Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

[areaseven]

Frank Miller's critically acclaimed graphic novel hits the small screen for the first time on September 25. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 features the voices of Peter Weller (RoboCop) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Ariel Winter (Queen Perdita in Young Justice, Mog in Final Fantasy XIII-2) as Carrie Kelley/Robin, Wade Williams (Blackgate warden in The Dark Knight Rises, Mantis in Batman: The Brave and the Bold) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, David Selby as Commissioner Gordon, Michael McKean (Perry White in Smallville, Vultaire in Thundercats) as Dr. Wolper, and Gary Anthony Williams (Riff in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Thunderball in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes) as the Mutant Leader.

[southpaw]

Despite the criticism of lines being change... violence being toned down.. Im looking forward to this.

Edited August 7, 2012 by southpaw

[Hoptimus]

I knew if this were to ever get done for animation there would be changes. So far though it looks 99% accurate to the book and that is sweet. I will be buying this for sure.

[kaiotheforsaken]

I'm reading the graphic novel now and am enjoying quite a bit. Looking forward to this though.

Still wish they'd have just gotten Kevin Conroy to do the voice of Bruce/Batman. But they didn't get him for Year one or Under the Red Hood, so I guess I'm not too surprised.

[PetarB]

The story in the graphic novel is good, but the artwork in many cases is not so great. Any improvements they make are for the better as far as I am concerned.

[kaiotheforsaken]

the artwork in many cases is not so great

Couldn't agree more with this one. I enjoy the story, but some of the art is...bleh.

[UN Spacy]

Didn't they do this in Batman: The Animated Series?

I knew it looked familiar.

[azrael]

Didn't they do this in Batman: The Animated Series?

I knew it looked familiar.

Yeah, but that was only a small bit from the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight", which was an animated version of Batman #250 - "The Batman Nobody Knows!".

[electric indigo]

Eww, this looks as true to the source as a Nickelodeon version of "Apocalypse Now" would.

[reddsun1]

Didn't they do this in Batman: The Animated Series?

I knew it looked familiar.

So yeah, it's pretty much: been there, done that...

[terry the lone wolf]

Yeah, but that was only a small bit from the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight", which was an animated version of Batman #250 - "The Batman Nobody Knows!".

Whoa! I have that book. It even has an ad for Battletech that features a Destroid.

[mikeszekely]

I'm reading the graphic novel now and am enjoying quite a bit. Looking forward to this though.

Still wish they'd have just gotten Kevin Conroy to do the voice of Bruce/Batman. But they didn't get him for Year one or Under the Red Hood, so I guess I'm not too surprised.

I might be mistaken or mis-remembering, but I could have sworn I read that Kevin said Arkham City was going to be the last time he did Batman.

[azrael]

I might be mistaken or mis-remembering, but I could have sworn I read that Kevin said Arkham City was going to be the last time he did Batman.

You are probably remembering that wrong. It was Mark Hamill, and he has stated that Arkham City would be the last time he did Joker.

[Valkyrie addict]

What I want to see the most is how they animate Batman kicking Supermans ass.

Always loved this interpretation of Dark Knight Returns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BgL_Uuoz-K4#t=123s

Edited August 8, 2012 by Valkyrie addict

[mass driver]

Wow, I remember picking that up from the library and reading it in the 90's. I love it when he uses the the "bat tank". "rubber bullets... honest"

[mikeszekely]

You are probably remembering that wrong. It was Mark Hamill, and he has stated that Arkham City would be the last time he did Joker.

Yeah, could be. I did a quick look and it sounds like he's going to be voicing Batman in an upcoming animated Flashpoint movie.

Well, that's good then. While I do love Hamill's Joker... he may even be my favorite Joker... I know other voice actors can handle him, like John Dimaggio in Under the Red Hood. But Kevin Conroy is Batman; no one else even comes close.

[blackconvoy_D01]

I love the fight in the mud pit. "This is an operating table, and I'm the surgeon."

[therealfolkblues]

To the people complaining about the artwork in this thread, how old are you? You obviously weren't around in 1986 to see what Miller was doing with not only his style, but his layouts that everyone in their brother would be copying(to be fair Miller borrowed heavily from Eisner as well). Your obviously entitled to your opinions, but the idea of a Korean animated adaptation of a seminal work of graphic art would improve upon the art is a slap in the face of the original creator. I am not the biggest Miller fanboy in the world, but in all my years of reading comics I have never heard anyone complain about the art in TDKR...

[anime52k8]

To the people complaining about the artwork in this thread, how old are you? You obviously weren't around in 1986 to see what Miller was doing with not only his style, but his layouts that everyone in their brother would be copying(to be fair Miller borrowed heavily from Eisner as well). Your obviously entitled to your opinions, but the idea of a Korean animated adaptation of a seminal work of graphic art would improve upon the art is a slap in the face of the original creator. I am not the biggest Miller fanboy in the world, but in all my years of reading comics I have never heard anyone complain about the art in TDKR...

The art in TDKR is crap.

There, now you have.

[BeyondTheGrave]

The art in TDKR is crap.

There, now you have.

I think you have to call him over the telephone and tell him. Or a singing telegraph.

