Welcome to Episode #29 of Comics & Brews. The Drunk History of The Dark Knight Returns. Where the Beers Hit as Hard as Batman’s Punches
By Comics & Brews — with hosts TazAlGhul & Just Abby
Bearded Brewers Artisan Ales X RAR Brewing: Unshaven (Triple Hazy IPA) 9.8% ABV
Bearpaw River Brewing Company from Wasalla Alaska: Pizza Party (Hazy IPA) Crispy, light hazy crushable greatness. Can also confirm … we pre-gamed at Littleton Brewing for this one which got us nice n primed for an incredible episode.
What Happens When You Mix Frank Miller’s Batman with a Six-Pack?
Gotham’s a mess. Bruce Wayne’s retired. The government’s useless.
And we thought it’d be a great idea to drink our way through one of the most important comics ever written. Welcome to the Drunk History of The Dark Knight Returns — where we celebrate Batman’s mid-life crisis one beer at a time.
This was one of the books that brought me (tazalghul) back into comics. Seeing this gem on the shelf of a Target and bringing it into my house and reading it at the speed of light changed everything!
Frank Miller’s 1986 masterpiece didn’t just change Batman — it saved him. It dragged the Dark Knight out of the Adam West era and threw him face-first into the mud (literally).
Tonight, Taz and Abby retell the saga — tipsy, passionate, and possibly slightly misquoting the fact that Alfred existed. In our words he didn’t but he most def DID! Give it a watch below … or you can keep on scrolling if you actually enjoy reading over watching.
The Setup: Batman’s Hangover Era
Bruce Wayne is 55 and retired. Gotham’s gone feral. The Mutant Gang owns the streets.
Bruce keeps pretending he’s fine, but every time he stares at a thunderstorm you can practically hear the Batsuit whisper, “Come on, old man … one more round.”
When he finally suits up, it’s not a victory — it’s a relapse.
And as the lightning cracks behind him, the legend is reborn — slower, angrier, but way more dangerous. His thiccness and white hair is a vision to the eyes of every comic fan.
That’s the first moment in comics history where you feel Batman’s weight — like an aging boxer coming out of retirement to fight the world. Large. Pissed. Awesome. Frank Miller truly brings the heat with every page.
The Fights (and the Shots)
🧃 The Mutant Leader — Book Two IPA Round
First fight? Batman gets wrecked. Second fight? He drags the mutant freak into the mud and performs what might be the most savage beatdown in comic history.
“This isn’t a mud hole. It’s an operating table. And I’m the surgeon.”
A powerful one that shall never be forgotten. Batman literally face smashes the mutant leader’s face into the mud pool over and over repeatedly obliterating his face off. Leaving him what looks to be drowned and motionless with everyone looking upon his corpse. So legendary. Because we all know … Batman doesn’t kill!
🎯 Carrie Kelley — The Raspberry Sour of Hope
13-year-old Robin, bright red glasses, big courage.
She saves Bruce’s life and gives the story its only pure heart.
We paired this section with a tart Raspberry Sour — because it’s sweet, unexpected, and cuts through all the brooding. I always forget that’s she’s basically just an 8th grader in this because she comes through numerous times to save Bruce’s life. Whether it was post mutant-leader, The Joker or later down the line his battle with the big bad Superman.
Superman – The Cold War Lager Showdown
By Book Three, Reagan’s calling Superman like he’s customer service: “Can you handle our Batman problem?” Superman shows up as the government’s golden boy while Gotham descends into blackout chaos. Batman, meanwhile, is leading an army of vigilantes in the dark. (who have incredible batwing masks on their faces). It’s rebellion vs obedience — and nothing says “Reagan-era tension” like an ice-cold lager with too much foam. Nothing like the president just having a lethal Kryptonian weapon just a phone call away. Guess there wasn’t a justice league in this universe. Que a remix of Black Hole Sun to Red Sun Fire in the Hole! But we’re not done with Superman just yet. He closes this story out with one of the best comic book battles of all time. But we’ll get there soon …
💀 Joker — The Cherry Sour Death Scene
Then comes Joker — pale, grinning, freshly resurrected by the sound of Batman’s comeback.
