 |
 The sequel to the watershed comic Dark Knight Returns has come out, 15 years later. It's called the Dark Knight Strikes Back, or just DK2. The same team has built DK2 that created the original comic. When the Dark Knight Returns came out it blew everyone away. The artwork and the writing were brazen and the series was capped off with an incredible fight between Batman and Superman. Perhaps more importantly the vacuous pretty boy (who represented the faction of mankind who had cheerfully let the good retreat as long as everything looked nice) and the thoughtful brooding antihero (the representative of the down-trodden trying to make a difference as they railed against a society that no longer cared about real problems). All the social commentary that had been in the background of previous issues of Batman was brought to the surface as panels carried cheery news anchors reporting on grim, violent activities. Also the comic book had incredible amounts of violence and depravity inside. A few images were raw and obvious but most of the imagery was suggested by what you didn't see.I don't think the Dark Knight had ever been more cynical and bitter about mankind wallowing in its own waste.
DK2 picks up three years after the first series. The first issue of three came out this December and it totally feels like it was written post September 11, or Frank Miller is uncannily prescient. This time a lot more DC characters are assembled like the Flash, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and so forth. The new Catgirl is a spunky fighter that could kick Lara Croft's ass in a fight. The new series also has a similar running commentary through various panels but the news and politics aren't alone as capitalism takes its fair share of jabs. Lines like "EVIL has SEDUCED mankind. And MANKIND has shown all the CHASTITY of a three-dollar WHORE" written in a ragged typewriter monospace have a strong impact as you read through. The comic also carries on with the dark humor like the dotcommer bum in San Francisco with the "Will Network For Food" sign. I think the most stinging rebuke was saved for the US presidency. The president is nothing more than an image projected on TV, quite literally. Yet, nobody seems to care when this is made obvious. (Sound like a recent presidential election to anyone else?) Also right off the bat Batman and Superman get into a fight, none of this waiting for the last issue.
I can't wait to see where this goes. I was stunned by the first issue.
|