[therealfolkblues]

Wow, I Totally see your point now, I was wrong all along lol..

[terry the lone wolf]

The art in TDKR is crap.

There, now you have.

I guess you wouldn't like Miller's covers for Lone Wolf & Cub & his work on the 1st Wolverine mini series...

[UN Spacy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fHULwqj-B8&feature

[David Hingtgen]

But Kevin Conroy is Batman; no one else even comes close.

It's awesome to mention this when people discuss the "best Batman"---Keaton, Bale, etc. (especially pre-Nolan, when your only options were really Keaton, Clooney, Kilmer)

"Kevin Conroy". If they say "who?" then they've missed out on a lot of the best Batman lore/experience the world has to offer.

[anime52k8]

I guess you wouldn't like Miller's covers for Lone Wolf & Cub & his work on the 1st Wolverine mini series...

Actually, Miller's lone wolf and cub covers are some of his better work IMO. I don't care for the art in the original Wolverine mini comic but that has as much to do with may general dislike for typical comic book illustration as it does for Millers work. Also, it gets a bit of a pass being an older book where the methods of coloring and shading were dictated as much by printing limitations as artistic style.

I don't care for most comic art TBH. I'm not a fan of how most artists choose to render faces or proportions and I can't stand the tendency for artists to use a crap ton of squiggly lines and huge swaths of black to define shapes and create shading when the comic is in full color with smooth gradation.

In the case of TDKR, it's got all that plus the fact that the art is just plain sloppy. Most of the book looks like Miller just turned in a pile of rough sketches and the inker didn't even try to touch it up.

It's awesome to mention this when people discuss the "best Batman"---Keaton, Bale, etc. (especially pre-Nolan, when your only options were really Keaton, Clooney, Kilmer)

"Kevin Conroy". If they say "who?" then they've missed out on a lot of the best Batman lore/experience the world has to offer.

Batman TAS will always be my definitive Batman series.

[the white drew carey]

I sure hope the voice-acting they have in that are just placeholders because, man, are they crap.

It sounds like a terrible video game.

[taksraven]

Meh. Could be interesting. If they ever bother to accurately animate the death of Earth-Two Batman, however, I'm there.......

[terry the lone wolf]

I'm so HAPPY that Huntress is Batman's daughter again (Well Earth 2's Batman). I never really like the mob princess version and the Brave & the Bold one creeped me out with her flirting with Bats..I was like Ewwwwww that's your dad..

[terry the lone wolf]

David Selby starred in the 1974 movie The Super Cops based on lives of two police officers Dave Greenberg & Rob Hantz who were nick-named Batman & Robin because of their aggressive crime fighting against drug dealers, criminals, & corrupt cops in early 1970's Brooklyn. Selby was "Robin"...

[Radd]

I loved this book as a kid, but I've kinda drifted apart from it. Lately I've been thinking more and more that Batman works best when you play up the Lovecraftian bent the whole mythos has.

You've got this guy, sees his parents gunned down in front of him, and years later he starts dressing like a bat and employing vigilante justice. Most of his villains are either clinically insane, the rest are horrific mutants, all of them have backstories which would be perfectly at home within a Lovecraft story. The Batman himself isn't exactly the poster child of sanity.

Batman kinda stands out from the rest of the DC universe like that, but it always gets downplayed for the "grim vigilante crime fighter" angle, which Miller's work exemplifies. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but I find it far less interesting than what they could be doing with the character.

That said, I actually like the art in DKR, for what it is. It fits the mood of Miller's book perfectly. Honestly, the animation shown looks far too clean for Miller's work. They lifted the basic designs, but then gave it a whitewashing. Crisp, perfect linework isn't always a good thing.

[Golden Arms]

I can't wait for this to come out. DC's cartoon movies have been a blast. I loved TDKR. It was the first book that tuned me into a devoted comic reader, nearly two decades ago.

The art in the book, represents the tone of the story. It isn't meant to be pretty, shiny or glossy. It,like most of Millers other iconic stories is film noir in tone. Dark, gritty, bleak. That is one of the most elemental aspects of the comic medium that never seems to ever truely be captured in big screen adaptations.

That was one of my big complaints with the V for Vendetta adaptation. It never truely got the feel of a dystopian future that the graphic novel had.

[Mommar]

Oh, they're actually going to do the sequel to TDKR's as well... I think they should just stay with the first. The second was really dumb in my opinion.

[azrael]

Oh, they're actually going to do the sequel to TDKR's as well... I think they should just stay with the first. The second was really dumb in my opinion.

As I understand it, they are breaking the original TDKR book into 2 parts for this animated feature. I don't believe they have plans to animate the sequel unless they try to squeeze it in somewhere.

[pfunk]

Batman TAS will always be my definitive Batman series.

Totally agree, its what got me into Batman

[Twoducks]

That said, I actually like the art in DKR, for what it is. It fits the mood of Miller's book perfectly. Honestly, the animation shown looks far too clean for Miller's work. They lifted the basic designs, but then gave it a whitewashing. Crisp, perfect linework isn't always a good thing.

Yeah, like the original artwork but this movie looks too clean. Some scenes are spot on... but the crisp image waters the effect down.