Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns is a groundbreaking masterpiece; It singlehandedly revolutionized the public’s perception of the character, Batman, whilst also addressing a large variety of themes throughout the four books making up the comic. One of the most revolutionary factors of The Dark Knight Returns is the way Miller presents the Batman’s resurgence. Miller successfully creates a fresh take on the character of Batman by telling a story, not through panels upon panels of grandiose and outlandish action, fights, and battles, but through a focus on all the small details before and after the action. With this idea present throughout the entire comic, the story of Batman’s return is drawn out with more of a lasting impact; The comic provokes thoughts revolving around crime, politics, and vigilantism, which are highlighted without the use of mindless action. This idea is notably present in book one, on page 69. This page highlights the story surrounding the character Margaret Corcoran, who is assaulted by some mutants, resulting in her death. This one page story of a one-off character not only reflects Miller’s way of storytelling, but has many themes and ideas in itself. Miller’s heavy focus on details and themes which he presents is very clear through two primary means throughout the page: the narrative/plot and the stylistic choices in the art. (Miller 69) Miller’s storytelling has a unique narration and intricate writing, as well as a heavy impacting sense of pacing. Similarly his art style reinforces his idea through his symbolic choice of colours, the shapes of the panels, and the details within character’s faces. Let’s begin with the very first three panels on page 69, which serve to introduce the character of Margaret Corcoran, as well as the setting in which her story takes place. (Miller 69) Immediately, the colours used within these are stale and relatively monotone. There is a lack of details within the civilians’ faces, even that of Margaret’s on the second and third panel when it focuses in on her. In fact, there is more detail within the background, the scratched glass on the subway cart, and the graffiti on the walls. The writing not only introduces Margaret, but reveals her relatively flavourful back-story, describing her feelings towards her surgery and her miserable situation. Miller puts in the time her character despite killing her off and never mentioning her again throughout the rest of the novel. Lacking in details and colours contrasted with heavy narration immediately shows the purpose of Margaret’s story. It will serve to reinforce existing story elements, such as the despair within the various civilians, and it develops the overall atmosphere of the comic, a monotonous and
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In these panels, she touches her purse and feels a gift which she bought for her son using the money earned from tips. The narration shows that Margaret is more than just a miserable and meaningless civilian. These panels now feature more detail within Margaret’s character than it does with the backgrounds. It’s especially clear with the amount of detail in Margaret’s face on the panels in which she is smiling. This emphasizes her feelings of love and joy for reader, ultimately giving her more depth as a character. Further, Miller fleshes out her care for her family, by having a close up on the ring which she wears on her hand, coloured with a bright yellow and contrasts from her purse, as well as writing about how she insist on not “spending the tip on pain” (Miller 69) and instead buys a painting set for her child Robert instead. Showing more detail on the panels in which Margaret has joyous thoughts also creates a sense of hope for humanity within the setting of the comic. Miller’s choice to expand so much upon a character who has an imminent death within the next few panels is a very interesting decision. It’s apparent that she is still just a side character with little to no importance, yet Miller’s choice on fleshing her out makes her feel like a real person. Overall, her existence and following story gives the idea that there is a lot of details within The Dark Knight Returns than only the story Batman’s resurgence. Miller’s understanding and emphasis on meaningless details and events serve to reinforce his unique method of telling a story as a
In these panels, she touches her purse and feels a gift which she bought for her son using the money earned from tips. The narration shows that Margaret is more than just a miserable and meaningless civilian. These panels now feature more detail within Margaret’s character than it does with the backgrounds. It’s especially clear with the amount of detail in Margaret’s face on the panels in which she is smiling. This emphasizes her feelings of love and joy for reader, ultimately giving her more depth as a character. Further, Miller fleshes out her care for her family, by having a close up on the ring which she wears on her hand, coloured with a bright yellow and contrasts from her purse, as well as writing about how she insist on not “spending the tip on pain” (Miller 69) and instead buys a painting set for her child Robert instead. Showing more detail on the panels in which Margaret has joyous thoughts also creates a sense of hope for humanity within the setting of the comic. Miller’s choice to expand so much upon a character who has an imminent death within the next few panels is a very interesting decision. It’s apparent that she is still just a side character with little to no importance, yet Miller’s choice on fleshing her out makes her feel like a real person. Overall, her existence and following story gives the idea that there is a lot of details within The Dark Knight Returns than only the story Batman’s resurgence. Miller’s understanding and emphasis on meaningless details and events serve to reinforce his unique method of telling a story as a