I ordered both the Dark Knight Returns and the Dark Knight Strikes Again at the same time and my excitement at reading them was bursting through the roof. I read DKR first and I was blown away I loved the story and character interpretation, it was amazing. Then I got around to reading DKSA and the first couple of pages were great I thought it would only get better, it did story wise but the artwork couldn't compare to DKR because it got a little sloppier and rushed it seemed, but I still throughly enjoyed the story, even though I thought it focused more on other super heroes than Batman i.e. Superman and Wonderwoman. Nevertheless I like Frank Miller's writing and I still throughly enjoyed the book, I recommend it to all fans of the Dark Knight Returns, it's a bold interpretation of a dark world and a damn good story.

absolutely horrid from start to finish. story. artwork. everything. horrid. meh. frank miller has zero understanding for batman, even less for superman. and captain marvel? miller should have been publically flogged for his utter misrepresentation of the character.

the worst part of this? easy. the flash's bike pants. horrid.

As the Amazon summary says, this comic is for those who read and enjoyed its predecessor, The Dark Knight Returns. Those who have not read it or did not like it should skip this book. Miller's artwork, while appropriate for the more intimate, seedier TDKR, struggles to keep up with the scope here, and his introduction of a lot of old-school comic heroes into the plot (Atom, Captain Marvel and Plastic Man, anyone?) will have those unfamiliar with the DC universe scratching their heads. That said, to those who know the history of the DC universe and like (or at least tolerate) Miller's artistic style will like this comic.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the sequel to the classic The Dark Knight Returns, was written and drawn by Frank Miller and colored by Lynn Varley. It was originally published as a three-part series in 2001 and 2002.

The story picks up three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns. The world has become a police-state, led by Lex Luthor, and Batman is at work trying to free superheroes the government has imprisoned and take down the corrupt government.

Strikes Again is thirty pages longer than Returns, and it feels much shorter. In Returns, every panel was carefully arranged. Here, panels are strewn about the page, and there are a lot of full-page spreads that are neither artistic nor helpful to the plot. Miller may have been trying to create a chaotic ambience for this one, but it all feels like filler.

On the subject of chaos, Strikes Again feels slapped together. There's plenty going on, but there's little development of any character other than Superman. Nothing that happens here is particularly exciting, and the ending is anticlimactic and ho-hum.

Miller's art is significantly different here than it was in Returns. It's more grotesque, it's sloppier, and it's less detailed. Many characters look like monsters. There's a profound lack of background art, and this, combined with the lack of detail and the computer-colored backgrounds that Lynn Varley quite obviously got carried away with, makes it perfectly understandable if the reader has trouble figuring out what's going on. About the only bright spot here is what Miller does with Plastic Man.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again feels sloppy and thrown together. It is mediocre in its own right, and looks even poorer when compared with the classic that spawned it.

In virtually every story there is a device called exposition, essentially giving a reader the background of the characters and the situation at hand. Of the many failings evident with a reading of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Strikes Again, it is a lack of exposition that is the most obvious and troubling.

Picking up about three years after The Dark Knight Returns, which I read last month, Miller presents a world run amok. Lex Luthor runs the government by controlling a generated president. Jimmy Olsen is on to the madness occurring but is widely discredited by everyone as off his rocker. Superman had a daughter with Wonder Woman a decade and a half before. Shazam apparently is controlled by the government just as Superman was in DKR. Braniac uses the lives of the citizens of Kandor to blackmail Superman. The public gets their news from scantily clad women on the web, and love their president even after evidence has arisen that he doesn't even exist.

How did all of this happen? Beats me. Miller doesn't really spend any time setting up the situation, he just dives in. As a result, I felt lost for most of the narrative. Characters just seemed to show up for no reason, out of the blue (Martian Manhunter, I'm looking at you.) Some characters I even had to look up online because they were so obscure (Hawk & Dove, The Question).

Doing his own inking was another of Miller's mistakes. He has a fairly cartoonish style, as evidenced in the adjoining picture, which of course wouldn't be a problem but it clashes with the overall tone of the story. Another issue is Lynn Varley's colors: bright and bold. She also uses a lot of computer generated coloring that sort of work with the media criticism in the book, but don't seem to gel with Miller's drawings.

The reimagining of character's looks is also problematic. Barry Allen would never wear bicycle tights with giant sneakers. Wonder Woman does not look attractive with a helmet that obscures her nose and brow, in other words her whole face. And Carrie's not Robin anymore, she's Catgirl. Her shoes are huge too, but they have rollerblades inside. How cool is that? Not very.

I feel like I have a lot more to criticize, but I disliked this novel so much that I think I'd just end up listing a bunch of gripes, and The Dark Knight Strikes Again is savaged all over the web, so I will resist. You can seek it out if you wish.

Media criticism is prominent in this volume as well, but while I enjoyed the satire on television in Dark Knight Returns, Miller falls short of making any sort of effective commentary on the internet and doesn't really function as an effective device. Whereas the television panels allowed the reader to view the action from the point of view of the average public, it is impossible for me to believe that anyone would be getting their information from these sorts of web feeds, not matter how much latitude I give Miller for his satire.

(Rating 2.5 out of 5)

You know, the sad part about this is that if I had never read anything by Frank Marshall I would probably have enjoyed this quite a bit.

As it was, it was just a nice adventure.

