Rating: 
Summary: The Dark Knight's 'Call to Arms'
Review: Frank Miller might have named his new and very relevent Batman saga: "The Dark Knight's Call to Arms," because that is, in fact, what it is. Make no mistake, any allusions to world figures, major contemporary and probable world events, and comments on how strings are pulled in an almost "cosmic sense" are NOT coincidental. Mr. Miller has obviously been doing some serious homework or channelling the truths he expounds on (through his very funky narrative) as all great artists do. Yes, this work is very dark. Yes, it's implications, if payed attention to, are indeed dire. And yes, DK2 is also somewhat uneven and even confusing at times. But what it occasionally lacks in form, it more than makes up for in content, and spirit! As though our world was seen through the lens of a Batman who exists here and now -- and who knows what the whole sorry deal is about -- and is prepared to do something about it -- and does! On another note, there are some interesting parallels in DK2 and the excellent Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker with the Joker and Robin characters. You might also find a few obscure references that are pure gems, even when the 'little darlings' don't exactly serve the story. What can I say. It's Batman at one of his finest hours. When we need him most. Frank Miller KNOWS who Batman is and what his stories are. Even, apparently, if some of US, don't.
Rating: 
Summary: A degradation, no, he was always bad
Review: ...Not only is DKR and it's sequel not for children, which is fairly well-known by now, it is also not for adults that feel there is anything worthwhile in the human condition. If you don't believe in heroes yourself, and what's more don't want anyone else to, this is your book. Otherwise, find other sources of superhero fiction
Rating: 
Summary: Continues the downhill trends in the first two episodes
Review: plot: weak
artwork: crude
Batman: largely missing in action It's obvious Miller rushed this one out. There's a whole page of postage stamp-sized frames - guess it's easier to do talking heads than to have to actually have to add 10-12 pages like they should have. The revelation about who the Joker really is ends up trite and unsatisfying. Let's hope Miller ends it here. I couldn't stand to see him deteriorate more than he has since DKR. That was a masterpiece - this is a childish disaster.
Rating: 
Summary: An surprisingly good addition to the DK mythos.
Review: I won't get into the plot, since others have covered it pretty well thus far. When I heard Miller was doing a sequel to DK1, I cringed. Not because I didn't think he was up to the task, but because I knew that he would get roasted no matter what he created in DK2. When you've created something that is so beloved and revered that it is now exclusively referred to in hushed, breathless tones, it's a risky proposition to try and return to the well. A substantial percentage of readers will mistake difference for poor quality. I feel DK2 is certainly weaker than DK1. *That* being said, being weaker than The Best Comic Book Ever doesn't make it bad. In fact, it's really quite good. Not as trancendent or as genre-altering as DK1, but a surprisingly detailed and engrossing addition to the overall DK story. DK1 was all about characters and very little about plot. Certainly, there was an exciting storyline, but the emotional and psychological interplay between the characters was what made it so revolutionary. Gone were the blind, heroic motivations of the past, replaced instead by Miller's dark, complex (and flawed) characters. As DK1 ends, Batman's return has, in reality, had little impact on the world, aside from cleaning up one gang of thugs. Nevertheless, we feel a sense of closure, despite the stories cliff-hanger ending. DK2 relies on the depth of the characters developed in DK1 to finally take those characters and DO something with them. Based on DK1, we "get" what's going on between Batman and Superman. It doesn't need to be rehashed in order for the story in DK2 to work. Seeing this, Miller (wisely) jumps right into an actual narrative this time. The result, I feel, is an excellent compliment to the first series. Some specifics: Pro:
1) Solid storyline with a much more pronounced plotline this time.
2) Lots of "goodies" thrown in for hardcore fans and careful readers of DK1.
3) Gutsy choices in terms of peripheral characters, very much along the lines of DK1.
4) Brave changes in style by both Miller and Varley. Cons:
1) Not long enough. So much happens in each issue that we're occasionally thrown into what feels like a "Cliff's Notes" version of the plot. The story would have profited significantly with maybe one extra issue to manipulate its subtleties a bit more.
