So much of "gritty" comic stories is actually the writer apologizing for the silliness of the medium. Superheroes are and shall always be vaguely goofy, but so's everything, if you think about it. Writers who can just accept that and move on usually don't feel the need for excess grit. It's funny, Frank Miller's earlier stuff -- y'know, the Daredevil and Batman stories that made grit popular -- were still filled with the silliness of the subject matter. He embraced it, presenting the costumes and the codenames without embarrassment, which made them cool instead of campy. Daredevil could just chillax and have a soda while in full costume, and Batman could strap all kinds of weapons to himself even as his tights bunched a little at the knees. But people didn't see the fond mockery in his work, just the blood and the stubble. Hence, the 90's.

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My hero is a schizophrenic super-sleuth who kills gangsters as a hobby. He rubs elbows with crimefighting Mimes and killer Nuns. His greatest foe is a voodoo pimp.

Face it, you're going to read my comic. [link]