What made "Dark Knight Returns" and "Year One" so enjoyable for me was the deep, inner monologue of the main characters. Yes, sometimes it would go on for pages but at the end I was right along side the character emotionally.

In "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" the story (and me along with it) was jumping around so much between the plethora of plot points and characters I never got the sense the story really knew where it was going nor what the characters were feeling.

Afterwards, I felt as if the whole story could have been split into 3, each building on the other.

Alas, my high hopes were not met.

First I should say that Miller's the Dark Knight Returns is one of my favorite pieces of literature. It is exquisite, but the sequel is rather weak. The art isn't anywhere near as good as the original. The story had some good moments but was overall way too heavy handed. Miller felt the neeed to beat us over the head with the point he was making. I prefer to forget about this graphic novel and end the Batman saga with DKR.

The Dark Knight Returns was great. Truly great.

This was, well, crap. The story makes no sense and the art is frankly (hah a pun) childish. The eventual villain totally ignores years of DC continuity and character development. Superman and Wonder Woman are caricatures of themselves.

While reading it, I couldn't help but think that Miller was intentionally punking everyone who read and loved the original. that story actually had respect for the characters it portrayed. This just made fun of them for no logical reason.

Cassie, the young Robin has decided she would rather be Catgirl, instead. Being older, I guess she reckons she looks good in a catsuit.

Now a more experienced field operative, she leads missions for the Batman.

There is a Kingdom Come type feel to this story as the heroes who are government sanctioned, and those who are not, line up for or against the Dark Knight.

the artwork is too sloppy to look at, the story is a meandering wad of lard... what the hell, Frank, did you whip all this out in a week for some desperate need for cash? Give your fans the respect they deserve.

If you are expecting anything nearly as good as the Dark Knight Returns, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. While I was slightly disappointed with the book overall, I've gotta say that this is one of the craziest comics (graphic novel, whatever) that I've ever read in my entire life. It's worth reading at least and while it doesn't ruin the memory of the original Dark Knight Returns, it's just too out there for me. The art is really funky and kind of sloppy, the writing isn't Miller at his peak and the story is a weird mishmash of cameos and political satire.

And the fate of one character in particular (I don't want to ruin the surprise because the individual shows up literally out of nowhere as one of the piece's main villains and shows up almost nothing like you remember them) was just mind boggling.

Worth a read but I don't know about recommending a purchase on this.

Frank Miller raised the bar for comics when he released the original 4-issue prestige format mini-series in 1986. It was one of two books that redefined comics for the 21st century (the other is Alan Moore's Watchmen). Every comic book fan has read (or should have read) it. It should be on your bookshelf right now!

But here we have the less-than-spectacular sequel, "The Dark Knight Strikes Again." The sequel is much more standard capes-and-tights super-hero action than the darker "Dark Knight Returns," and can be avoided by all but the most diehard fans. It doesn't strike any of the same notes as the original series. What we have here could almost be considered Silver Age super-hero action, rather than the post-modernity of "Dark Knight Returns." Miller experimented by deviating from the formula that's worked for him on classics such as "Sin City" and "Daredevil," but by doing so leads readers into different territory that they may not be interested in following him to. This is a "sequel" in name only.

What the hell, is this story suppossed to be about Superman or batman? This second part is not as good as the first one. It is more about Superman and other DC characters than Batman himself and in the end it doesn't make any sense. I guess, I have to read it again to undestand. Okay, if you are a Batman fan, like myself, but don't pay full price for it.

Comparied to Frank Millers Previous Batman Novel it really isn't that good. Not saying that it's awful, it's still worth a read! though I was really looking forward to reading this but did feel let down by it.

To start off, Frank Miller's long awaited follow up to The Dark Knight Returns plays more like a Justice League spin-off than a direct sequel. I guess he figured he explored Batman's future enough already, and now it was time to see what everyone else was up to in the DC universe. Of course this creates the problem of giving each hero enough pages to tell a decent story. And for the most part, they get their equal share, but it's not enough.

I was surprised that for such a long novel, there's really not a lot of story. A lot of sub plots seemed like they were examined but forgotten once the next character was focused on. Lex Luthor pops up but is a wasted opportunity. Usually I think Luthor comes up with some pretty interesting schemes but this time around, I couldn't stand to look at him or hear him. The media and news play a big part in this, just like they did in DKR, except this time it is usually pointless drivel and took me out of the story rather than add to it.

Carrie (Robin from DKR) makes a welcome return, this time as Catgirl. I thought her role was interesting and it would have been nice to see more of her. Police Commisioner Yindel apparently retired and was nowhere to be seen which I found odd, but I suppose there was just too many other things to worry about and no time or place to fit her in. Superman is back as well with more Justice Leaguers Green Arrow, Flash, The Atom, Wonder Woman and The Question. Martian Manhunter pops up as well but is underused.

The art is, well, good and bad. Sometimes it looks great and other times not. Very stylzed yes, but inconsistent for sure. I just don't understand how Wonder Woman can look great in one frame and uglier than ever in the next. The colors were bright and beautiful thanks to Lynn Varley.

That about wraps it up. A worthy sequel to DKR? I don't know. But a very interesting what-if portrait non-the-less. I can't say if you loved the previous book that you'll have the same admiration for this one, but that shouldn't stop you from checking it out. I can't say I regret purchasing it, but I'm a Batman completist, so good or bad, I was bound to own it.

