by Randy Lander

THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN #2 Recommended (7/10) DC Comics Writer/Artist: Frank Miller Colors: Lynn Varley Letters: Todd Klein Editor: Bob Schreck Price: $7.95 US/$13.25 CAN This issue is two weeks late, but whatever caused that delay, it clearly wasn't clarifying and focusing the story, as the second issue of Dark Knight Strikes Again is all over the map, storywise. Miller has a lot of interesting ideas, but his script and art never quite settle down to tell them to us, instead throwing them at us with abandon, much as Grant Morrison often does, and he's asking the reader to buy into some truly odd characterization of DC's legendary characters without much explanation of their motives. However, while I'm disappointed in the book, especially given how impressed I was with the first issue, that doesn't mean it's not good work. The book improves considerably toward the end, as several key new characters are introduced and there's a truly inspiring display of defiance and heroism in the face of the bleak reality that Miller has created. In the end, I suppose this will have to be judged as a complete story, but my assumption that it would be another instant classic based on the first issue has been weakened by this second issue. Miller is clearly attempting to simulate the overbearing and scattershot nature of the media in his approach to this series. However, while these little media snippets were background features in the first issue, they take the forefront in this story, with many of the early pages and a good deal of the exposition relegated to conflicting talking heads and bursts of dialogue. The result is that the reader can often read Miller's intent, but the revelations and characterization seems to come out of nowhere, without any establishing background or build-up. In addition, though Miller's opposition politicians have always served up weak straw-man arguments, it's even worse here, with the line between good and evil being drawn a bit too clearly for my tastes, especially given the moral compromise that has been a central point of both Dark Knight Returns and the first issue of Dark Knight Strikes Again. The artwork is likewise hit and miss this issue. Miller and Varley seem to be aiming for a sometimes deliberately ugly and garish style, and they often hit it a bit too much on the head, with too many characters looking monstrous or deformed, serving up a reality which is so twisted that Batman and his allies look completely normal by comparison, rather than larger-than-life. However, this style often works in the splash pages, whether it's the sexier-than-a-comic-should-be portrayals of the "Superchix," the violent and powerful intrusion on Luthor's privacy by Batman and Catgirl or the amazing power in the scenes between Wonder Woman and Superman. Much of the enjoyment I got from the story came from shameless fanboy glee. The scenes that find the heroes banding together and showing their faces in public again were terrific, and the arrival of Lara on the scene was a turning point as well, introducing a strong character who I definitely want to see more of. It's a shame that the main characters, whether it's Batman, Wonder Woman or Superman, are hard to reconcile with any interpretation of the characters previously, with Batman's time on panel being so small and Superman's impotence becoming even more hard to swallow in this issue, given how much the hero has accomplished in the past. It's also a shame that Miller seems to think that bringing on familiar characters simply to kill them off somehow lends weight to the story. It is my hope that these deaths will turn out to have some significance to the story, because as standalone bits, they're not terribly interesting. Given how impressed I was with the first issue of Dark Knight Strikes Again, I guess you could say my expectations were too high for this second issue, and that may be true. However, I genuinely believe that my disappointment comes from a shift in quality between the two issues, and while Dark Knight Strikes Again #2 is by no means a bad comic, I expect better from Frank Miller, especially on a project as hyped and long-awaited as this one. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.