Comic books never used to be taken as seriously as they are today. But then in 1985, DC Comics published Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, which changed the game. To mark that anniversary, DC isn’t just patting itself on the back. They are letting Miller delve deeper into his world with a third chapter.
The Dark Knight III: The Master Race will be much different from Miller’s seminal book and its controversial follow-up, 2002’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Wonder Woman) has been brought in to work with Miller on the story. Andy Kubert will be doing the art, although with obvious influence to Miller’s work. Klaus Janson, who did work on the original DRK, is back to ink DKIII.
For Friday’s big event at NYCC, DC brought out Azzarello, Kubert, Janson and DC co-publisher Jim Lee to discuss the original book’s influence, as well as the new one. While Miller himself was teased as a “surprise guest” in the convention program, it was pretty obvious that he was going to be there to talk about his baby.
DC showed off a couple of pages from the first issue of DKIII, but they were not colored and featured no word bubbles. Next to nothing about the plot was revealed, although Azzarello teased that it will give us some reason to like Superman again.
The publisher seemed much more excited about the idea of the mini-comics that will be included with each issue of DKIII. These books will act as supplements to the main story and are under the “Dark Knight Universe” banner. Each issue will be drawn by a different artist and will focus on a hero who isn’t a big part of the main storyline. Miller drew the first mini-comic, which features The Atom. DC did announce that Eduardo Risso is drawing the second mini-comic.
DKIII will also be published with multiple variant covers by different artists. DC insists that they don’t do this just to make fans collect the same issue multiple times, but to attract more retailers to the project. (Still, Miller joked that DC is trying to squeeze out every penny from readers.) There will also be a hardcover edition of each issue. The last book will come with a slipcase for all the previous issues.
Kubert did explain the difficulty of doing this book, since he has to try to mix his own style with Miller’s. The pages they showed definitely prove that he has the ability to do that. We will still see many splash pages that will do doubt become as famous as the beautiful ones from DKR. Kubert and Lee still seem awe-struck by DKR, with Lee admitting that it was the book that got him into comics.
Other panel tid-bits:
• If DC calls, Miller will direct a Batman movie.
• The one scene from DKR Miller hopes makes it to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is Batman’s fight with Superman… and Batman has to win.
• Sin City 3 is still a possibility.
• Lee and Miller said that they have just started finishing All Star Batman & Robin.
• Lee told one member of the audience that if you really want to break into the comic industry, you should publish a book yourself. Don’t just think a script is all you need. You have to find an artist and a way to present your work as if it was a completed comic. (Yes, becoming a comic book artist and writer is no easy task.)
• Miller gave a really passionate speech about why he loves Batman and said that the character is “unbreakable… You can do anything to him and he can’t break. He always works.” He said that he has respect even for the campy Adam West show.
The first issue of The Dark Knight III: The Master Race hits stores on Nov. 25.