Modern Batman Comics

A bit of Batman History:

Frank Miller's 1986 limited series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, tells the story of an older... 50-years-older Batman who has just come out of retirement. This series was a huge success and has since become one of the most liked, well-received works in comic canon. This new series also brought forth a major resurgence in the character's popularity. In the same year Dennis O'Neil took over as editor of Batman and set a new pace for the portrayal of Batman. O'Neil believed he was hired to take a fresh approach on Batman and as a result tried to instill a different tone in the comic books. The "Year One" storyline in Batman #404-407 was a result of this new approach. Here, Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli redefined the character's origins. Artist Brian Bolland and writer Alan Moore continued this trend with 1988's 48-page one-shot Batman: The Killing Joke.

The Batman comics received much attention in 1988 when DC Comics released a 900 number for readers to call to vote on whether Jason Todd aka "Robin", lived or died. Voters decided in favor of his death by only 28 votes!

In 1989 the film Batman drew even more attention. In addition to the film's multi-million dollar gross, thevery first issue of Legends of the Dark Knight - the first new solo Batman title in nearly fifty years, sold almost one million copies. 1993's "Knightfall" storyline introduced a new villain called "Bane" who nearly killed the caped crusader. 1998's "Cataclysm" arc was the precursor to 1999's "No Man's Land". Batman was featured in major roles in several other series over the last decade and will undoubtedly continue to hold strong in comic book canon for years to come!

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