Blog Dark Knight Returns : The Last Crusade.
Anthony Andujar Jr
6/17/16
First off I want to say that Justice League issue 51 , Titans: Rebirth, Green lantern: Rebirth and Batman: Rebirth were solid reads. Civil War issue 2 was okay. I’m waiting to see how much more the story will develop. But, I’m not gonna focus on those books since this post is focused on guy with the initials FM and I’m not talking about a radio channel.
Frank Miller is one of those guys in comic books that made a reasonable transition from comics to film and back compared to most guys of his time. Along with Alan Moore, and Grant Morrison, He changed the game with comic books from His DareDevil run at Marvel (which was a proto Batman in a sense), and then he went to work at DC in the mid 80s and set his sights on Batman. Many can agree that he brought back batman to his dark routes (even though O'neil had already done that in a sense), but Miller made Batman more grittier , somewhat similar to his 1939 appearance, except for the fact that he is against guns that is, where as his first appearance, he was always using guns.
Now, I'm talking about Frank Miller only because he recently made a return to The Dark Knight Returns universe that he created (Back with Lynn Varley) with the help Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Wonder Woman), Andy Kubert (Batman, X-Men,Wolverine:Origin) and Klaus Janson (Long time Collaborator of Miller and John Romita Jr) are all currently working on Dark Knight 3: The Master Race. There are already to date, only 4 out of 8 issues released so far of DK3, so it's gonna take a while for that story to be completed (I hope it's completed soon). At the Moment a recent story came out, and it's a prequel to The Dark Knight Returns. No, not like the 2006 All Star Batman and Robin (which was great art wise, but dodgy writing wise). But, in terms of the overall linkage of the Miller DKR universe, I could see how it all tethers together. But the Story of Focus , is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade , Written by Miller, and Azzarello , Illustrated by John Romita Jr And Peter Steigerwald .
Now, I'll focus on my thoughts of this specific issue and possibly how it compliments DKR better than most of the books that are connected to DKR as a whole. To begin, I thought it was a surprisingly great issue. I say this as someone who wasn't fond of Miller's recent stuff such as DK2, All Star B&R, Holy Terror and some of the last stuff of Sin City (Despite my respect for his stuff on Daredevil, His good batman stuff , early Sin City and 300).
After reading the Last Crusade, I wonder how Dark Knight 3: The Master Race will end (given that it's taking forever to release on schedule due to unknown delays). On the other hand, I'm Glad to see JRJR (John Romita Jr aka one of my fave illustrators) have a chance to put out work where he is allowed time to go in full detail instead of rushing in bi weekly books.
By the way, he's awesome in person. Met him a year ago, at Bryant Park where he was doing a free book talk event about his career and his move to DC comics. Thanks to a tip off from my friend Ray Soto!!).
When it comes to The illustrator from a professional point of view, Romita Jr meets deadlines which is what I like, but you can tell the difference when it comes to him on bi weekly and something that allows him time. I can't wait to see what he does with Snyder on a new series called All Star Batman (no relations to the Miller verse stuff). Also, I love the writing from Miller and azzarello, it's making me forget about all star batman and robin (which I loved the art of Jim lee as always) but didn't like that version of batman since he was nothing like his older counterpart in the dark knight returns universe.
In this book, we see the kind of batman shows elements of who he'd eventually become from the classic Dark Knight Returns comic. Unlike the horrible relationship that was showcased in All Star Batman and Robin (2006) where Bruce was brutal to Grayson (abducting him, and abusing him in his training as the first robin) he just seemed like a psycho.
which was very unlike the Batman Year One iteration (who saved cats and was a very reasonable guy)
and DKR iteration (who is an old guy trying to fight against a corrupt government and system that has failed it's people, and trying to remind the people to not give in to the demands of corruption). 
This batman has a growing concern of what Jason will become. Jason Todd in this universe has a bit of a blood lust when he fights crime. 
Which causes Bruce to reconsider Jason as a possible replacement for him. I like that Bruce is displayed as a (on the verged he was ) seasoned middle age man (on the verge of becoming his older counterpart) doubting himself and his mentorship to Jason as well as struggling with the idea of giving up the cowl somewhere down the line like his girlfriend Selina did. 
By the way, the conversation between Selina and Bruce was superb in terms of showcasing their development as characters from Batman Year One, to Dark Knight Returns. Looking at The Miller verse : Batman Year One (Published in 1987) (his beginnings),
Batman /Spawn (Published in 1994. And yes, this is part of the Miller verse believe it or not. He's kinda seasoned ) .
All Star Batman and Robin (Published in 2006. It's a reckless character study, yet despite my distaste for that book, it makes total sense of why Grayson would become what he becomes in DK2) .
, DKR : The Last Crusade (Published 2016. It's currently the focus of this blog post. It shows Bruce aging and becoming more level headed).
Dark Knight Returns (Published in 1986. The classic tale , about Bruce who becomes a seasoned vet back in the field after retirement).
DK2 (deals with the sins of his past , as well as the fate of the world ).
And DK3 (Published in 2015, currently ongoing, possibly will be completed this year???. Anyway, Bruce realizes that it'll take more than himself to take down the evil kandorians, who are basically cousin to the Kryptonians).
This batman is somewhat young (older than when he was in Year One and All Star B&R) but aging (Younger than he is in DKR) , and we see a sorts of mentorship between this Bruce and this DKR version of Jason Todd. My friend Willinzy described that unlike the classic O'neil tale (which is classic) isn't trying to be over the top eventful when it comes to the untimely (but timely) fallout of Jason. It's very unsuspecting in the sense that it's a different approach to Jason's end. It's not directly by the joker. Jason's demise is all because he didn't heed Bruce's advice to rest. In addition, jason miscalculated his plan of action in terms of taking down the joker. And that mistake costs him more dearly than in the original Death in the Family tale. But this issue, is making me look at dk3 in a different light and makes me look forward to what Miller might do with the possible DK4. But most importantly , The Last Crusade really compliments the original Dark Knight Returns story 
, and how after all this time, we get a good understanding of why Bruce treats Cassie with more care than he ever did with Grayson (who spoilers , becomes a villain in this universe),
and Jason (who you'll witness his descent in the Last Crusade) and why In issue 4 (of 8) of DK3, she is the only one who graduates beyond being Robin, and being Catgirl to only transition in this universe into Batgirl where as Grayson and Jason never achieved beyond their own Respective titles as Robin.
I know not a lot a lot of people have been fond of Miller's recent work, I'll be the first to admit it. But I do appreciate the kind of development of Cassie , and how she has developed as a character , and how the previous Miller Batman Books kind of paint a canvas of the different era's of Bruce Wayne in terms of trial and Era that got him to the point of where he is in DKR- DKR3. I'm pretty sure Brian Azzarello is helping make the right calls for Miller, but if there is any indication, it shows there's still juice in the tank, even if it's a little wacky.
Note: All of these photos are found through Google on the Internet.
Also, here is a digital illustration to accompany the post as I've been doing as of late!
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