passage.
"Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" is a treasure trove groomed by historical significance. It was directly responsible for re-engaging Batman with the general public, and contributed, perhaps more than any other work, to renewing the character's personality - one that was made akin to the psychology of an insatiable lunatic. The inevitable result leaves a grim and gritty shellshock that is bittersweet in the mind.
The cement has dried on the origin story. It's universal, and was enshrined in literary stone from the very first issue. Batman's origin provides intrinsic motivation - one understands why he does what he does. The origin was left untouched, but Miller built on the essence of motivation and drove the character into a new direction of neo-noir audacity. Elements of self-doubt and personal vulnerability create a scintillating image for the character. Frank Miller decompressed Batman out of the complications of current continuity by making him an old man and using a decade of social unrest to justify donning cape and cowl again. He turned the protagonist into a definitive anti-hero - a lunatic who hid behind a mask to disguise the malign of childhood trauma. Frank Miller's Batman is a redux of the original inception - a nasty bully, a hero without morality, a freedom fighter devoid of humanity. The psychology of Batman's thinking and feelings was made more believable and is actually quite appealing throughout the graphic novel.
The Joker, equally, had his personality changed. His unfettered psychology was expanded by a seachange in his sexual mannerisms. Robin being a girl seemed more inevitable than imperative, yet Joker's homosexual behaviour buries him into a cavern of total mystery. The ironic coincidence comes courtesy of his death - in a tunnel of love carnival. Yet this is what empowers the graphic novel above its competition. Mature themes and complex allusions create the narrative backbone allowing Batman to take on the world.
We know that Miller's innovations were not solely limited to characterisation. Many of the pages were divided into multiple panels - it gave the impression of slow motion. Miller then contrasts many smaller frames against grand backdrops, showing Batman leaping or brooding over the cityscape. Grand montages of fast-paced events, through swift changing narration, alternate with snippets of the action being described. Another effect includes the heavy suspense that is built up by the appearance of characters who hide their appearances and actions in dark shadows. Miller employed visual kineticism, while at the same time psychological plotting to render a vicious presentation.
Overall, "DKR" is a product of its time and an undeniable asset to the progress and development of the contemporary American superhero comic book. If you're unfamiliar with it or have been turned off by a minority of its critics, ignore the useless trivia and grab it at every opportunity. If you've read it, maybe it is time for another read. "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" is a graphic novel that is popular by fandom and strengthened by time. Its success and enduring legacy shall continue.
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