DC Comics confirmed today that Frank Miller will write the the conclusion to his Dark Knight saga, when THE DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE drops as an 8-issue mini-series beginning US Fall 2015. He will be joined by writer Brian Azzarello on the project.
“Batman remains my favorite comic book hero and a sequel to Dark Knight is going to be daunting,” said Miller via the press release, “but we’ll do our best.” He also broke and almost four year silence on Twitter and other social media to confirm the news, tweeting “I hope that by now my silence is deafening” and releasing the teaser image below.
The Dark Knight Returns, originally released in 1986, remains one of the most important graphic series in comics history, Appearing on countless “best of” and “essential reading” lists, it marked the dawn of the “Dark Age” of comic books, shifting Batman completely out of his campy 1960s image and into the moody purveyor of justice that still remains strong in the continuity today. It depicts an older Batman, who comes out of retirement in his 50s to fight governmental oppression.THE DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE will be released in time to mark the 30th anniversary of that classic.
The second chapter of the saga, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, was released in 2001 and 2002, and while sales were strong, it was met with a mixed critical reception. Many cite a post-9/11 influence and a the distance the characters had from their immediacy of the 1980s as a reason for this reaction.
No artists have been announced for the project as yet.
