- Title: Dark Knight III: The Master Race – Book One
- Comic Vine: link
- Writers: Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello
- Artist: Andy Kubert
You know what they say about a tree falling in the forest? Well, can you truly have a Batman comic without Batman? And if it you could, would it make a sound? Taking place an indeterminate amount of time following DK2, Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello team-up with artist Andy Kubert for the first issue of… well, something. Far removed from The Dark Knight Returns, Dark Knight III: The Master Race may play in the expanded universe created by Frank Miller’s original mini-series but the magic of the original (at least from what we see in this first issue) is nowhere to be found.
I’m actually one of the people who enjoyed The Dark Knight Strikes Again as a Silver Age throwback to heroes of yesteryear (most of whom have returned and taken up residence in the New 52). Book One feels empty not only for the lack of its title character (a fact which doesn’t stop him from appearing on about 15 different variant covers), central to every story in this universe told up until this point, but also because the focus of the issue, broken up into multiple stories, is haphazard at best. Honestly, I don’t know what the point of this sequel is (other than as blatant cash grab by Miller and DC).
The most interesting aspect of the story isn’t Carrie play-acting as Batman and beating up cops (for apparently no reason whatsoever) but the small story of Lara bringing Ray Palmer the bottled city of Kandor. The ramifications of that pairing are truly intriguing and so rich they belong in an entirely different comic. To bad the rest is mostly filler. Hit-and-Miss.
[DC, $5.99]