The Dark Knight Returns

Recently started reading this; I can see why so many people praise this graphic novel. I'm thinking about picking up Year One after this; any other recommendations are welcome. So, who else has read this/is reading this?

I read Dark Knight Returns and to be honest I wasn't the hugest fan of it. I liked it well enough, but it isn't my favourite Batman story.

Year One is really good though, I definitely recommend that. And if you want more Batman stuff, I'm a big fan of The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, The Killing Joke and Hush.

Hell yeah. DKR got me into reading Batman and pretty much started my path through all the stuff Nolan mentioned. Then I found my way to the Dark Knight Strikes Again, and even if it wasn't the most satisfying of reads, it was interesting to see where Miller went with it.

Anyone who loves DKR has to check out this short clip from TAS: Click Now.
This would be a perfect as an animated film. Just bring Michael Ironside back as Batman and all will be awesome.

Originally Posted by nolan

I read Dark Knight Returns and to be honest I wasn't the hugest fan of it. I liked it well enough, but it isn't my favourite Batman story.

Year One is really good though, I definitely recommend that. And if you want more Batman stuff, I'm a big fan of The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, The Killing Joke and Hush.

The feeling is the same. The art style, I didn't like. I also felt quality began to decline when Superman fights Batman (which made me go "What?")

I love Hush also.

I just finished it; I really liked DKR. With that said, the only real complaint I have about it was the ending battle; the "Batman vs. Superman" subplot really didn't tie well enough in to the overall story, and I think it would've been better for the story not to end on that note, but whatever. It's only a minor problem.

I've already read The Long Halloween; I've picked up Year One. Starting on that one.

Much like my view on Watchmen, I appreciate that it popularized the genre, but I don't see where all of the love comes from for it.

It's dark and gritty, but it feels way too over-the-top to be considered a truly great Batman tale. Stuff like the battle with Superman, the whole Joker incident (bigtime WTF? moment, and not a good one), the terrible use of Green Arrow etc. almost seems, no pun intended, way too comic for a Batman story which usually thrills you with the mental aspect of Gotham and its inhabitants.

Personally, I feel there's better Batman graphic novels out there, between The Killing Joke, Year One, Arkham Asylum, Gothic, Blind Justice and the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale trilogy of The Long Halloween, Haunted Knight and Dark Victory.

Originally Posted by Jeff

and the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale trilogy of The Long Halloween, Haunted Knight and Dark Victory.

Plus Catwoman: When in Rome for funsies.

Oh for the days when Jeph Loeb didn't destroy everything he touched.

For a comic newbie like me, what Batman story would you recommend I read first?

I think the plot of DKR got weird by the end, but when I finished the sequel, I was still confused as hell.
btw, you should read A Death in the Family too. It's a perfect Joker story that really makes you think. Makes you appreciate Dick Grayson more, especially with what he's doing in the comics now.
Dick's finally taken up the Bat cowl Though I still can't figure out how or if Bruce really died after Batman RIP, I haven't got the chance to read Final Crisis

Oh God, Dark Knight returns is one of the most kickass graphic novels ever.

Please don't associate that hellspawn of a sequel with it though. It ended perfectly fine as it was.
Also the new Joker GN is by Brian Azzarello is superb. A great buy.

Superman getting the best beating his lamesuperself had ever taken is one of the most entertaining scenes ever.

Originally Posted by Darth_Phoenix

Dick's finally taken up the Bat cowl Though I still can't figure out how or if Bruce really died after Batman RIP, I haven't got the chance to read Final Crisis

Sort of. More permanent than 'fell down a cliff', but less permanent than 'died of old age'. Darkseid hit him with the Omega Sanction, sending his consciousness bouncing through time and space and leaving his body behind as a smoldering corpse. So his MIND is still out there somewhere, but his body's deader than disco.

If that makes sense.

Originally Posted by Stampertje

Superman getting the best beating his lamesuperself had ever taken is one of the most entertaining scenes ever.

Hehehehe

The whole Battle of the Cowl was executed horribly. Thank go for Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin though.

Yeah, despite DC constantly telling us that the end result wouldn't be what fans thought, it turned out to be exactly what we all expected. As you said, though, this new Batman and Robin series is great, while both the regular Batman and Detective Comics series are going through solid runs at the moment. I'm currently only buying Confidential, and strictly for this Tsar arc. I'll be jumping onto Batman and Robin for good starting next month.

Originally posted by Dread
For a comic newbie like me, what Batman story would you recommend I read first?

You can really start with just about any that aren't directly related with the longtime ongoing series, as long as you have basic knowledge of Gotham and some of the characters. Batman has had so many different spinoffs, restarts, remakes etc. That there's no complete timeline or anything.

If you want my advice, start with either The Long Halloween or Haunted Knight. They were the first two Batman graphic novels I read and I understood what was going on in them just fine. And like most of the big stories, they're stand alone.

Batman and Robin? Is that the All-Star thing I've heard about?

Originally Posted by Evilsbane

Sort of. More permanent than 'fell down a cliff', but less permanent than 'died of old age'. Darkseid hit him with the Omega Sanction, sending his consciousness bouncing through time and space and leaving his body behind as a smoldering corpse. So his MIND is still out there somewhere, but his body's deader than disco.0
If that makes sense.
Hehehehe

No that made no sense. I really got to figure out how to get a hold of more of the recent series that've been out. Including the whole thing with Superman disappearing or whatever .

I read TDKR some time last summer and I thought it was pretty solid. The dark gritty images Frank Miller gave Batman is utterly perfect, and really is what set off the dark vibe in the Batman series forever.

Although my favorite part was the interpretation of Supereman. Even today, Superman is supposed to be the "perfect" hero in every way, but this just took Supes in a whole new direction. I won't go into details why, but for those who have read, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

Originally Posted by Stampertje

The whole Battle of the Cowl was executed horribly. Thank go for Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin though.

I read Batman and Robin #2 today; it was pretty entertaining. This new series looks promising. : )