The Dark Knight III: The Master Race

As you may have heard, we're only a few days away from the release of the first issue of Dark Knight III: The Master Race, a new Batman story from Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson that was billed as the final chapter in a trilogy that began in 1986 with the groundbreaking The Dark Knight Returns. Now, however, it looks like the trilogy might be surprising us all by becoming a tetralogy. In an interview, Miller said that he's planning on a fourth (and final) installment of what he's now calling a four-part series of stories, and that when the time comes for Dark Knight IV, he'll be writing it solo.

Next year will be the 30th anniversary of The Dark Knight Returns, which for the three of you who have never heard of it, is considered one the landmark Batman stories of this generation. The story by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley not only shaped the way numerous creators and fans viewed Batman, but also opened a space in comics for more mature tales aimed squarely at the adult audience. There's also that new sequel coming, The Dark Knight III, which actually begins later this month. This time around, Frank Miller will actually be teaming with several other creators, including Andy Kubert and Brian Azzarello, to tell the third installment of the aged Batman's adventures. To commemorate the anniversary of the seminal tale, as well as the latest chapter in the saga, DC Collectibles will be releasing two new pieces featuring this futuristic Batman. Both new collectibles were sculpted by Alterton, and manage to capture both the gritty intensity of Frank Miller's original design and the cleaner, imposing figure that Andy Kubert's linework provides in the upcoming sequel.

More than a decade after it was originally announced back in October 2004, one of comics' long-lost projects, Batman: Europa by writers Brian Azzarello and Matteo Casali and artists Jim Lee and Giuseppe Camuncoli, is finally releasing its first issue in November. The book was previously solicited for a January 2011. Now DC has exclusively revealed to ComicsAlliance the new solicitation and Lee Bermejo's variant cover for Batman: Europa #1, ahead of next week's November solicits. DC also unveiled details of a series of special collector's editions for Frank Miller's Dark Knight III: The Master Race.

The art team for Frank Miller's worryingly titled third entry in his Dark Knight trilogy was unveiled by DC this morning, with Andy Kubert providing the pencils, and longtime Miller collaborator Klaus Janson providing inks. DC also unveiled the first image by the creative team. Kubert's previous Batman credits include the "Batman and Son" arc with Grant Morrison, and the story "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" with Neil Gaiman. Janson was Miller's inker on the original The Dark Knight Returns.

Nearly 30 years after the release of The Dark Knight Returns, and almost 15 after The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Frank Miller is coming back to DC comics for a third installment in his series of stories about an older Batman in a world of corruption. It will be out this fall. Let's generously say that the title is...interesting: The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Miller is set to co-write the eight-issue series with Brian Azzarello, who wrote a somewhat controversial Batman story of his own, "Broken City," back in 2004. According to DC's blog, an artist has yet to be named. (Which seems to mean Miller won't be drawing it.)