Frank-Miller

Long-time Comic POW! readers will remember our look at The Dark Knight Returns in which we examined, among other things, how it was shaped by the fact that it came out in the 1980s as 24-hour cable television was beginning its rise to prominence. At Baltimore Comic-Con this year Frank Miller was invited to speak about his experience of putting the classic book together. It was moderated by DC publisher Dan Didio and Mr. Miller was joined by inker Klaus Janson. ...

When I started the relaunch of Comic POW! while taking Christy Blanch’s gender dynamics-based comics MOOC, part of the premise was that comics are a product of the times in which they’re created. This has been true of many of the comics I (and other Comic POW! writers) have explored, but I feel that, among the classics of the 80s Revivals, this is most true of spiritual brothers: Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Both are so steeped in the despair of the 1980s and the effects of the Cold War on the psyches of those living through the constant threat of annihilation. Both mine these depths to deconstruct the modern hero mythos (as seen through comic book characters). While Alan Moore has more lattitude with reimaginings of old characters DC Comics had acquired in an IP sale, Frank Miller has somewhat more impact with me given the decades of familiarity with young, mostly optimistic Batman. But it is a testament to the feelings in the Jungian consciousness that both More and Miller have their god-being (Superman/Dr Manhattan) as the ultimate weapon against Soviet agression. It’s also worth exploring how the consequences of their actions lead to both similar and dissimilar results.