Miller’s satirical concept – review of the comic book “Return of the Dark Knight. Golden Child “

Frank Miller continues his memorable work – The Return of the Dark Knight . The discussed Golden Child is another proposal of the creator, which is important – extremely short (only 80 pages!). What can we find in the album? Do not count on Batman, because he will not honor you with his presence. In the comic, we meet the next generation of superheroes: children of Superman and Wonder Woman – Jonathan and Lara Kent, and Carrie Kelley – Batwoman, Bruce Wayne’s pupil (in Return of the Dark Knight she debuted as a new Robin). The protagonists and adolescent face the Joker and Darkseid. The antagonists, which are unlikely to surprise anyone, make ZUo and will stop at nothing.

A colorful story

As we read on the cover, The Golden Child is Frank Miller’s return to the Dark Knight universe. Together with the cartoonist, Rafael Grampa ( Mesmo Delivery ), they created an extraordinary album. But is it successful? The illustrations deserve attention – rich in detail and realistic. Despite the announcement, Grampá was slightly inspired by Miller’s works. The color palette is dominated by muted colors that refer to the mood of many scenes. Be sure to take a look at the final match between Kelley and Joker! This is probably the best scene in the comic book – dynamic and rich in details, moreover, it can bring to mind the style of Paul Pope ( Battling Boy , Wielki Escapo ) and Frank Quitely ( All-Star Superman , Batman and Robin). Still in the context of illustrations – I like the appearance of Jonathan Kent the least, because the figure of the protagonist lacks proportion. The rest of the characters look interesting, although you have to get used to the style of the Brazilian cartoonist.

A fictional nudge

The plot is the hardest to judge. The seemingly trivial story has been enriched with a satirical commentary that rubs against contemporary American politics. One gets the impression that Miller wanted to reveal his own beliefs to readers, and not – as we might assume – to present an interesting story concept. In the Golden Childbecause there is the United States, riots and Donald Trump…, that is, the topic is topical! Another point that will not convince most readers (especially those who know the DC universe well) is the alliance of Joker and Darkseid. The first character is somehow a caricature of himself, and the second one gets a sharp spanking from a few-year-old Jon and an adult Lara. Also, an attempt to point to the opposition between the enthusiastic idealist Carrie Kelley and the condescending siblings will not add vigor to the plot. The reader remains in constant ignorance – he does not know what the source of social tensions is, he does not know where the revolutionary spirit of Miller’s narrative has gone, nor does he know what the purpose of this comic book was.

Nostalgia

The heroes from The Dark Knight – Race of Lords and characters from The Return of the Dark Knight. The golden child is three years old. After reading the history of the album (in the supplements section) and knowing other Miller’s proposals, we could count on a really good piece. However, there is practically nothing on the eighty pages that could delight a potential recipient. Unfortunately, such a small comic book did not allow the plot to develop sufficiently, which also had an impact on the psychological approach to the characters. Instead of an intelligent plot, the reader was given a poor quality lampoon. The story is boring and chaotic, which will certainly not have a positive effect on the image of the author-legend.

Edition

Egmont took care of its readers in terms of the quality of the comic book edition. Elegant paper, clear drawings, hardcover, accessories – for this we can be grateful to the publisher. A careful reader will notice a few typos, but they are not so important in the context of the whole, which is still bad. It’s also not the best with dialogues that seem to be a bunch of random words (eg “Red rain. Blood rain. Blood. Wow. Blood rain. Wow”). Importantly, a potential buyer should know that the eighty-page book is only two-thirds of a comic book, the rest are additions – alternative covers, sketches, the history of the album. I regret that the story told in the comic does not match the quality of the publication.