10 DC Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

4. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Frank Miller might've lost his way over the millennium, what with all his texts possessing the unique - shall we say - tendency to sport misogynistic, homophobic, ableist and indeed xenophobic attitudes, there was a time when the writer could do no wrong.

The Dark Knight Returns is a testament to that, and while the writer's legacy today isn't what it once was, Miller's tale of a retired Batman coming out of the shadows to prowl the streets once more is a staple of the superhero genre. You can't go without it.

Not only did it fundamentally redefine the character, in that Miller elected to depict the Caped Crusader more as a force of nature than as a simple superhero, it marked a tonal shift in superhero comics too. Along with Alan Moore's Watchmen, TDKR plotted a new course for the medium we now know today, and while the merits of such a shift are still being debated, there's no denying that the day the Dark Knight returned, was one comics fans everywhere had to savour.

You know, as long as you can forgive it for inspiring Batman V Superman.