In my personal opinion, Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" is the best Batman story of all time. Not only did it help define who Batman is even to this day, but when you start to think about it, much of what the comic book genre and everything related to it (movies, TV, and games) owes some credit to DKR. Between that and "Year One", these were the stories that made Frank Miller synonymous with Batman. Those stories were from the 80's though. By the time Miller returned to Batman for his "Dark Knight Strikes Again" sequel, something clearly happened to him that made him, well, bat-shit crazy. A theory many of had that when he began his work on "Sin City", he never left "Sin City". For starters, the simplistic style he took with "Sin City" has stuck. Seriously, just do a Google image search on both stories and compare them yourself. It's insane how far down Miller's once detailed style has fallen. His writing has suffered as well. "Strikes Again" was poorly received, but it was with "All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder" where we saw just how far gone his mind was. His depiction of Batman of that story, who I'd like to refer to as "Bat-Marv", shows Batman taking delight in torturing criminals, belittling other superheroes and feeling cooler and smarter than them, and of course, this infamous meme:
Personally, I see "All Star Batman and Robin" as better than "Strikes Again" with Jim Lee's art alone. Story wise, it's so ridiculous that you just can't take it seriously, which makes it still somewhat entertaining. I mean, there was one issue where he painted himself, Robin, and a whole room yellow to mess with Green Lantern (who's ring doesn't work against yellow).
My point is, Frank Miller is way past his prime. So when it was announced that a third "Dark Knight" story was coming out, many people were worried. But if there was any hope, it was that Brian Azzarello was co-writing with Andy Kubert on art. From what I've heard, the still at this point ongoing "Dark Knight III: The Master Race" is an improvement over "Strikes Again", but it's mostly due to Azzarello, who is pretty much running the show with Miller more in a consultant role. We should all be worried though if Miller does a Dark Knight IV on his own like he wants to though.
But aside from the new miniseries, I had more interest in a one-shot that was also announced with "Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade", a prequel set 10 years before DKR that would show Jason Todd's death and Bruce's retirement (though has nothing to do with finding the holy grail). Azzarello and Miller would write while John Romita Jr. would be on art. Having read it, I can say that it is a good companion story to DKR but stops just short of being perfect...literally.
To start with the art, John Romita Jr. is in top form and brings probably his best work since his years on the Spider-Man books. It fits so well with Miller's style (which makes sense since they have worked together before), that I feel like this may have actually came out alongside DKR.
As for the writing, I felt it was on par with Miller's previous good work. While I'm sure much of the credit can go to Azzarello, it did kind of feel like 1980's Frank Miller went through a time-warp to the present and helped put this story together. A nice touch is that the thought and speech bubbles keep the same style from DKR. I think something that benefits this story is that this is solely focused on Batman and his world. Since after "Year One", Miller's other Batman stories (even currently with DKIII) have branched out to focus on the rest of the DC Universe, which has mostly resulted badly. Here, it's a clear and cut Batman story.
The characters are also written well that it seems natural that they end up where they do in DKR.
At this point, Bruce is 45 years old, middle aged and hair starting to gray. He knows he's getting old and that his body's failing him, but being Batman isn't something he can just stop doing. Bruce's struggle here is a good contrast to where he is later on in DKR, especially in his bloody and brutal encounters with Killer Croc. In DKR, we see an older Bruce returning to the role of Batman and trying to prove to himself that he can still be as good as when he was, which leads to him nearly being killed by the Mutant gang leader in their first battle. In "Last Crusade", Bruce has been Batman for years and is in denial that he's past his prime while still trying to do what he's always done.
Jason Todd is most well known as the Robin who died. What some may not know is that before his death in the mainstream continutiy, Miller is the one who killed Jason first with his death being referenced in DKR. In "Last Crusade", this is the first time we're actually shown Jason in one of Miller's Batman stories, and it's really interesting. First off, during a news report, some anchors talk about how Batman is pretty much guilty of child endangerment by bringing a young sidekick into dangerous situations, asking what kind of man does that and what kind of impact it has on the child. In turn, Bruce is worried about how Jason seems to take some joy in harming criminals. This does kind of have to make you think when it comes to adolescent heroes. In a world of good vs. evil and superpowers, what kind of impact does that have on a young person? With Bruce, he had years to prepare and train. Jason, and Dick before that, got their start early. In some ways, fighting and hurting bad people is an outlet for their aggression, which probably peaks once they enter puberty.
Bruce's worries about Jason is one of the reasons that's keeping him from retiring as Batman, while he can act as mentor and Jason takes on the role, but doesn't believe either of them are ready for that. This is really interesting. Most people see Dick, Tim, and even Damian being worthy of becoming Batman, but Jason Todd? First off, I'm not sure how old Jason is at this point, but I'm going to guess mid-teens given how he's drawn. Now, given Jason did try to usurp the role after Bruce's "death" during the "Battle for the Cowl" miniseries as a gun-toting Batman...
...but at this point, Jason had been killed, resurrected, and acted as anti-hero vigilante Red Hood. But Jason Todd becoming Batman with Bruce's blessing? That could be an interesting concept to look into.
The other prominent character in this story is the Joker. Given, he's mostly in Arkham after being apprehended by Batman and Robin, but it's there we see how dangerous he really is. He's able to manipulate the other inmates however he chooses. Sometimes he'll start a joke but leave it unfinished so they'll riot. Other times he'll cause them to mutilate themselves. Or he'll just have them attack the guards so he can use the chance to escape once again. Similar to how he's portrayed in DKR, Joker is a little more calm and collective when he wants to be, which would indeed make it hard to tell what he's planning. Compared to a more manic Joker that we're used to, I believe this makes this version of Joker all the more dangerous.
There's a lot that could have been done with this idea, but unfortunately, it seems like this one-shot was part one of a two-part story because it just ends.
I mean, first of all, let's talk about how it ends. After learning of Joker's latest escape, Jason wants to go out and get him before he can do anything deadly. But Bruce, badly injured after his battle with Killer Croc, tells Jason to stand down and wait for him to heal. Jason, wanting to prove himself, suits up as Robin and tracks Joker to one of his hideouts. As Jason picks the lock to break in, two of Joker's henchmen sneak up behind him and just beat him to death, all the while Joker sits and reads.
Now, Jason's death in the mainstream continuity was iconic. Everyone knows the details, with Joker beating him with a crowbar and leaving him in a warehouse that would explode. Jason in "Last Crusade" really goes out like a punk, getting sneaked up on by two thugs. I'm not saying they had to copy Jason's original death, but something along the lines of Joker torturing him to the point he dies would have been more impactful. And given Miller and Azzarello's styles, it may have been even more gruesome. To play devil's advocate though, I guess Jason's death here does go along with what Bruce was saying about him not being ready.
As I said though, it's at this point that the story just ends. I mean, we all know what happens with Jason's death affecting Bruce so much that he hangs up the cowl, but there's so much more that could have been done. Show Bruce in mourning for Jason, his interactions with Alfred, Gordon, Selina, and Dick, going on the warpath to bring Joker in, maybe even coming close to killing him, with the final moments of the story having Bruce close down the Batcave declaring "Never again."
For what it is, "The Last Crusade" succeeds in adding more to Miller's Dark Knight Universe, being able to capture the tone, look, and voice that made DKR memorable, even if it does feel we're only getting half the overall story.
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