The Dark Knight returns vs Watchmen: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Bandes dessinées, Superheroes, Heroes, Good and evil, Comics & graphic novels, Comic books
The Dark Knight returns
"Together with inker Klaus Janson and colorist Lynn Varley, writer/artist Frank Miller completely reinvents the legend of Batman in his saga of a near-future Gotham City gone to rot, ten years after the Dark Knight's…
vs
Watchmen
"This book examines each of the series' twelve issues in unprecedented detail, moving page by page and panel by panel to reveal the hidden foundations of this milestone in modern storytelling. Edited with notes by…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Dark Knight returns is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 8 for Watchmen.
- Watchmen has the widest readership — 605271 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Dark Knight returns | Watchmen | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.6 (5) | 4.4 (605271) |
| Hardcover | 4.2 (490) | 4.5 (1856) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 4.5 (176) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (381) | 4.5 (335) |
Reception
| The Dark Knight returns | Watchmen | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 490 | 605271 |
| Editions | 17 | 43 |
| Citations | 33 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 5 | 129140 |
| Reading it now | 2 | 1100 |
| Written reviews | 1 | 378 |
| Wikipedia attention | 24133 | 37483 |
| Pages | 204 | 442 |