I devoured TDKR when I first got my hands on it and desperately hoped there was more. More thankfully came in the form of this fantastically stylized book. I can understand why old school comic fans are disappointed with this as a follow up, but personally, I prefer it. The art is about as colorful as I've ever seen Miller get, and it's gorgeous. The story, while continuing similar themes as its predecessor, takes them to new outlandish heights. It's the ultimate dystopian fantasy. Instead of leaving you sick to your stomach with this screwed up society of ours, it leaves you cheering on your feet for the old man bringing it all down around him. Miller takes all the old DC characters and flips them on their heads. It's a madhouse of color, conspiracy, and contradiction.

I love it.

What a horrible piece of [expletive deleted]. This is a lazy, poorly written, badly drawn, and inferior hack job from Miller. The story doesn't even feel like a follow-on to "Dark Knight Returns"; instead, it's just more of the same, only this time we've already read about how the superheroes are in their senior years and the world has changed for the much worse.

This comic is poorly drawn. It's like a high school art student scribbled together some figures and decided to call it a day.

Miller's writing is pathetic. What's the point of making fun of San Franciscans?

And why does Miller have Batman murder Robin at the end of the story? Robin says he has always loved the Batman, and in return Batman says Robin never could do his job well and sends him hurtling to his death into a volcano? What the [expletive deleted] is that?

Miller: you are a hack, and your best days are well behind you.

Normally, you'd have to convince me this P.O.S had anything to do with Batman...let alone Frank Miller. This is bad. Real bad. Artwork is missing the detail and depth, storyline is real confusing as it introduces new (but old DC Justice League characters) at random and doesn't build their characters. Just altogether goofy and I can't see the relationship between DKR and this DKSA sequel. Seems like he went to the well one too many times on this one...

If you want a good one, get "The Complete Frank Miller Batman" Leatherbound Hardcover with Batman: Year One, Santa Claus Wanted Dead or Alive and Dark Knight Returns.

The Batman is Dead!

So it begins with Frank Miller's latest exegesis into the infernal, night-gaunt machinations of Gotham's great Detective: the Black Prince, the Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne, billionaire socialite turned night-stalking Vigilante. Rebel, anarchist, crypto-fascist, psychopath, Terror that stalketh by Night.

The Batman. RIP, no less.

Anyway, when "Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again" lurches into garish, gory life, the Great Detective is no more: hounded to earth by the Feds, hunted as an unsanctioned rogue, scourged from the streets of the City he defended, cleansed, purified, ruled by Terror and Justice. Heart exploded.

Vicki Vale writes up his society page epitaph, which means The Batman's death must be real: former Commissioner Gordon sputtering about how the City itself murdered Bruce Wayne, the Penguin blubbering, Selina Kyle telling Gordon to 'preach it', the Mayor, grabbing for a barf bag, bolting for the door.

But what, really, is Death? If you're a bat, a creature of the Night and Justice and Vengeance, a scorned Rebel Angel, buried deep, waiting and plotting?

DK2 is just plain twisted, warped, wonderful sick brilliance. Some---fans of the original Frank Miller masterpiece, even---have hurled acid barbs at this psychedelic little act of defiant genius, and declared it a contradiction of the Dark Knight Returns's neo-Gothic darkness.

Get serious.

Next to this little kaleidoscopic funhouse of Hell and High Water, "Dark Knight Returns" is a Boy Scout Jamboree. The Dark Knight Returns---don't get me wrong, a brilliant, wicked-lean piece of work---was an epic of pure, aged, smoldering Rage: Rage at a City whose works were rotten and clogged with Crime. Rage against the Predators tearing the flesh of the Innocent.

But this: this, my friends, is a work of Pure Madness. It's something like---the Dark Knight Ends the World. No Deus ex Machina here---just pure Deus Ex.

But let's back up for a second and talk about the vision: let's say you're Frank Miller. You---more than anything that came before---are pretty much single-handedly responsible for bringing The Batman back to life. So whaddya do for the second outing? More of the same?

Not if you're Frank Miller. You go a little mad: you take risks. You retain colorist Lynn Varley, and you unleash a kind of psychotic aurora borealis of color into your pages, the darkness struck through with screeching greens, purples, reds, the colors of Armaggedon. And you spike this new world with the underpinnings of the Last Days: The Batman striking from Hell's Dark Heart at the Criminal Rulers of a not-so-Brave New World.

So in a nutshell: it has been 10 long years since anything has been heard of the Dark Knight---and then, suddenly, his epitaph. Alfred's grave grows thick with weeds: his former Robin, Carrie Kelley, has doffed the cap and elf-boots and taken up the mantle of Catgirl. Crime is way down! Consumer confidence is way up! Democracy is on the March, batting down Evil-Doers and those who aren't "with us"! The Dow has spiked above 50,000!

The President talks about Morning in America, even though the clock is set at 1 minute 'til Midnight, and the President himself might very well be nothing more than a blip of cleverly-constructed CGI.