Their Tunnel of Love fight is equal parts horror and heartbreak. The placement just ties into the love that The Joker always had for the bat. He’s always getting in his way, messing with his head, but is he really trying to kill him? Or is it just a psychotic way he shows love. Because The Joker just doesn’t exist without the bat. The bat keeps him going, with his one goal, make the bat cross the line and end his life … This situation / fight is exactly that but in one of the best, wildest ways possible.
The joker goes on an insane killing spree, murdering people at the talk show, running rampant through the carnival where it ends in the spot we mentioned … The Tunnel of Love!
Batman won’t kill him. The Joker grows inpatient with a batarang stabbed through his eye and makes his own custom scene. Joker kills himself, snapping his own neck laughing all the way down. This makes a bad look for Bruce as the Police roll through the tunnel to find him dead, seemingly taken out by the Bat himself.
We toasted the moment with a Cherry Sour — sweet at first, then acidic enough to burn. Exactly how that scene feels. One of the best Joker v Batman page turners you’ll ever come across. Joker War didn’t have shit on this book.
⚡ Batman vs Superman — The Final Pour
Old, broken Bruce with a Kryptonite arrow vs the Man of Steel.
Every panel screams desperation. Bruce’s monologue could double as a whiskey-soaked confession:
“I want you to remember, Clark … the one man who beat you.”
It goes back and forth page after page. Bruce with his incredible beefy batsuit working his smarts to beat the alien himself. Barely hanging on it’s a victory through “death” because Bruce fakes his death in Superman’s arms in order to keep fighting underground in the shadows. (add some more sad flare, Alfred seeminglyy dies in unison with his Master Bruce). Superman of course doesn’t actually die but he is defeated inside and out. Like it seems every battle is in this storyline it was one for the ages. 1980’s Frank Miller Batman may just be one of the GOATs in my opinion. With that being said the new Absolute Batman has me about as fired up as this book had me. Such a revitalization of Juice into the DC Comics realm that just totally came out of left field.
The Morning After: Why It Still Matters
The hangover hit us — and Gotham — equally hard.
Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns is still the most important Batman story ever written. It redefined him as a symbol of obsession, not perfection. Without it, we wouldn’t have the Burton films, Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, or even Snyder’s armored brawler in Batman v Superman. That chunk suit Ben Affleck wore was actually quite a solid modern day reflection.
It’s the book that made Batman human again — broken, tired, addicted to justice — and somehow, that’s what made him timeless. Not to mention a more adult style Batman a lot of people I think were really looking for. It’s exactly what I was looking for when I pulled this off the shelf. It had been about a decade since I’d dabbled in comics and all I had remembered was the childish version of books I read in the past. This wasn’t it. Every page was shocking, drawn beautifully and crafted in a way that had you flipping the pages until the last one was done. If you haven’t given this entire series a read … do it. There’s so many more books that continue on after this with Carrie Kelley and Superman + Wonder Woman that are just as good.
Beers of the Episode
- Bearded Brewers Artisan Ales X RAR Brewing: – “Unshaven Triple Hazy IPA”
Triple Dry Hopped with Cryo Citra, Freestyle Motueka, Freestyle Nectaron, Freestyle Riwaka, Citra Hyperboost and Motueka Hop Kief. A triple that was absolutely crushable. Every sip was crispy and had the hazy flavor you’re always hoping for. - Bearpaw River Brewing Company from Wasalla Alaska: Pizza Party (Straight From Alaska!) — 7.5% Hazy IPA Tracy brought this gem back for us from the lands of Alaska. Also crushable but shockingly less flavor. Was still a delightful beer and if I remember right I gave it around a 3.75 / 5.0
Connect With Comics & Brews
Every follow and subscriber helps! We truly appreciate each and every one of you. Each channel posts something different here and there too so why not give em all a follow?
Website: comicsandbrews.co
Instagram: @comics_brews
X (Twitter): @comics_brews
Facebook: Comics & Brews
TikTok: @comics_brews
👉 Subscribe on YouTube for exclusive giveaways. It’s super easy too … Just hit that button below baby!
👉 Leave a review—it seriously helps more than you know! Even if it’s just a comment on the Tube it helps engagement and all that greatness that YouTube needs for its soul sucking algorithm.
Have a Character Suggestion for Our Next Episode? Submit it Below!
Your message has been sent
Comics & Brews 
Leave a comment