Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns

In the interest of expanding literacy, I am trying to consume new-to-me forms of media. I had never read comics or graphic novels, but I’ve always loved Batman: The Animated Series and a recent episode of the Batrankings podcast made me aware of Frank Miller’s work with Batman. I was inspired to take the plunge and decided to read Miller’s interpretations of Batman’s origin and end. After reading Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns I must say I am more partial to Year One by a wide margin. I preferred the intimacy and ostensibly lower stakes of Year One and the extra heroes in Returns confused me as a non-comic reader. Returns is historic in the sense that it presented a grittier and darker Batman, opening new paths for portrayal such as the Christopher Nolan trilogy and some of the best Animated Series episodes. As a Batman fan, I appreciate Returns even though I believe Year One is superior.

The Jim Gordon of Year One engaged me more than anything. His one man crusade against the corruption of Gotham was a tense, police noir story. On top of that, he had a newborn to care for and a strained marriage he was ruining. He seemed like a real human, not a hero. Somebody attempting to take a stand against injustice with no support. Batman helps Gordon in this fight against corruption, culminating on a gangland style attack on Gordon’s family. In the context of superheroes and comics, this seems small and parochial. Avengers fighting Thanos this is not. But that same smallness allowed for a more personal connection, especially compared to the cataclysmic events of Returns. However I loved the mirrored story lines of Gordon becoming police commissioner in Year One and then him retiring and being replaced in Returns. That plot was a major highlight of Returns.

Attributed to Stalin discussing starvation, the oft-quoted “One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic” exemplifies my primary issue with Returns. The various schemes and plots interrupted by the heroes involve body counts in such large body count that they feel cartoonish and unreal. The identifiable victim effect and Paul Slovic’s theory of psychic numbing prevented me from forming any real connection with the victims in Returns and as a result, I never considered their plight and how I would react. When Bruce saves the day at the Year One and Superman saves the day near the end of Returns; the scale is too different. I cared about the stakes Year One. I can’t say that for Returns.

That leads to another complaint with Returns. This is a personal issue and I bet for many comic fans of the 80’s, it was actually an awesome event. Not being a comic reader I obviously knew Superman and the Batman villains, but other comic characters entered Returns. Not knowing them was not a problem, they are easy enough to ignore. However, the way all the characters interacted made it feel like their shared history was important to the current plot. Year One felt like a much more self contained story.

I enjoyed Returns plenty; I do not want anyone to think I hated it. It is a landmark text in comics for all the right reasons. I think all Batman and comic book fans should read it. But if I had to recommend one of the two to a non-comic reader, it would be Year One. Year One could be told as a traditional novel without Batman and it would still hold up well.