And so, the Detective's Plan: be careful, be quiet, be discreet. Work from the Tomb. Open up the cages on the pantheon of heroes: free The Human Atom, unleash the Flash (now in biker spandex!), let Plastic Man out of the carnivorous charnel house that is Arkham Asylum, break the Marxist Green Arrow out of Harley-Davidson reunion hell, and send a quark-broadcast greeting card to the Green Lantern, beat some sense (again) into Superman---and send 'em all right up the old exhaust port as a great big Middle Finger to the Powers that Be.

I'm not gonna tell you who *They* are. You'll guess soon enough. And that's not even the most interesting plot-point in DK2.

See: Batman has a stalker. Somebody is going around in drag as The Joker and slashing up the new superheroes. Positively *ruining* their old sh*t. Wanna know who?

I'm not telling: suffice it to say that it's remarkably disturbing. So much so that I'll wager not a single filmmaker---oustide of Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Frank Miller---has the cojones to put it up on screen. Too Dark. Scare away the kiddies. Sink the Box Office.

Anyway: ignore the haters---DK2 is a kiss on the back of your neck at midnight in a cemetery. It's an insanely gorgeous, succulent, sumptuous feast for Batman freaks. It's not for everybody: the art---mostly grotesque, constantly freakish, reminiscent of Bill Sienkiewicz's way of making the putrid and chaotic manifest on paper way back in Elektra---might prove to be a real bar for you.

It's also, I think, a deeply personal work of Art: full of Rage, bloated like a spider's adomen with poison, Anger, Hatred for the hypocrisy that wraps its dirty, rotten, stinking, seeping self in the Flag these days. It might be insane, and it almost certainly has an evil grin and carries a gas can.

Dylan Thomas wrote that Old Age should burn and rave at close of day: the Dark Knight sees his bet and raises the old Welsh hoss---in spades.

Long live the Batman!

JSG

Don't listen to the detractors, Dark Knight Strikes Again is great comic. Sure the art is a little off, but that wasn't sloppiness on Miller's part, after reading the comic I'm convinced that he was trying to change his style. You'll get used to it, besides, the story is so good that you just can't help but want to finish the book. And you should. It should be on your shelf right next to the DKR (which is this books only real problem, it had the rotten luck of being a follow up to the greatest comic ever written, Dark Knight Returns.)

Now, about those detractors. Some people were saying, "oh it's such a bad book and fuh-fuh-fuh nonsense." It's not, it's a great book, their is action and reason in this book. It's as deep, if not slightly deeper than DKR, even if it's depth isn't coded and hidden as well. And at some points, I think that may work against the book, because the political and social commentary is constantly in the reader's face to the point that it becomes difficult to seperate the two levels of writing (the simple, action story level, and the social commentary level), and I think being able to seperate the readings is important in the upper echelons of writing, where this book most certainly is.

If you're expecting all Batman action, you may be a bit surprised, this is more of a JLA story, but what's really interesting about this book is that it seems to answer many questions Alan Moore's Watchmen asked. Some say Frank Miller was influenced by Watchmen by about the second part of his Dark Knight Returns. I'm just reporting rumor, but I think it's certainly true that he was influenced by Watchmen in writing this book because it's an answer to it. Frank Miller shows when superheroes actions are good and when they are bad, and he works at uncovering and enshrining the human spirit, the attitudes that drive us towards the good rather than the bad and whatever it is inside us that makes us want to grow and live and overcome (this is a common Frank Miller theme actually, in the same way Alan Moore can't seem to avoid politics, Frank Miller always looks at the human spirit. "Oh look, there goes Frank Miller exmaming how man over comes circumstances and chaos, again."

Dark Knight Strikes Again is not DKR, but it is worth owning in it's own right. I really hope I've defended this book well because it's taken a beating in some circles but it really is a tremendous effort by a tremendous writer. Each time Frank Miller writes he shows why he is the greatest comics writer in the business. It's just not true that he lost steam after Dark Knight Returns. And yes, All-Star Batman and Robin will be good.

I read Batman: Year One, and then followed-up with The Dark Knight Returns. Both of these comics were wonderful, engrossing; a complete revisioning of the Batman mythos, and it works, not matter how familiar or not you are with DC. I was very anxious to read the sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, but I was mostly disappointed by the time I had finished it.

Granted I am not a hardcore DC fan. I love Batman, but the rest of the characters I don't find have as colorful or imaginative as Marvel (Spider-man). Mostly, I was disappointed in the artwork of DK2. It didn't have the depth, detail, nor involvment in the space of the page as Dark Knight Returns. In fact, most of the characters looked gawkish, out of proportion, and bizarre (the mutant orphans, Dick Grayson as the Joker, Luther, just to name a few). It wasn't the quality of artwork that Year One or Returns had been, it just looked gawkish (seriously, I can't think of a better word for it), pretty unappealing to me anyway. Diehard fans of course might have found other ways to appreciate this sequel, but for a passing fan looking for a killer sequel, Strikes Again is not it. I was disappointed.

I enjoyed the characters (Batsy, Carrie as Catgirl, and the other JSA members), and I enjoyed the story to an extent. I also enjoyed how Miller percieves public perception and the mass media, which in his previous Bat-outings has become something of a character unto itself. But the promise of an all-out, duel to the death war that Returns promised at its conclusion does not seem present in its sequel. The continuity of design and a commitment to Miller's original vision of Batman in Year One and Returns just isn't there. Strikes again is a fitting sequel, but its execution on page is haphazard, gawkishly, even freakishly designed, and not as half as engrossing and involved, nor detailed, as Dark Knight Returns.

