If you’re a longtime fan who read it when it first came out, you likely know much of this already. We should note, this is largely an article for new and casual comic fans who haven’t yet read The Dark Knight Returns. Rather, we wanted to help you understand why it’s such an important comic, and give you a little context that may help make sense of the book as a whole. We don’t want to ruin it, and there are plenty of pieces written about the story already.

We’re not going to go too much into the plot. But before you do, we thought we’d write a brief article to help you appreciate the book a little bit more. With Dark Knight III: The Master Race, the third and final book in the Dark Knight trilogy, set to debut on November 25 th, there’s never been a better time to read the iconic book that kicked it off. It’s interesting, exciting and strange, and it features two of the best down-and-out brawls in any Batman comic. It’s a comic book touchstone for a reason, but more than that, it’s an important piece of literature that makes a statement-admittedly, one that’s now become very controversial-about the ability and right of citizens to take a stand when things get bad. It’s one of the few books that truly lives up to the hype, even now, three decades later (*cough*). There are probably about a thousand reasons why you might not have read The Dark Knight Returns, but there’s only one real reason why you should read it. Sorry, about that.) Perhaps you’re just not a super hero fan, or are more of a “Superman person.” Or maybe you found this post because you don’t read comics at all currently, but are open to the idea. And yes, you did just sprout a dozen new grey hairs. Maybe you’re more about what’s happening now, and prefer to read current comics than ones that are nearly 30 years old. However, that doesn’t mean you’ve read it. Along with Watchmen, it’s arguably one of the most widely recognized super hero graphic novels in existence. If you have even a passing awareness of comic books and graphic novels, you’ve heard of The Dark Knight Returns.

The dark knight returns comic