Frank Miller's dark, post-apocalyptic vision of a future Gotham City gone to hell is the quisessential portrayl of The Batman. Here is the character the way Bob Kane envisioned him: brutal, mysterious, tragic, brave and swift, and perhaps a little bit psychotic. This story harkens back to the early days of the Bat lore, when Batman took what ever means necessary to defending justice, even if that meant killing criminals without remorse. In this groundbreaking series (and I do not use that term lightly) Batman is just about as tortured as the dark forces he struggles to defeat, which in this work include old rogues such as Two-Face and The Joker, as well as new ones such as The Mutant Gang and its vicious leader, a dystopian government and suprise, surprise The Man of Steel himself: Superman. What starts as one man's obsession to turn his own brand of fear against those who would pray on Gothamites, escelates into a crusade to save a dying world. The art is brilliant, the dialogue often poignant and bitingly satirical and the climax is simply unforgettable. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is Batman the way he was meant to be portrayed. I also recommend Frank Miller's Batman Year One, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween and Dark Victory as well as Alan Moore's The Killing Joke for stellar Batman reads.