But this is actually the greatest Batman Story EVER!!! In another review you all hated I said that the best Batman story is only worth maybe 4 stars, but I hadn't read this. Geez- one big old middle finger to the comix industry and the fans. I could see where, um, fans would hate it. But dig- Miller has never been more clever, and he even trumps Alan Moore, by pointing out a tremendous weakness in the Watchman, (namely if Batman was there he'd have figured the plot out and stopped it.) That said, Frank Miller has never been the most intellectual of the big name comic book guys, but he plays with some very important ideas- including the dangers of worshiping the icons that superheros are for so many fans.
Oh and the art is as ugly as they say it is, but like a lot of great music, ugly art can be good. I'd rather look at this than when he was trying to get his anatomy right.
BRILLIANT! Best mainstream comic since Grant Morrison's run on the Doom Patrol. It just ain't your thing. Go read something more boring... er... I mean compelling and authentic.
Oh, one last thing. This review does not do this book any justice. Forget your expectations and it'll be a real boot up the bum!

Arguably the greatest comic storyteller ever, Frank Miller, misses many great opprotunities to tell a compellling story about the relationship of superheroes, humankind,and the battle for good over evil. Instead, he relies on cheap, childlike (although, most of his story is anything but for children)crack shots at politicians, political pundits, and other modern icons.
First, as one can read from a previous review, I have loved most of Miller's work. He is normally insightful with a keen ability to discuss contemporay issues in comic format. Further, he has in the past, made moral statements about society and government in a way that, regardless if one agrees, makes one think and ponder a better world.

In this sequel to probably one of the greatest comic stories ever, "The Dark Knight Returns," Miller has trouble connecting the many different story lines and as a result, he goes off on red herrings such as "superherochicks" and pot shots at obivious renditions of John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfield, George Will, and the list goes on and on.

The inital or main story, that Batman comes out of his hiding place after three years of self-imposed exile, to fight the system ran by villians like Brainiac and Lex Luthor, is all but distracted by the multiple subplots and pot shots. The possibly potential stories of use are brilliant, but there is not enough focus to warrent real interest. Also, the finale between Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson) lacks any real power and I personally came away disapointed that this route of despair (Robin) was taken. The Superman rival Batman plot line is old and though somewhat developed, one wonders if Miller could not have put more creative work and taken another route with these two loved characters.

I think this may be one reason why the three books, though highly anticpated and recieved large amounts of pubilicty before release, has received little attention during the release. It just is not that good. The art work is at times interesting, but is often distracted. There are some good one liners, but that does not make a story. I hope Miller seeks a retro-path next time out and writes with substance and not for shock - it is neither challenging.

I read Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in tradepaper back right before the first Batman movie. This was my first tradepaper back comic and my first look at Frank Miller. These new hardbacks Amazon carries are first rate. Hardbacks with stitch binding (not glued). I bought both from Amazon and the quality and their price is the best I have seen. The Dark Knight Strikes Again sadly, to me, is not of the same stature as The Dark Knight Returns. It seems Mr. Miller leaves the tight and detailed drawings and story telling of the first book for huge characters filling the page with little dialogue or detail (here I speak as an art student). I hate to say this but it does indeed seem that Mr. Miller hates these characters comparing their attitudes as heroes to the drawing. It seems even in this one book the drawing degenerates toward the end of the book. The handling of Batman, Superman, and Dick Grayson just does not ring true. I think in the first book he was working within the DC established framework for the character and he expanded him (compare this with the excellent example of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One also at Amazon although it is a glued volume without the nice stiching of the leaves of the book). In this work I just came away feeling somehow that Batman and these characters were treated by a hack and not by the author of the Dark Knight Returns. It seemed as if Frank Miller was doing a parody of Frank Miller on Batman. I wish I could say the story was interesting in its own right and not as a sequel but without The Dark Knight Returns behind it this I fear would never have been accepted by fans or DC if it had not been for Frank Miller's first work. I thank Amazon for offering this in such a quality format (like The Dark Knight Returns volume and the price is really affordable for a hardback of this caliber). I just wish the story and art were the same quality.

Herky-jerky plot. No real time spent on any characters. Inclusion of way too many silly characters (e.g. Plasticman). None of the supporting cast (e.g. Superchix, reporters, etc) ever get a personality. The world is some bizzare mix of the DKR world and the Marshal Law world.

I had heard that this was bad, but didn't think it could be this bad. I wish I'd never read it.

In "The Dark Knight Strikes Again," Batman is the only Justice League member that is not captured, killed, or employed by Brainiac and Luthor, who now control the US presidency. He wages a war against these malicious powers that be.

This is not your typical Batman, but a Bruce Wayne pushed to the edge by necessity. He becomes the leader of a squadron of the world's last heroes, willing to combat the unseen tyranny that has gone unchecked for too long. Miller demonstrates that Batman's strategical brilliance, and not some superhuman power, saves the world. Batman becomes a commander.

Batman is a character whose absolute sense of right and wrong alienates him from other heroes. Miller's portrayal of an uncompromising Batman is very exciting. He still refuses to kill. This is actually the one thing the other heroes around Batman cannot see- that his compassion manifests in such a different way from their own. The irony of Batman is that his compassion appears cold and calculated to the others. He is allowed, however, because he is willing to sacrifice everything to once again free humanity.

