THE DARK KNIGHTS RETURNS at 40

Obviously, of course, we're talking about this four-issue prestige format 1986 miniseries written and drawn by Frank Miller, inked by Klaus Janssen, and colored by Lynn Varley.

And story-wise, I don't know that any setup is really needed.

This is one of the most iconic, seminal Batman stories, comic book stories generally.

But nevertheless, we always do our due diligence.

So this follows a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne coming out of a 10-year retirement to restore order to a lawless Gotham.

And along the way, he takes on a new Robin.

in the form of Carrie Kelly, unseats the leader of the mutant gang, has final confrontations with Harvey Dent, Two-Face, and the Joker, and has an ultimate showdown with none other than Superman.

At long last, a podcast comes along and dares to tackle this underrated, overlooked gem.

No, look, that's the thing.

There has been an endless amount written and said about this over the years, and I think it would be a fool's errand to try to claim we're going to offer some searing new insight that's never been observed before.

But we'll talk through it like we always do.

We'll share our personal experiences and how it shaped our Batman fandom and all of that.

And kind of on that note, let me toss it back to you.

I mean, at this point now, 40 years removed from its initial debut.

What sort of place does it occupy in your Bat fandom now? I know this is something you've gone back to over the years.

Does it continue to hold up? Has it kind of lost a little bit of its sheen over the years? Like, what kind of place does it occupy in your fandom now?

Okay, I am more than willing to answer that, but I think we skipped an important part of this first.

What was your first time reading this? What was your experience? How old were you? How did you come across it? Quid pro quo, Dr.

Lecter.

Totally fine.

I was going to get there.

I have talked about this in previous episodes, so I'll keep it quick.

But I mean, I read, it must have been the 10th anniversary collected edition that I had at some point, which obviously would have come out in 96.

I don't think I read it quite that early.

I don't remember exactly when, but I want to say it was the late 90s that was the first time I read this story.