The Sad State of The Dark Knight

A few weeks ago, DC Comics killed off Bruce Wayne. One of the comic book worlds biggest icons died, and nobody seemed to notice. There could be any number of reasons for this lack of attention, but the real culprit is one of the most obvious. For sometime now, Batman’s monthly comic books have totally sucked.

It’s not as though people are not interested in the character. If anything, Batman and his supporting cast are more popular than ever; let’s not forget a certain record breaking film that is nominated for eight academy awards. The problem is, DC Comics is apparently unaware of the public’s infatuation with the Caped Crusader, because you need a degree in DC continuity just to understand a single issue of Batman.

Both Batman and Detective Comics are in capable hands, with superstar Grant Morrison and Paul Dini writing them, respectively. These guys have written some of the best comics in the past ten years, and yet under their direction, Batman has slowly descended into mediocrity.

Dini’s Detective Comics started off brilliantly, following a simple formula of self contained single issues that told classic style Batman stories. Then, he sputtered off into five-month long tales involving Hush (one of the worst villains ever created) that showcase the lamest aspects of the comic book medium.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Morrison has managed to pull off one the stupidest Batman tales in recent history. It was so confusing, so over the top, and so uninteresting that it’s hard to recap. The whole thing ends with Bruce Wayne’s apparent death, which has almost no impact because the story is so poorly structured.

The Dark Knight deserves better than this. Both longtime fans and newcomers to Gotham City need a better, more cohesive Batman. It’s not often that you walk out of a movie and say, “That was great, too bad the book is a piece of crap.”