The main reason I give three stars is because of something that happened close to the end. I think Miller betrays the Batman/Robin team. How great would it be to see a new Dynamic Duo of Nightwing and Batman, a resurrection of the well-oiled machine, the Caped Crusaders. Instead, Miller does something to the Dick Grayson character that seems to ignore his own development into Nightwing and a formidable crimefighter in his own right.

The main reason I like this book is because it is shown finally and decisively that Batman is the true heart of the JLA. Only he could coordinate and lead so effectively. Driven to necessity by lack of powers, Batman's cautiousness and unwaivering commitment set him apart. His critiques of Superman are well-spoken as he spearheads the reformed JLA effort to retake the world.

As a diehard fan of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns," I wanted so badly to overcome the jibes many others had thrown at The Dark Knight Strikes Again (DK2). Certainly, Mr. Miller had a lot to live up to in the wake of not only an illustrious career, but a benchmark in graphic novels with the Dark Knight Returns. And while the overall result pales in comparison to the original classic, DK2 is not without its merits.

The story, once more, is "edgy," flying in the face of patriotism and taking a hard stance against politics in general. The dark humor of DKR resurfaces, with mixed results. While the original snippets of media mockery of DKR were enough to relieve readers of the very serious, very dark themes, major characters becomes cartoonish. Add Miller's "raw" style (large splash pages rather than the minutia of DRK) into the mix and the effect is even more displeasing. Characters themselves suffer because of Miller's stylistic choices, most notably Lex Luthor. Perhaps years of writing Sin City affected the creator, but Luthor appears not particularly menacing, simply ugly and monstrous... a far cry from the much more sinister, composed Luthor readers have come to know. Though the art fails to impress in comparison to Miller's other work, there are moments of unabashed ragged glory, such as the first appearance of Batman and the climactic battles of the story. These are the moments readers yearned to see but get far too little of in DK2.

The story itself has intense promise. More a tale of superheroes than Batman, the progression of Superman and Wonder Woman are novel and satisfying. However, as each segment progresses, more and more subplots are added, attempting to involve every character in the known DC Universe. Far from creating the epic feel of "Kingdom Come," DK2 collapses under its own weight. Ollie Green, Hal Jordan, Ralph Dibny, Captain Marvel, and other wonderful characters appear for moments... and are utterly wasted. Add a bizaare and head-scratching villain posing as the Joker (which I won't give away but was left saying "What the hell?" to), and a very promising storyline about divided heroes and a world too scared to act falls apart.

Miller, by all accounts, is a wonderful storyteller, but all arrows point to "hubris" in this case. Miller crafts a sloppily drawn story that accumulates so fast and is so grandiose that it spins out of control. Side note/complaint: the relationship between Batman and "Catgirl" (formerly Robin) made me feel very uncomfortable. Reading like a Sin City romance (which are perfect in the confines of Sin City), a father-daughter intimacy that formed in DKR debases itself into a typical, trashy love story. The incestuous overtones are obvious, and I felt as if the origina character of Carrie was betrayed by this new, T&A friendly version.
In light of all this, Miller did try something new, and has some serious moments of brilliance. These maddening snippets of the Dark Knight we loved only fuel the ever-burning thought of "What if?"

I like ironic detatchment as much as the next guy, but Miller went waaaaaay too far in this story.

It is fine to exhibit contempt for one's characters and the medium in which one works, but it is too much to show hatred for one's audience as well.

The message of Mr. Miller's superhero comic is: "superheroes comics are stupid, superheroes are stupid and, if you are reading this, you're stupid too."

Sometimes I agree, but I neither waste so many trees saying it nor charge so much for the privilege of being insulted.

It's been three, long years since Batman, The Dark Knight (now known by all to be Bruce Wayne), "died" in his big fight with Superman. Now, America has changed, in a big way. American citizens now live in a world where crime is a thing of the past, and the world is perfect. But this "perfect" world has a fatal flaw to it. Anyone who disagrees with the "perfection" of the world is killed by a secret service. The President of the USA claims everything is well and dandy, but this "president" is actually a hologram controled by evil businessman tycoon Lex Luthor.

Luthor, and his alien accomplice Brainiac, are the real rulers of the world. Not only that, but Luthor and Brainiac have the likes of Superman under their control. Superman would rip Luthor apart, if only Brainiac didn't have the precious, alien city of Kandor trapped in a bottle and could kill the whole society in an instant at any time if Superman should step out of line.

Elsewhere, the thought-to-be-deceased Batman is preparing to fight against this diseased world and take back the power that he believes rightfully belongs to him and the other now imprisoned and exiled superheroes that used to deliver the world from evil. Batman begins his first move when he sends his right-hand accomplice Catgirl (Carrie Kelley, who used to call herself "Robin") to rescue Professor Ray Palmer (aka "The Atom") from a dreadful prison (which is actually a petri dish) in a top secret, government facility. Batman and Catgirl rescue other imprisoned heroes as well. Barrey Allen ("The Flash") was being used like a hamster in a wheel to provide the Earth with electrical power, and Eel O' Brien ("Plastic Man") was trapped in a strange cell in the Arkham Asylum.