2) No Klaus Janson. Much of the tight, crisp structure of the art of DK1 was the result of Janson's deceptively meticulous inking. It is seriously lacking at times in DK2.
3) Brave changes in style by both Miller and Varley. A pro and a con. Sometimes, the changes worked, sometimes they muddied the page.
4) Cost. $$ for three issues is a bit much. If you haven't already been reading these issue-by-issue, wait for the (hopefully) less expensive TPB. Conclusion: Read this series. All in all, better than 95% of the comic books in existence. No, it is not as good as DK1, but it is engaging, exciting and even occasionally challenging and is a more than passable follow-up to DK1.
Rating:
Summary: Dark knight strikes again, the whole series
Review: I have to say that I was dissapointed when I first heard that Frank Miller was going to do a sequel to the now famous Dark Knight Returns Series. I'm a pretty big Frank Miller Fan and have always thought that he understands the medium more than any other comic artist, even Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman who too often are pretentious and over-ambitious ending up with stories that and not literature or great art, but esoteric babble that comes across like new-age Alistar Crowley with a marker. If I want intelligent literature I'll read Dostoyevsky, or Celine , or Hamsun, not a comic book. However this new series is the best possible follow-up to the original. The story isn't as involved or as complex, but the idea's behind it are better than the first. Miller is more mature now and treats Batman like a bad joke, which he always has been, of course, he's a silly super-hero. Many of the reviews I've read seem harsh and mis-informed. They are written by people who wanted the same comic again, i don't know why. This series reads like one of Millers Sin City comics (which I've always thought are better than Dark knight anyhow). Miller pokes fun at super-heros and treats the whole series like a parody of the origianl. Which is bound to upset fans of that series. It's too close to their hearts, I'm sure. What I like most about this series is that Miller managed to make me feel the same way again. When I first read Dark Knight Returns 15 years ago I was surprised by the style of art. As I was again by this comic. Miller has always been a stylist, not a dry technician like Alex Ross or todd McFarlene. The colouring is unorthodox and the style of drawing is over the top, unrealistic. The heroes all seem to know (like we should) that they cannot die. Miller manages to imitate the orignal comic style (supermans crest reverted to how it was for the orignal newspaper series, the classic Superman # 1 cover parodyed in two seperate place, etc..), while keeping the classic Miller big hands, and simultaneously giving us a style that hasn't been seen before in comics. The art is original and as impassioned as a comic book can be. I don't think he could have followed this sereis up any better than this, no one could. To me Miller has proved once again that he knows his comics and what the genre needs more than anyone else. Oh, and I read a review where someone claimed that all this story had been done in Knigdom Come...Don't believe it. Kingdom Come with it's hyper polished advertising art, it's tacky characters and one of the most embarassing endings I've ever seen. With (can you believe anyone would still do this?) revelation quotes all over the place. The most commonly quoted biblical story, especially in comics. Lord no, Dark Knight Strikes Again, is at least as good as the orignial if only because Miller sees how stupid super-heros are. I eagerly await his next series which is supposedly the story of Jesus in Comics. Buy this series and see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun
Review: It's a free riff on the old archetypes. It's its own continuity. It's mocking mixed with celebration. It's a thought experiment: well-known characters put to their logical extremes, and mixed thoroughly. Forget the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Crisis in the Infinite whatevers. Forget who belongs in which comic - these are the characters, and this is the situation they're in. Enjoy. That is all. And it has something I know I've always wanted to see: Superman and Wonderwoman making out! And yes, Batman's at the center of it all. A character doesn't have to be on every page - or any page - to be the main character. Whether he's the protagonist is another question. In this story labels like protagonist and antagonist are shifty - Superman is the character that evolves the most, but his primary antagonists aren't the same as most of the characters' antagonists. Batman might be the antagonist, but he's certainly not the villain. It's not a traditional story. It's its own thing. The art, like the plot, is its own thing. Yes, it's good. It's different from what you're probably used to. This series made me very happy. Pure creativity always does.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably Awful!
