Dark Knight Strikes Again - Underrated Masterpiece

[Mr. Holmes]

Okay "masterpiece" might be a stretch, but I figure this book needs more love. Mainly because according to the Holy Wikipedia, the reception was "mixed to negative." The book was just very cool. The art on the surface level looks like a mess, but the style grew on me as I kept reading, and I love Miller's layouts. Especially when directing the big, bombastic action sequences.

The story is wonderful too. The politics work well in a compelling and unpretentious way, and it gives a heartbreaking, but interesting dystopian DCU, while giving hope at the end. I found its take on the DCU heroes to be really interesting, even if they weren't necessarily my "preferred " take on all of them.

The only real problem I had was that the fan service with the "Superchix" and "News in the Nude" which was gratuitous, if not misogynist. But given how Miller has done far worse in his other books...

[The Nuke]

Wish I could agree, but to me it was a major disappointment. All over the place storywise, and just way to political for my taste. Very little Batman, I thought changing Dick into a mutant Joker was dumb, as was Carrie going from Robin to Cat girl. Batman doesn't really have much of a part until the end, where he suddenly has a storyline dealing with Dick. As a sequel to one of the best Batman comics of all time, I really don't see how it can be seen as a Masterpiece.
"Strikes Again" came off as a really silly low-budget B-movie.

I did like the ending. The last line was a great punch line, "I was sentimental when I was old"

[thwhtGuardian]

While not my favorite Batbook by a country mile it's still a lot of fun to read. It's like a Saturday morning cartoon on acid.

[Mr. Holmes]

Wish I could agree, but to me it was a major disappointment. All over the place storywise, and just way to political for my taste. Very little Batman, I thought changing Dick into a mutant Joker was dumb, as was Carrie going from Robin to Cat girl. Batman doesn't really have much of a part until the end, where he suddenly has a storyline dealing with Dick. As a sequel to one of the best Batman comics of all time, I really don't see how it can be seen as a Masterpiece.
"Strikes Again" came off as a really silly low-budget B-movie.

It was all over the place, but that's exactly why I liked it. You can't really compare it to DKR because it's a completely different animal, one that works in its own right.

[Trey]

completely agree Mr. Holmes.

And yes it is a JLA story. The Atom sequence at the beginning is amazeballs.

[vicvega]

art's terrible and I've read it 6 times but I love the story.

[ispacehead]

The only real problem I had was that the fan service with the "Superchix" and "News in the Nude" which was gratuitous, if not misogynist....

I loved News in the Nude and Superchix. Seemed like a great stab at the state of modern television. (Particularly the news...)

The rest of it...not so much.

I liked Catgirl more than I liked Batman. That would be great I guess if it were her book.

I enjoyed this for what it was at the time, but it was what it was I suppose....a sequel.

[dupersuper]

The politics work well in a compelling and unpretentious way

Subtle politics, that's what Miller has become known for.

[Officersmile1466]

"Who cares if the president is a hologram? He's a damn fine American!" Or something like that. That line sticks out for me as being pretty great. Sadly I also recall the hideous and incredibly confusing artwork as well.

[nosocialize100]

Some good points from folks in here since I too disliked it. I felt the acid trip backgrounds were used in a sloppy almost lazy way. Thinking back to when I picked up the first issue I suppose my anticipation for the book made me dislike it even more, but I've dipped back into it two times since it came out and I can't make myself like it. It's just a mess.

[Namtab]

Hmm, it might be time for me to revisit DKSA.

[SicSexSix]

I enjoyed the hell out of it. I love how the holographic president looks like George Bush Jr, the reasons for which speak for themselves, just like they did when Miller lampooned Regan in DKR, because they both reflect the political climate of their respective eras. Same with the News in the Nude and Super Chicks stuff all over the TV, and how they were there to subvert the public's attention from the real issues going on in the world. DKSA is less a Batman story than DKR and more of a social commentary, so they can't really be compared even though they make one large epic. That being said, it's easy to see why so many, myself included, prefer DKR over DKSA, but the progression from one to the other is logical. Throw All Star Batman & Robin into the mix and it makes it even more interesting. Bruce's disdain for the original Justice League, Green Lantern in particular, and how it evolved is the kind of stuff that gets my imagination going. He absolutely cannot STAND Hal in ASB&R, but towards the end of DKSA, it's clear they consider each other friends and have a definitive respect between them, it's the kind of character arc that we can only wonder at how it played out to get to that point. It's one of several stories I only WISH that Miller would come back to tell (after him & Lee finally freakin' FINISH ASB&R of course!). The other one, of course, is what happened between Bruce & Dick. Obviously, he never became Nightwing, and served as Batman's right hand in that world, so what the hell happened there?! Miller might be insane, but the man's ability to write some fascinating, thought provoking stories is still apparent in DKSA.

[cgh]

Okay "masterpiece" might be a stretch, but I figure this book needs more love. Mainly because according to the Holy Wikipedia, the reception was "mixed to negative." The book was just very cool. The art on the surface level looks like a mess, but the style grew on me as I kept reading, and I love Miller's layouts. Especially when directing the big, bombastic action sequences.

The story is wonderful too. The politics work well in a compelling and unpretentious way, and it gives a heartbreaking, but interesting dystopian DCU, while giving hope at the end. I found its take on the DCU heroes to be really interesting, even if they weren't necessarily my "preferred " take on all of them.

The only real problem I had was that the fan service with the "Superchix" and "News in the Nude" which was gratuitous, if not misogynist. But given how Miller has done far worse in his other books...

News in the Nude was a parody of nakednews.com, a real site. I too like DKSA a lot - the way he sees the end-game of the DCU playing out is fascinating to me.

[Vidocq]

Subtle politics, that's what Miller has become known for.

To be fair, this was before and during 9/11, the event that apparently shattered his perception of reality. He is still one of the best and more subtle comic book writers in my opinion. This was still the FM who wrote Martha Washington (which ended it's run two years later, I believe) not the one who wrote Holy Terror (which I still haven't been able to read, maybe it's great, just saying that the concept itself is not very subtle at all).

It was all over the place, but that's exactly why I liked it. You can't really compare it to DKR because it's a completely different animal, one that works in its own right.

This isn't really a Batman story, this is a Justice League story set in the Dark Knight Universe. Had they call it Justice League Returns or something like that it would have been better received (crappy art, aside) imo.

Bruce's disdain for the original Justice League, Green Lantern in particular, and how it evolved is the kind of stuff that gets my imagination going. He absolutely cannot STAND Hal in ASB&R, but towards the end of DKSA, it's clear they consider each other friends and have a definitive respect between them, it's the kind of character arc that we can only wonder at how it played out to get to that point. It's one of several stories I only WISH that Miller would come back to tell (after him & Lee finally freakin' FINISH ASB&R of course!). The other one, of course, is what happened between Bruce & Dick. Obviously, he never became Nightwing, and served as Batman's right hand in that world, so what the hell happened there?!

I would go as far as to say that Bruce and Hal are best friends in this. The way they speak about each other one would never think they started out trading blows and hating each other, I really want to know what happened there. I'm still waiting for both DKBW and Batman: Europa (the last one of which was a collaboration by 5 different artists, four of which european, hand picked by Lee himself in 2009, I believe. 4/5 issues are done... guess who is the odd one out).

Miller might be insane, but the man's ability to write some fascinating, thought provoking stories is still apparent in DKSA.

Yeah, he has the right to have whatever crazy pollitics he wishes to have, I just wish he had kept his mouth shut about so that maybe not every discussion about his work gets derailed.

[adam.walters]

Batman killed Dick Joker by throwing him into a volcano under the Batcave. It wasn't a good book.