In space, Superman, his wife Wonder Woman, and their close friend Captain Marvel, are in a state of frustration about the exploited lives. After getting a nasty message from Lex Luthor and Brainiac, Superman decides to put an end to Batman's vigilantisms (especially after Catgirl, Atom, and a group of Batman's "Bat-Boys" destroy another top secret facility), and pays a visit to Bruce Wayne in the Batcave. This is where Superman is ambushed by Flash, Atom, and a robotic dinosaur. Superman merely wanted to negoiate with Bruce, but it's Bruce who does all the "talking."

After Superman is weakened, Batman savagley pounds The Man of Steel with a pair of Kyrptonite-laced gloves! After that, Batman simply says he's done talking and orders the nearly dead Superman to get out of his cave. As the story goes on, Batman prepares to wage a new war against a society gone to Hell.

If your not already placing an order for this book, you should be. After reading the vast amount of negative reviews on this site, I was hesitant to pick this one up. I finally did when I read some intersting stuff about it (like the rescuing of Ray Palmer or Batman's "talk" with Superman). Despite what others might say, this is a good read. If superheroes really existed, this is a good idea at how they would be treated (you could only imagine what the angry heroes here could be feeling being exploited and exiled in today's society).

Apart from some of the somewhat farfetched elements in this story (like the invincible "Joker Thing," whose true identity may surprise you) the artwork is the only thing I could really find questionable about the overall shabang.

There moments of clever humor here as well, more than what this book's ever-superior predecessor "The Dark Knight Returns," had to offer. Like when catgirl rescues The Atom at the beggining and puts the 2-inch tall man in her mouth (so she could use both of her hands to escape the guards) and accidentally swallows him! It is later revealed that Atom got out of Catgirl's body threw induced vomiting. Funny stuff. Then there's the that "News in the Nude" thing where anchorwomen actually broadcast important issues naked (weird, but funny).

Don't mind the bad-mouth reviews here until you read "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" for yourself like I did. A lot of people hated it, but I thought it was quite a memorable story.

I loved DKR when it first came out, not only was it ground breaking to say the least but it helped redefine the whole Batman series, leading to a much darker tone as evidenced in the animated series and in the movies as well.

A lot of people have complained about this version being different from the first and I'm kind of glad it is. Not sure about you, but twice of the same thing is a bore. Granted I do criticize the book for its inconsistent artwork. It appears good in the beginning, sloppy in the middle and picks up the pace towards the end. After 15 years of doing the same hard boiled style, it's evident that Frank Miller wanted to try something new- even if it upsets his fans.

His visual interpretations of some of the superhero are fairly interesting. I love the way he draws Wonder Woman and made the Flash dark and very cynical. It's also interesting to note that this Batman seems to have taken on Marv's personality from Sin City and the black humor and one liners make me laugh out loud. People also complain about Robin being the bad guy and how "old" that's been, especially with Dick Grayson already returning in the Hush series and how he suppossedly died a long time ago. But people forget that THIS version is a parody of the old 70's Batman, which makes the conflict between them that much more interesting. I never thought I'd see Batman attacking him using a hatchet, especially when he has all this high tech weaponry.

Now that I think about, history is the one thing that really hurts this book. DKR set the standard so high that many people have followed that trend religously. First Batman started out as a clownish cartoon, then he officially became the Dark Knight, then others try to add to it by turning him into a brilliant scientist with all this high tech equipment to combat evil. And now the guy that started it all has come back to try and blow that all up again.


In terms of story, it is a bit simplistic yet pretty good when it comes to delivering raw emotion. Some might say it's a parody of Watchmen, but I say it's better in terms of adventure and its interesting interpretation of todays modern super heros. It's what Frank Miller does best, creating pieces of work that takes you on a high emotional thrill ride.

That is what drives this work. The anger of Bruce Wayne, the anger of the exiled, entrapped and exploited superheroes. The anger of the readers who are looking at the hideous artwork.

The story is not good, but it is very enjoyable. Pure adrenaline and emotion drive it forward. Unlike the more scholarly Dark Knight Returns there is no reflection or pause in this work. We hit the ground running and only increase the pace of the plot as things move forward. The world is in sad shape, the heroes are angry and they are gonna get some of theirs back. Which makes for a great read. After finishing though you realize there wasn't that much there. Still though an excellent ride.

Other good things. Kara, the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman. The appearance of the Flash and the Atom. Wonder Woman herself. Bruce and Carrie's love.

Bad things. The portrayal of Superman. The artwork. The artwork verges from serviceable to horrific. The lack of any crisis of conscience for Superman when he finally sees the light of day. The simplistic story. The heavy handed politics. The artwork, the artwork, the artwork. The crazy Dick Grayson, what was that about? Characters and issues appearing and then disappearing. Saturn Girl anyone?

On the whole, a very good light read with very poor artwork. A not quite worthy successor to The Dark Knight Returns. Not much to think about, but emotionally powerful and driving while you read it.

How do you write a sequel to a myth? Certainly not like Miller has done in DK2. Other reviewers have commented on the very poor draughtsmanship and on the repetitive storyline. Some have also mocked his obsession with huge shoes. These look specially disagreeable when worn by the Catwoman character. The continuous digression to all sorts of grotesque talking heads is also annoying. But nothing jars more than the "plot" (sic) concerning the superchicks, some sort of singers who dress up as superheroines. For the life of me, I can't figure out what they mean, or why they turn up in this book, other than as a way to eat up valuable page space that had to be filled up somehow. The dialogue is also pretty bad, specially between Superman and Wonder Woman. The Robin as a villain is an obvious retake on Jimmy Olsen in "The Nail", but not as well done.

