#sameastheoldboss "DKIII: The Master Race #3" by Miller, Azzarello, Kubert, Janson, & Anderson

What an incredible cover! What a shame not to use that key, though...

Earlier this week, the internet exploded over a trailer for a remake of a loose, dialogue-based comedy about four schlubbish scientists in the Big Apple who end up shooting proton lasers at a Big Marshmallow. Regardless of the way people chose to unpack it (criticisms of Paul Feig's craft, morally-upright and uptight views of Leslie Jones as a municipal worker, nearly-parched thirst for Chris Hemsworth), everyone seemed to settle on the same theme: we don't need a new Ghostbusters...unless you count the beans at Sony, in which case, who ya gonna call? BRAND RECOGNITION!

On the other hand, comic books are almost built from the beginning on brand recognition. The Big 2 have clearly survived on the continuation of the stories of characters, even after death...but even labels like Vertigo and Image have leaned hard into sequelizing their most famous works in order to allow creators more time with characters, and readers an easier way in to a familiar story. Hell, we even now know what the world was like Before Watchmen (also worth noting: a DC book). After picking up a $1 printing of the debut of Image's Phonogram two weeks ago, I became confused with the reading order with the different stock of back issues at my local shop. To quote a character who recently surfed the prequel wave himself, "nothing ends. Nothing ever ends."

Poor, poor Hal.

I'm glad, then, that DC deigned to bring back the Dark Knight Returns continuity for a new mini-series, and even more grateful that they paired creator and master Frank Miller with collaborators who love and appreciate, but are able to focus, his...singular...vision. If you hate most of Frank Miller's work after he made the Boy Wonder eat rats, or after he subjected the Green Lantern to some Charlotte Perkins Gilman-justice, or after he waged a Holy War with the Fixer, this review may not be for you. I've always viewed Miller as a damaged auteur at worst, someone whose vision was adopted as the industry norm for so long that he had to continue coloring further and further outside the lines to remain relevant. You can track Miller's journey into mystery throughout his run on Sin City, where you begin with coherent noir fiction and end with, charitably put, messy work that is unintentionally challenging to decode.

I think the probability of you reading a comics blog and not having read The Dark Knight Returns is low, so I'll skip to the sequel: I love DK2. Just like Stay Positive is The Hold Steady's best record to me because it's the one that came out first when I knew about them, DK2 is enormously special to me because it was the first comic of that level of prestige to drop when I was woke. Nearly every page plays out as the work of an artist freed from commercial shackles, but still allowed to play with the most expensive toys imaginable.

Miller is absolutely fenced in on this one, though it's a good thing. Having publicly stated that he expects to produce a fourth series after this one, it's clear that the DKR continuity is now a universe that Miller loves to play in, and DC loves to let him (issue #3 was the top-selling comic for February 2016). Subtitled The Master Race, the mini-series picks up three years after the death of President Lex Luthor, and Bruce Wayne is once again in hiding, but so is Superman. Through the error of Ray Palmer and others, the micro-city of Kandor is released to the world, unleashing the titular "master race" of Kryptonians on Earth. By issue #3, Carrie Kelly has touched base with Commissioner Yindel (now as grizzled as her predecessor) and motivated Wayne to emerge from hiding to get his old friend and rival out of the Fortress of Solitude. All the while, characters from around the DCU have to deal with the righteous anger of Superman and Wonder Woman's daughter, Lara, who lives on her home planet, but is growing up even lonelier than her father did. Andy Kubert's pencils are absolutely gorgeous and they do a great job approximating Miller's early style, but they're clean enough for more sensitive modern audiences. Brian Azzarello deserves the most credit on the book, however, for grooming Miller's sensibilities from a story perspective while also including all the flourishes we expect from a DKR book; young hoods no longer talk about how the "leader don't shiv," but they do hashtag with #meetthenewboss.

GL doesn't need a hand with the ladies!

One of my favorite features of the book are the smaller insert issues, each focused on a different DCU character. #1 included a story about the folly of the aforementioned Atom, #2 focused on Wonder Woman losing her connection to her daughter. #3 has some of the darkest humor surrounding the Green Lantern character ever. They're incredible not just because of their insight to these Justice League members, but even more because they feel like just the right amount of pure, uncut Miller sensibility in the middle of a story where he's sharing the spotlight.

In a way, though, those smaller issues represent the direction of the series, and a smart way to make commerce with these books: DC is bankrolling higher-rated lower-sellers like Cyborg with the blockbuster DKIII. Every smaller inset issue is introduced with the "Dark Knight Universe Presents" tagline, ensuring us that what used to be a self-contained set of wonders is now, like the democracy Bruce Wayne is fighting for, open to all of life's possibilities. For the Dark Knight himself (or, as compellingly as the book makes a case for, herself), the fire is most definitely burning again.