A new mainstream
A new mainstream |
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Page 8 of 23  The Dark Knight Returns It was not, however, until 1986-7 that adult comics really took off. Up until then, publishers had been dabbling in grown-up content, but had kept their main attention on the X-market. Two comics changed that, and their success reorientated the industry's energies dramatically towards older readers. They were: Batman: the Dark Knight Returns (1986), by Frank Miller, and Watchmen (1986), by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Both were superhero revisionist stories, published by DC Comics, and created by fan-favourite writers and artists. Unprecedentedly for direct sales comics, they received a great deal of critical attention outside fandom, and were even reviewed seriously in broadsheet newspapers. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was a radical reconceptualization of bat-mythology, and distanced the character as far from his camp 1960s incarnation as it was possible to go. In this version, a cynical and twisted Batman, driven by inner demons, comes out of retirement to wage his last fateful campaign against The Joker. In the resulting carnage, his vigilante motivations are exposed - and celebrated. For Miller, the new Batman was: 'a moral force, a judge, plainly bigger and greater than normal men, and perfectly willing to pass judgement and administer punishment and make things right'. Some readers, however, were not so comfortable with the philosophical stance. Artistically speaking, Dark Knight marked a progression from Miller's already slick Daredevil style: his use of shadow turned Gotham City into a noirish nightmare, while his new-found fondness for imparting information via television broadcasts (screens dotted across the page) added to the story's sense of urgency. The result was a uniquely atmospheric, and menacing, comic: all the more effective for the inking skills of Klaus Janson, and colours by Lynn Varley.  Watchmen (DC Comics/Titan, 1987). Art: Dave Gibbons. Script: Alan Moore. Another groundbreaking graphic novel |