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The Dark Knight Strikes Again
by Frank Miller
(DC Comics, $29.95, hardcover, 256 pp., November 2002, ISBN: 1563898446.)
Frank Miller's 1986 comics story, The Dark Knight Returns, imagined
 an
old Batman coming out of retirement to fight against Ronald Reagan's
vision of America. Engaged and enraged, it was a politically charged
and formally innovative tour-de-force that deftly appropriated pop-culture
icons. Years later, its politics are still controversial, misinterpreted,
and debated. And its technical innovations have been incorporated into
mainstream comics.
After having tackled crime kitsch with Sin City, Greek history
in 300, and ribald humour in Tales to Offend, Miller revisits
the setting of his famous Batman epic.
The results are mixed.
Given the current international climate, Miller's return to his over-the-top
blend of political satire and operatic adventure is certainly timely.
In an era when governments and corporations are trying to control our
thoughts and lives in increasingly invasive and repressive ways, The
Dark Knight Strikes Again's emphatic call for responsible civil
disobedience is both stirring and heartfelt.
In this story, Superman's long-time foes, Lex Luthor and Brainiac, rule
the world behind a puppet US government. Superman is being blackmailed
into serving his former enemies. Batman, forced underground at the end
of the previous story, emerges to save the world by inciting people
to believe in personal heroism and to stop accepting the lies fed to
them by the corporate media. It's timely and provocative material.
Sadly, the script lacks the emotional nuances of its predecessor, and,
most noticeably, the artwork is rushed and garish. This new look, while
clearly intentional, lacks the power created by the dense, textured,
and carefully choreographed artwork that filled every page of The
Dark Knight Returns.
The Dark Knight Strikes Again has considerable chutzpah, but
its careless execution is regrettable.
Originally published in The Montreal Gazette,
Saturday, 21 September 2002.
Claude Lalumière's Fantastic Fiction
is a series of
capsule reviews first published in the Saturday Books
section of The Montreal Gazette.
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