People and Trends - Reviving a Trend

Darcy Smittenaar

Professor Clayton

EN224P

March 13, 2013

Reviving a Trend

With Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller is said to have “developing the trend for grim and gritty superhero comics” by taking Batman back to the “character's original dark roots” (Round 418).  However, what Miller’s work really did was kick off the “Iron Age” of superhero comics, in which the heroes of comics’ “Bronze Age” went from the original concept—dating back to the “Golden Age” during World War II—of protecting society either to “formal participation in the governance of society” or to stop being superheroes (Coogan 611).

In Miller’s work alone, there are examples of characters on both ends of the spectrum: Superman, the paragon of lawful-goodness and acting on behalf of the President of the United States of America, tries to convince Batman to give up his obsessive, vigilante ways.  Batman, thinking Superman a sell-out, instead falls further into vigilantism and criminality, believing that it is the only way to save Gotham city from itself (Miller 188-196).  In this confrontation, Batman “dies,” and becomes the leader of the former Mutants who now call themselves the Sons of Batman; Batman himself is no longer a superhero, but a villain to Gotham.  The Iron Age is full of such examples, all influenced by Miller’s work.

 

Bibliography

Coogan, Peter. "Superheroes." Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Ed. M. Keith Booker. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010. 605-613. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

Duncan, Lauren E., and Bill E. Peterson. "Superheroes." Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. Ed. Jodi O'Brien. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2009. 818-820. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

Eaton, Lance. "Dark Horse Comics." Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Ed. M. Keith Booker. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010. 136-137. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

Miller, Frank, Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley, John Costanza, and Bob Kane. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2002. Print.

res, Jackson Ay. "Batman." Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Ed. M. Keith Booker. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010. 50-53. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

Round, Julia. "Miller, Frank (1957-)." Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Ed. M. Keith Booker. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010. 418-419. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.