Shame on Miller for cashing in. And with all those Sin City books he's selling, it's not like he needs the dough. Alan Moore, if you read this, *please* do not attempt to put out Watchmen 2.

One and a half stars, to be fair. *The Dark Knight Strikes Again* does contain some promising passages and, at the very least, is an experimental turn for Frank Miller concerning the evolution of his artwork. But as a whole this book is a massive disappointment, suffering from a re-iteration of themes already fully developed by its predecessor, an often sloppy and quite bizarre approach to the visuals, and the overall impression of a loosely coagulated collection of ideas churned out to sell - for this graphic novel adds nothing to the re-inventive mythos Miller helped pioneer in *The Dark Knight Returns:* if anything, *TDKSA* is a baffling stain upon that magnificent vision.

Now, I should admit that the DC universe never held much appeal for me - `Make Mine Marvel' was the slogan I adhered to in my early-teen comic collecting (late 80's) - so take the following words with a grain of salt. To wit: DC's collection of hoary uber-heroes and melodramatic visual sense, coupled with a lengthy, confusing and not-at-all consistent history, crossed my threshold of pulp-endurance, even as a pubescent wish-fulfillment consumer. The more realistic xenophobe motifs of the X-men (Claremont-era) and the psychological Jeckle-and-Hyde persona of the Hulk easily put the shallow dichotomy of Clark Kent/Superman to shame - utilizing constant McGuffins to give conflict to an immortal cheapens the overall construct and tellingly reveals the inherent weakness of the `power-gamer' ideal. But Batman, despite his somewhat ridiculous costume, was the obvious exception to DC's horde of peacocks and powermongers - lacking alien DNA or divine intervention, Bruce Wayne was forced to rely only on skill and smarts to conquer his opponents; and, most importantly, he was driven by demons that could never truly be appeased. Batman was, to me, the Genzu-edged outcast to Superman's butter knife ubiquity, the Dark Knight of palpable angst.

Thus was I attracted to Frank Miller's revision of this classic superhero in *The Dark Knight Returns,* a book true-to-form to the character's history, yet startlingly modern, with comments on late-80's Reagan-spin and the general aura of paranoia and excess that dominated that decade. Moreover it was powerfully written and drafted, and rightfully became an instant classic of illustrated literature. It still holds up today. So when I (belatedly) learned of this follow-up, *The Dark Knight Strikes Again,* I purchased it without consulting the current opinion-bank of the internet - to my regret.

*TDKSA* starts promisingly. A welter of images crowd the first couple pages, with Batman narrating the decline of world affairs while media-memes ply to consumer needs and totalitarian slogans are announced from the current Head of State. "Where are our heroes?" Jimmy Olsen nervously demands, addressing the prevalent concern of our 21st century mass-consciousness. Yes, promising stuff - but the decline begins almost immediately after, and I pinpoint the artwork as its cause. Miller employs a neo-manga garnish to his typical artistic technique, and the affectation of it gives the book, as a whole, a distancing effect; it's surreal and occasionally beautiful stuff, taken individually, but the overall impression is one of detachment - of the reader being consciously and constantly removed from the action and events and, eventually, the underlying storyarc.

It doesn't help that, as the graphic novel progresses, the feeling of `been there, done that' increases exponentially. Miller ended *The Dark Knight Returns* on a graceful, poignant note, a near-perfect conclusion to the lifework of Bruce Wayne. In *TDKSA* we are presented with the same conflicts, the same struggles and character-arcs, and the whole affair begins to reek of a rehashing - and a vastly inferior rehash at that. Batman fights Superman again. Batman battles the bitter draught of time, so as to complete his mission. The earth's champions are persecuted/blackmailed into helping the devious antagonists. All of this was done before, and better. Moreover, Batman's general absence in favor of the whole DC titan-squad (Wonder Woman, the Flash, Shazam etc.) limits any growth or insight into the central figure supposedly driving the plot; perhaps this is a good thing, as Miller seems incapable of exploring or expanding Batman's psyche in the few panels where he does make an appearance. It can be argued that the author doesn't need to, for he did a more than proficient job in the first volume, but this leaves us with the inescapable realization that, since it was done so well in the original story, why does there need to be a sequel at all? (...Aside from the obvious monetary benefit).

I'm borderline on the artistic approach, as well. The computer-assisted background design is interesting and generally successful, and the inking is some of Lynn Varley's best work to date, but often it feels like candy-coating a turd (please pardon the grotesque metaphor) - Millar's draftsmanship comes off sloppy and hurried, worse even than the direst passages of *Ronin.* And the delicate juxtaposition between manga surrealism and detail-oriented panels is shaky at best and jarring more often than not.

Finally, and most damning of all, the book as a whole feels skin-deep. A number of interesting themes are introduced, usually off-the-cuff, and abandoned in a likewise manner - a frustrating flaw that, when put in context to the bizarrely unsuccessful artwork and general rehashing of *The Dark Knight*, make this the least of Frank Miller's oeuvre to date.

Fans of the original should avoid at all cost - especially considering the $20 charged for this uninspired mediocrity.