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Inverse
Inverse
Entertainment
Jake Kleinman

39 Years Ago, an Iconic Duo Made a Shockingly Dark Superman Story — And Changed Superheroes Forever

Superman Dave Gibbons Alan Moore KalEl Batman JorEl Wonder Woman Krypton DC Judge Dredd
Emma Chao/Inverse; Getty Images; DC Comics

Some debates among superhero fans will never be resolved. Superman vs. Batman. Iron Man vs. Captain America. DC vs. Marvel. But if there’s one thing everyone seems to agree on, it’s that 1986 is the most important year in comic book history. The argument why is simple — that one year saw the release of several groundbreaking comics:

  1. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, an epic story about an elderly Batman who comes out of retirement to save Gotham City in the face of American decline.
  2. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen, a meticulous deconstruction of the entire superhero genre that’s also just a damn-good comic.
  3. Art Spiegelman’s Maus, which retold the story of the Holocaust to terrific effect in comic book form.
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