Imagine my surprise when, bringing my newborn son home from the hospital, I found a large package from DC Comics waiting at my door. After getting my son settled, petting my dog, and starting dinner, I tore into the package to find this waiting for me:
Now, this is no surprise to anyone who is a comics fan, but “The Dark Knight Returns” is an incredibly important book in comics history. It represents the peak popularity of an Elseworlds-style tale, it took the dark and gritty Batman to a new degree, and has, rightly or not, cast a shadow over Batman, DC, and comics in general, ever since. Along with “Watchmen,” “The Dark Knight Returns” is held up as a shining example of ‘adult’ storytelling in the medium, and is a book that you’ll frequently find on the shelves of non-comics readers.
DC is celebrating the book’s 30th anniversary in a number of ways – we’ve been getting “DK3: The Master Race,” the third volume of the story, monthly, and there are the contents of this box. Let’s dig in to what DC sent over.
This is what the inside of the box looks like, with the iconic Frank Miller Bat-image gracing the inside cover of the box.
The box, aside from the paper describing the contents, contains these items:
First up are the collected editions of both “The Dark Knight Returns” and “The Dark Knight Strikes Again,” the 2001/2002 sequel that saw Miller revisit the characters and setting for the first time. Also included are the first two ‘deluxe’ editions of “DK3: The Master Race,” (written by Brian Azzarello and Frank Miller, illustrated by Andy Kubert) which are oversized, paper over board, collections of not just the issues, but also the associated minicomics. They also feature sketch covers by Jim Lee.
Also included is this journal featuring the familiar logo embossed on the cover, and the DC logo on the back. This, it appears, is the only item in the box that isn’t available commercially. At least not yet!
But the piece de resistance is this Batman bust statue. Based on Miller’s artwork, this small (5″) statue is striking in both its styling and its weight – this is a hefty little statue. Typically, I’m not a big statues guy – I don’t have the space to display them, nor do I want the small hands of my kids knocking them over – but this is small and sturdy enough to find a place on my shelf.
It can be easy to get cynical about books like this, that can feel like they are bigger than their reputation deserves. I know I’ve been guilty of that in the past, but this weekend I picked up my old, worn out copy of “The Dark Knight Rises” and gave it a read for the first time in a long time. And, while I may take issue with many comics trying their best to ape Miller’s take on Batman, the book itself is worthy of the reputation it has earned. This box was a nice reminder of just how special that comic is, and it deserves its place on the Mount Rushmore of comics.
