Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Frank Miller's follow-up to his hugely successful Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, one of the few comics that is widely recognised as not only reinventing the genre but also bringing it to a wider audience.

Set three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again follows a similar structure: once again, Batman hauls himself out of his self-imposed retirement in order to set things right. However, where DKR was about him cleaning up his home city, Gotham, DKSA has him casting his net much wider: he's out to save the world.

The thing is, most of the world doesn't realise that it needs to be saved--least of all Superman and Wonder Woman, who have become little more than superpowered enforcers of the status quo. So, the notoriously solitary Batman is forced to recruit some different superpowered allies. He also has his ever-present trusty sidekick, Robin, except that he is a she, and she is calling herself Catwoman. Together, these super-friends uncover a vast and far-reaching conspiracy that leads to the President of the United States (Lex Luthor) and beyond.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again is largely an entertaining comic, but much of what made The Dark Knight Returns so good just doesn't work here. Miller's gritty, untidy artwork was perfect for DKR's grim depiction of the dark and seedy Gotham City, but it jars a bit for DKSA, which is meant to depict an ultra-glossy, futuristic technocracy. Lynn Varley's garish colouring attempts to add a slicker sheen, but the artwork is ultimately let down by that which worked so well for DKR--this time around, it just feels sloppy and rushed. The same is true of the book's denouement, which happens so quickly that it leaves the reader reeling and looking for more of an explanation. Moreover, DKSA is packed full of characters who will mean little to those unfamiliar with the DC Comics universe (eg, The Atom, The Elongated Man, The Question).

Perhaps the book's biggest failing is that where The Dark Knight Returns gave comic book fans a base from which to evangelise to the uninitiated, The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just preaching to the converted. Comic book superhero fans will find much to enjoy here, but others would be better off sticking with the original. --Robert Burrow -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Frank Miller's follow-up to his hugely successful Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, one of the few comics that is widely recognized as not only reinventing the genre but also bringing it to a wider audience.Set three years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again follows a similar structure: once again, Batman hauls himself out of his self-imposed retirement in order to set things right. However, where DKR was about him cleaning up his home city, Gotham, DKSA has him casting his net much wider: he's out to save the world. The thing is, most of the world doesn't realize that it needs to be saved--least of all Superman and Wonder Woman, who have become little more than superpowered enforcers of the status quo. So, the notoriously solitary Batman is forced to recruit some different superpowered allies. He also has his ever-present trusty sidekick, Robin, except that he is a she, and she is calling herself Catwoman. Together, these super-friends uncover a vast and far-reaching conspiracy that leads to the President of the United States (Lex Luthor) and beyond.

The Dark Knight Strikes Again is largely an entertaining comic, but much of what made The Dark Knight Returns so good just doesn't work here. Miller's gritty, untidy artwork was perfect for DKR's grim depiction of the dark and seedy Gotham City, but it jars a bit for DKSA, which is meant to depict an ultra-glossy, futuristic technocracy. Lynn Varley's garish coloring attempts to add a slicker sheen, but the artwork is ultimately let down by that which worked so well for DKR--this time around, it just feels sloppy and rushed. The same is true of the book's denouement, which happens so quickly that it leaves the reader reeling and looking for more of an explanation. Moreover, DKSA is packed full of characters who will mean little to those unfamiliar with the DC Comics universe (e.g., the Atom, the Elongated Man, the Question). Perhaps the book's biggest failing is that where The Dark Knight Returns gave comic book fans a base from which to evangelize to theuninitiated, The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just preaching to the converted. Comic book superhero fans will find much to enjoy here, but others would be better off sticking with the original. --Robert Burrow

Miller's Dark Knight Returns (1987), in which an older, grimmer Batman emerged from retirement, paved the way for grittier superheroes and more freewheeling approaches in mainstream comics storytelling; and it set the tone for the character's recent screen apotheosis. Its long-awaited sequel isn't going to revolutionize the genre again, but in some ways it is even more audacious. Batman leads the opposition in a dystopian near-future when security concerns have spurred a repressive crackdown. Other costumed heroes side with either the government or Batman, allowing Miller to present revisionist versions of DC Comics' other iconic characters. The book's authoritarian society resonates with the post-9/11 environment, though Miller's cheekiness dispels notions that this is serious commentary. His layouts are even more unconventional, his drawing more cartoonish, the coloring more florid, and his overall attitude just generally more over-the-top. Fans harshly rebuked Miller's irreverent refusal to offer more of the same when the story debuted in serial-magazine format, but they avidly bought each issue. The collected edition should meet with similar demand. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Written as a sequel to the groundbreaking BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, this masterly hardcover takes place three years after Batman's defeat of Superman. Faking his own death and creating an underworld civilization, Bruce Wayne has been keeping his eye on the world above. And as that false Camelot reaches its breaking point, it is up to the Dark Knight to emerge from the underground shadows and once again restore order to chaos. Joined by his army of Bat-soldiers and his female sidekick Catgirl, an elderly Batman wages a final war against a diseased world in an epic tale that features Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, the Martian Manhunter, and the Atom.