Product Description
The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Frank Miller's follow-up to his hugely successful Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, one of the few comics that is widely recognized as not only reinventing the genre but also bringing it to a wider audience.Set three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again follows a similar structure: once again, Batman hauls himself out of his self-imposed retirement in order to set things right. However, where DKR was about him cleaning up his home city, Gotham, DKSA has him casting his net much wider: he's out to save the world.The thing is, most of the world doesn't realize that it needs to be saved--least of all Superman and Wonder Woman, who have become little more than superpowered enforcers of the status quo. So, the notoriously solitary Batman is forced to recruit some different superpowered allies. He also has his ever-present trusty sidekick, Robin, except that he is a she, and she is calling herself Catwoman. Together, these super-friends uncover a vast and far-reaching conspiracy that leads to the President of the United States (Lex Luthor) and beyond.The Dark Knight Strikes Again is largely an entertaining comic, but much of what made The Dark Knight Returns so good just doesn't work here. Miller's gritty, untidy artwork was perfect for DKR's grim depiction of the dark and seedy Gotham City, but it jars a bit for DKSA, which is meant to depict an ultra-glossy, futuristic technocracy. Lynn Varley's garish coloring attempts to add a slicker sheen, but the artwork is ultimately let down by that which worked so well for DKR--this time around, it just feels sloppy and rushed. The same is true of the book's denouement, which happens so quickly that it leaves the reader reeling and looking for more of an explanation. Moreover, DKSA is packed full of characters who will mean little to those unfamiliar with the DC Comics universe (e.g., the Atom, the Elongated Man, the Question).Perhaps the book's biggest failing is that where The Dark Knight Returns gave comic book fans a base from which to evangelize to theuninitiated, The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just preaching to the converted. Comic book superhero fans will find much to enjoy here, but others would be better off sticking with the original. --Robert Burrow
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Amazon.com Review
The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Frank Miller's follow-up to his hugely successful Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, one of the few comics that is widely recognized as not only reinventing the genre but also bringing it to a wider audience.Set three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again follows a similar structure: once again, Batman hauls himself out of his self-imposed retirement in order to set things right. However, where DKR was about him cleaning up his home city, Gotham, DKSA has him casting his net much wider: he's out to save the world. The thing is, most of the world doesn't realize that it needs to be saved--least of all Superman and Wonder Woman, who have become little more than superpowered enforcers of the status quo. So, the notoriously solitary Batman is forced to recruit some different superpowered allies. He also has his ever-present trusty sidekick, Robin, except that he is a she, and she is calling herself Catwoman. Together, these super-friends uncover a vast and far-reaching conspiracy that leads to the President of the United States (Lex Luthor) and beyond.The Dark Knight Strikes Again is largely an entertaining comic, but much of what made The Dark Knight Returns so good just doesn't work here. Miller's gritty, untidy artwork was perfect for DKR's grim depiction of the dark and seedy Gotham City, but it jars a bit for DKSA, which is meant to depict an ultra-glossy, futuristic technocracy. Lynn Varley's garish coloring attempts to add a slicker sheen, but the artwork is ultimately let down by that which worked so well for DKR--this time around, it just feels sloppy and rushed. The same is true of the book's denouement, which happens so quickly that it leaves the reader reeling and looking for more of an explanation. Moreover, DKSA is packed full of characters who will mean little to those unfamiliar with the DC Comics universe (e.g., the Atom, the Elongated Man, the Question). Perhaps the book's biggest failing is that where The Dark Knight Returns gave comic book fans a base from which to evangelize to theuninitiated, The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just preaching to the converted. Comic book superhero fans will find much to enjoy here, but others would be better off sticking with the original. --Robert Burrow
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 Beyond a disappointment ( heykidscomics242 )
OKAY,
I wasn't a big fan of the original 1986 "DK Returns": Miller's weirdo beardo, drug influenced art (enough vampired teeth already!!), a female Robin, Bats with a gun.Yet, I concur, that book changed comic books forever, even more that the brilliant Neil Adams in the 1970's. But I still liked the detective solving of Batman, used his mind instead of his fists.
So, I was sort of interested when the long-awaited sequel of DKR came: DK Strikes Back. Whatta train wreck. Miller went overboard on distoted art, confusing and convoluted story-telling. It was really a piece of garbage. I wouldn't give the book to my pet rat for chewing fuel. Sorry, Miller, why don't you take more 'Shrooms!!!
I was told the original concluding book was delayed for 4 months due to poor orders on the first and second issues.
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Couldn't leave well enough alone. ( smokeyjo7 )
Disappointing sequels are nothing new, but I have a hard time coming up with an example in any medium where the disparity between an original's quality and the follow-up's is so incredibly wide. Dark Knight Returns was Miller at his peak, Strikes Again is like a 13-year-old's idea of making fun of it. The dialogue is laughable, the drama is boring at best, the art gives no reason why it should stretch over expansive full pages the way it does. I'm an optimistic, forgiving person, but really there's almost no excusing such overindulgent, ill-advised trash as this.
I'm a huge fan of the original, and even other work by Miller, but don't waste a nickel on this. His awful "All-Star Batman & Robin" run really shouldn't have been a surprise after this. Heck, if nothing else, Batman fans should stay away because he's hardly even a character in the book.
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 Batman Strikes Out
In our culture, icons of all kinds are revered, celebrated, loved, and hated; they are enlivened by ourselves. When an icon such as Batman is reinterpreted in the manner in which he has been in this graphic novel, it is contrary to what is his true character. Batman must save Gotham and the world from the duo of Luthor and Brainiac so he reveals his existence after years in hiding. Although he needs help from several others, Batman is presented as a self-proclaimed savior who takes himself and his job too seriously. He belittles others whom he feels are inferior (Superman,...), abuses others, and crosses the line that the true Batman would never cross. He is characterized a lot like "All-Star Batman", cruel and vain. This character is born from crime and seeks to stop it to restore a balance (in his life? in the world?) The Batman in this novel is a bad reworking of a noble character into an immoral rogue cop (Plastic-Man is also rewritten as such). The art work needed a lot to be desired. At times it looked rushed or poorly planned out.
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 Not THAT bad!
Let me preface this by saying that I am a relative newcomer to DC comics. The story here is excellent in my opinion, and it made me want to buy more titles involving JLA and the characters included here. Is the art subpar, especially in the end? Yes. It looks like Frank got tired of drawing it halfway through. But the story itself is worth buying this book.
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 Disappointed
You know, I had very hgh expectations, having thoroughly enjoyed the first book. This book was weird, and very different from The Dark Knight Returns. I wasn't expecting a carbon copy of the same thing, but this was just out there. I wouldn't ever strongly recommend this to anyone. It did have some value, and I don't feel like my time was completely wasted, but if I had to do it over again, I woul probably bought a different book.
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