How The Dark Knight Got Me Into Comics.

When Batman Begins came out in 2005, I didn't really care. I actually saw it twice in the theater but never really paid attention to what I was seeing or hearing. I was relieved that the franchise had moved away from the utter shit that was Batman Forever(1995) & Batman and Robin(1997) but at 15 I had lost interest in super heroes and and was eating up all the nineties indie movies I could (I was a Tarrantino freak). I was way too distracted to notice what director Christopher Nolan was building. He was setting up something huge.

Skip to last summer, I watched Begins again sometime that year and realized it was really good. And then I learned that the sequel would be coming out the next year and that it was to be called The Dark Knight. So I started doing some research what it was going to be about. All I really learned was that it would involve the Joker. But during my research, I learned about a comic book Frank Miller(Sin City) had written in the Eighties called "The Dark Knight Returns." Based on the title, I assumed that the upcoming film would be based on this book, so I went to Books-A-Million, and I bought it.



The first and only time I had ever bought a comic book before this was when I was 7 0r 8. I was obsessed with the Alien and Predator movies at the time and I was again in Books-A-Million wandering around. I found myself in the comic book section and saw and issue of "Alien Versus Predator." "OMG," I must have thought. I got it and read it. Actually I don't know if I even read the story but I did look at the pictures and awful lot and wasn't impressed. I never bought a comic book after that.

And now, at 17, I was in the comic book section again, more than a little embarassed just to be there, looking for a "graphic" novel called "The Dark Knight Returns." I found it, bought it, and read it. It was absolutely amazing. After opening it though, I quickly deduced that there was no way it had any connection to this next Batman movie. "The Dark Knight" tells the story of a future in which Batman has been retired for more than 20 years. Gotham is more overrun with crime and suffering than ever before and many people remember Batman as only a legend. A new gang calling themselves "The Sons of Batman" control the streets unchallenged by the police.



Meanwhile, billionaire Bruce Wayne looks on in frustration. In his late fifties, he has put Batman behind him but with recent events, he can't just sit back and watch his beloved city crumble around him. And so the Dark Knight returns, hence the title. What follows is a story brilliantly told about a man reclaiming his place in the world but the crazy and frightening depiction of the Joker and a dramatic fight with Superman are worth the read alone.



I was hooked, though I didn't immediately start buying comics. As it turns out, it's possible to download pirated scans of comic books though bit torrent and other p2p networks. So I did that for a while, reading everything I could. At first I was just reading old Batman stuff that the internet generally agreed to be the best. But after a while I became increasingly interested in the rest of the DC Comics universe. Occasionally other heroes would pop up in the Batman stuff I was reading, and if they were interesting to me, I read their stuff too. Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and various other things all caught my eye and I would illegally eat them up. Eventually I would start for the most part buying the comic books I really liked. I read that in October, there would be a major story that would take place throughout all the Batman related books(Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, and Robin) and so in October, I started buying the monthly Batman series.

I was doubly hooked.

Now I find myself in a real comic book store (Clint's Comics, 101 Darbonne St.) at least twice a month picking up Batman, Green Lantern, Action Comics, and now, DC's new big event, Final Crisis. I really love these stories, and as much as my friends make fun of my new hobby, I don't see myself ever giving it up.

In two weeks The Dark Knight will open to praise and controversy. I will be there at midnight on Thursday. I have never been so excited to see a movie. I get giddy everytime I see the trailer on the big screen before a movie. And I feel like I owe this film a lot and I can't wait to see it.