The Dark Knight Doesn't Return

For years, fanboys have been looking forward to Frank Miller bat-projects. The Dark Knight Strikes Again was a disappointing pile of shit (especially on the heels of the legendary The Dark Knight Returns), so when Miller spoke of a more contemporary Gotham City graphic novel, once again people salivated with anticipation. And with good reason - the Caped Crusader versus Al-Qaeda. Miller said the elusive project is finally close to completion...but that the name and central character have changed. And DC Comics won't be the publisher.

"It's almost done; I should be finished within a month," Miller said. "It's no longer a DC book. I decided partway through it that it was not a Batman story. The hero is much closer to 'Dirty Harry' than Batman. It's a new hero that I've made up that fights Al-Qaeda."

Miller said the story will be set in a place called Empire City, another allusion to New York (just like Gotham). "The character is called The Fixer and he's very much an adventurer who's been essentially searching for a mission." Hmmm...kinda generic soldier of fortune, but go on... "He's been trained as special ops and when his city is attacked all of a sudden all the pieces fall into place and all this training comes into play. He's been out there fighting crime without really having his heart in it -- he does it to keep in shape. He's very different than Batman in that he's not a tortured soul. He's a much more well-adjusted creature even though he happens to shoot 100 people in the course of the story." Well, crime-fighter-as-fitness-routine is different.

Despite his success with Batman and his 300 and Sin City properties with Dark Horse, DC executives were reportedly leery of Miller's plan to drop their globally recognized mega-property inside an Al-Qaeda vendetta fantasy. "I had a talk with [former DC president / publisher] Paul Levitz and I said, 'Look, this isn't your Batman,'" Miller said. "I pushed Batman as far as he can go and after a while he stops being Batman. My guy carries a couple of guns and is up against an existential threat. He's not just up against a goofy villain. Ignoring an enemy that's committed to our annihilation is kind of silly, It just seems that chasing the Riddler around seems silly compared to what's going on out there. I've taken Batman as far as he can go."

Miller feels the project that has arrived right on time, creatively speaking. "It began as my reaction to 9/11 and it was an extremely angry piece of work and as the years have passed by I've done movies and I've done other things and time has provided some good distance, so it becomes more of a cohesive story as it progresses. The Fixer has also become his own character in a way I've really enjoyed. No one will read this and think, 'Where's Batman?'"

The artist and writer said he will complete the book before he signs with a publisher.