Grovel letters

Bruce Wayne's age would me more likely be in his early fifties in this graphic novel. You did notice the graying hair, didn't you? I had not read a DC Comic since the early 1960s until I began following the Batman and Superman stories with the publication of the Man of Steel series that redefined the Superman character, and subsequently, Frank Miller's redefinition of Batman. I have a collection of every title of Batman and Superman from 1986 through 1993.

Forty years old is pretty darned young! You probably don't follow American baseball in the UK, but Julio Franco, firstbaseman of the Atlanta Braves is 46 and is a stud, as is Roger Clemens at 43. I lived in Leicestershire in 1982-1983, when Gary Lineker led the Foxes [that'd be Leicester City to an Brit - Ed] to a promotion to the First Division. Lineker should still be out on the pitch running with Beckham rather than broadcasting his exploits on TV.

Also, don't forget that Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond novels spanning the character's early forties.

By the way, I'll be 59 next month.
Wayne Bruce

Happy birthday for next month. We don't specifically mention Batman's age in the review, as Miller doesn't in his book. The reference to Batman being in his thirties is where we think the current Batman probably is. We'd agree that the Batman in The Dark Knight Returns is significantly older than that.