Dark Knight Strikes Again - Underrated Masterpiece

[emborios]

I liked the book, but I didn't really care for the way Batman was written as a character, and that thing with Dick Grayson just sucked.

Other than that, all the different superheroes in it were awesome, especially Hal Jordan, and the Atom. Superman was cool in it as well and Captain Marvel's death scene...oh my God, how great. "Say the word, warrior! Go out with a lion's roar!"

[shadowmon]

I liked it. It was on acid:)

[net06]

I think it's over rated.

[Bruce Twain]

I love DKR. I think DKSA is superior to DKR on nearly every front that isn't its historic significance or the influence of what people (somewhat falsely) remember it being. And it had the Flash.

I have to agree with this.

I think on some level, Dark Knight Returns is the better written story. But I think Strikes Again may be smarter and more relevant, and I certainly enjoy it more. And why shouldn't I? Both stories play heavily to their context in the industry and society. Strikes Again feels more relevant every year, while Returns does less.

To be honest, it does a lot of the same things Returns does, though with twenty years' difference and a little more abandon. It plays with the Internet and niche news the same way Returns played with television. It flies in the face of its contemporary comics by championing the mythic hero and silver-age zaniness, while Returns flew in the face of its contemporary comics by doing the opposite (although, only sort of). It employs intentionally unfinished-looking art, pixels and all, in an age of gloss and faux-realism when creators would rather you forget you're holding a superhero funny book in your hands.

It has problems, but I think it's unquestionably the smartest thing with a Bat logo on it in the last two decades.

Also, since I guess this is kind of the perfect place to address this, I was really amused and baffled to hear Morrison dismiss it, more or less, on that audio interview he did with Kevin Smith recently. What did he have to say about it? It was like "cocaine comics," and then he sort of moved on? He should've given it more dues. Everything he says his run's about -- the joy of being Batman, the mythic immortality, embracing the whole spectrum of the characters, etc. -- is right there in a hundred-fifty pages published years before he started. And it does so through a story and art alone, rather than resorting to Bat-trivia and heavy-handed meta-fictional winks.

Not to put his run down, or anything. I wouldn't have even mentioned it were it not for that interview putting them in the same thought. But let's attribute the novelty of those ideas to the right author.

Strikes Again isn't perfect, and in particular I have problems with the dialogue, which gets a little "latter-day Miller," but it's probably the last truly good thing he wrote and it really deserves a place in the upper echelon of stories using this character.

[Leo Ho Tep]

I like it because it's so over the top and borderline stupid. In that regard, it's less stupid than All star Batman and Robin though. But I do enjoy reading it.

[Jim Thompson]

I like it because it's so over the top and borderline stupid. In that regard, it's less stupid than All star Batman and Robin though. But I do enjoy reading it.

I like it because it has a series of powerful messages running through it.

I dislike it because, by the end of the tale, Bruce is portrayed as too much the brutal, thuggish character.

[Leo Ho Tep]

It does try to bring some interesting things to the table, but it's also very childish in the way it is told, which makes it even more awesome imo. I agree about Batman's portrayal.