The Dark Knight Returns: Styling and Composition, Characterization

Narrative structure
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The Dark Knight Returns is a comic book written by James Miller starring Batman. It tells a story of a 55-year-old retiree who returns to Gotham City to fight crime as a vigilante. However, he faces stiff opposition from the law enforcers as well as the government. In the previous comic book series, Batman had already defeated the villain (the Joker) and had decided to disappear for a while (Crutcher, 2011). However, with the continued rise in crime levels in Gotham City, he decided to return to save the city. The paper provides an in-depth description of the comic book based on the graphics scene provided below.
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Color
The color in the above scene communicates a feeling of fear and anticipation. In comic books, the black color is usually associated with darkness or nightfall. This is usually the time when most crimes are committed. The red shade that comes after the sound effect of a siren depicts the red light that is often emitted by a sounding police siren. The red color is often associated with danger and thus, this would explain why the police officers are in a rush. For instance, the car could be in pursuit of a getaway car used by a couple of bad guys fleeing from the scene of the crime. The theme of the comic book is about fighting crime in a city that has experienced an upsurge in the crime rate (Daniels, 2004). The two characters are both police officers who are on their way to fight crime in the city of Gotham. The officer on the left side is driving the car while his counterpart is in the co-driver seat. The officer driving the car seems a bit old and experienced and is probably in his early 50s. His colleague on the other hand is much younger, probably in his late 20s and is in his beginning of his police career.
Styling and composition
The letter E repeated continually represents the sound of the police siren. The crying sound of the police siren is a common thing in Gotham City due to its high crime rate. A police siren is often used to clear traffic to allow the cops car to rush to the destination with minimal delay. The siren sound often depicts the presence of danger or an emergency since it is commonly used in police cars and ambulances. The older officer driving the car is more composed and seems aware of what is about to happen. The younger officer is less composed and is probably more anxious compared to his counterpart. The officer is also worried and is in anticipation since it is probably his first day in the field. Moreover, he is certainly not aware of the presence of a vigilante in Gotham City who is rumored to have prevented several crimes from happening including saving the lives of numerous crime victims. Based on his composure the officer driving the car has noticed the presence of Batman and, therefore, decides to slow down the car to the amusement of his counterpart who is still clueless. This prompts the young officer to ask him why he was slowing down yet they are rushing to a crime scene that is probably out of control (Chute & DeKoven, 2007). The reason for slowing down the car is quite apparent since the older officer is aware that Batman has just flown in to save the day. Therefore, bot...