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A review by ericbuscemi
The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Frank Miller
2.0
Where to start? How about the animation. In one word, neon. Overbearingly so. But that alone was not enough for me to dislike Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. After all, I enjoyed Batman: Year One, and the animation there was less than extraordinary.
Lets move on to the pace of the comic. It was frenetic, which is not necessarily bad. But it this case it was an absolutely incoherent mess. There are a ton of superheroes thrown into the mix with Batman -- Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Catgirl (formerly Robin), Atom, Flash, Elongated Man, Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Question, Martian Manhunter, Hawkboy, Saturn Girl, Hawk and Dove, and the Green Lantern. I have no problem with ensemble casts or stories that are epic in nature, but trying to give all of those characters their due in a three-issue comic series was an exercise in futility. Most of the heroes only appear for a few panels, and some are completely superfluous, such as the left-wing/right-wing banter of Green Arrow and Question. Then there is the appearance of the Green Lantern, which while not superfluous was more infuriating, as he is used as the deus ex machina at the climactic arc of the story. Frank Miller must have felt the need to give a nod to every character ever associated with Batman as a wink to hardcore fans, but the attempt was not pulled off successfully.
Finally, let me address the plot of the comic, which in summation was: In a bleak alternate future, former superheroes come out of retirement to bring order to the chaos. Some rely on technology and their wits, while some have other-worldy powers. During this, villains have been killing off heroes, and a former hero has gone crazy and become a villain. Does that seem at all familiar? Because it is basically the plot of Watchmen, except the [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] is a flawless masterpiece.
That all being said, even a poorly conceived Frank Miller Batman comic is still a good time, and better than a lot of what else is out there in the graphic novel medium.
Lets move on to the pace of the comic. It was frenetic, which is not necessarily bad. But it this case it was an absolutely incoherent mess. There are a ton of superheroes thrown into the mix with Batman -- Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Catgirl (formerly Robin), Atom, Flash, Elongated Man, Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Question, Martian Manhunter, Hawkboy, Saturn Girl, Hawk and Dove, and the Green Lantern. I have no problem with ensemble casts or stories that are epic in nature, but trying to give all of those characters their due in a three-issue comic series was an exercise in futility. Most of the heroes only appear for a few panels, and some are completely superfluous, such as the left-wing/right-wing banter of Green Arrow and Question. Then there is the appearance of the Green Lantern, which while not superfluous was more infuriating, as he is used as the deus ex machina at the climactic arc of the story. Frank Miller must have felt the need to give a nod to every character ever associated with Batman as a wink to hardcore fans, but the attempt was not pulled off successfully.
Finally, let me address the plot of the comic, which in summation was: In a bleak alternate future, former superheroes come out of retirement to bring order to the chaos. Some rely on technology and their wits, while some have other-worldy powers. During this, villains have been killing off heroes, and a former hero has gone crazy and become a villain. Does that seem at all familiar? Because it is basically the plot of Watchmen, except the [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] is a flawless masterpiece.
That all being said, even a poorly conceived Frank Miller Batman comic is still a good time, and better than a lot of what else is out there in the graphic novel medium.