Review: If you liked "The Dark Knight Returns" don't think that means you'll like this. The art is shoddy, the plot is meaningless, the characters are so poorly developed that they bear no resemblance to the characters they're based on. Don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: DC Comics should be ashamed of themselves....
Review: The absence of the Elseworlds symbol on the covers of Miller's books is what forces me to write this review in the first place, as DK2 is an extremely poor treatment of the greatest characters of the DC Universe and arguably some of the greatest fictional characters of all time. The Elseworlds symbol would have allowed me to simply write this book off, as yet another bad example of an alternate future of our beloved heroes gone wrong. Without the symbol, this book is a crime. Lets take a cursory look at what makes Batman so incredible. Does he kill? No. Does he have any super powers? No. Is he an absolute master of Martial arts and Detection? Yes. Can he push the known boundaries of what a human being can achieve? Yes. And save lives above everything else, while doing all the above? Yes. Does Miller make him into a Killer? Yes. Does Miller dissolve the seemingly unbreakable bond between Batman and Superman and pit them against each other like school kids? Yes. Does Miller turn the greatest human achiever into a man driven by cruelty, hate, paranoia and delusion? Yes. Is any of the above Miller penned qualities heroic? No. Do they embody the qualities of The true Batman? No. Is this what DC wants to become of their most popular hero? DC, say it isn't so. The bond between Batman and Superman degrades from the one in DK1 to an even worse, horribly distasteful one, resulting in a beating of Superman by a resurrected make shift JLA (including Barry Allen who is dead, Hal Jordan who is not GL any longer since he's dead and is the Spectre now, and other various JLA characters at the direction of Bruce himself) that has only the type of sick demented appeal that a passer by has with a gruesome car accident pulled off of the road. And, darling, you know who you are! You don't want to see anyone hurt but you look anyway. For any fans that love Superman as well as Batman and respect them both as icons of the noblest kind, this is a sad moment in DC history. Dick Grayson, the original Robin who is Nightwing in the current continuity, heir to Bruce Wayne's estate and arguably the mantle of the Bat, as well as being the adopted son of Bruce Wayne is treated with such irreprehensible characterization that DC should be ashamed of letting this book go on the stands without a huge honking Elseworlds symbol emblazoned all across every cover. Why so irreprehensible you may ask? Well, for starters, Dick Grayson is characterized with about the same degree of evil and insanity that resides in the current continuity Joker. No longer is he a superhero of the highest caliber but a super villain of the basest kind. One must ask themselves, how does Miller's Batman turn his back on his closest ally, thereby allowing this kind of Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde transformation to occur in the first place? Where is the same sentimental sense that forces him to be nostalgic about his short term Robin- Jason Todd, who he continues to lament the loss of, and remember as a "good Soldier"? Batman's strongest and longest living ally throughout all of DC history was, is and will always be - Dick Grayson. Miller's treatment of the original Robin is what causes me to believe he has a deep contempt for these characters and would like to see them destroyed. Changing the character into his most opposite and perverted qualities and make him into a doppelganger of Batman's most notorious villain is the lowest thing a writer can do to a character. If batman is so fickle as to not care if Dick Grayson is captured and genetically altered, to the point of calling him "useless" and a "coward" and calling him names not unlike a cheap stand-up comedian would, then this was not Batman I was reading about, but some far fetched, perverted Elseworlds, alternate version. Miller continues to appeal to the lowest common denominator again, by lacing shameless sexual innuendos throughout the book, at the expense of maintaining the nobility of our favorite heroes. Martian Manhunter speaks as if he's lived his life in the gutter. Not only was his dialogue unforgivable, but our hero with his known weakness for fire is actually saying this load of garbage as a lit cigarette is dangling from his lips. Many credit Miller for redefining Batman as a darker, loner that could whip Superman's ... if he wanted to. Well folks, although he could, and its shocking how many people are relieved to see him do it in these books, he shouldn't have, and although Batman is a loner, it's a sad state of affairs that Miller couldn't endure to see any of his closest allies stand the test of time. Despite the record sales of this sequel, and the countless people that are happy to see Batman kick Superman's ..., yet again, I think DC owes their fans and legendary characters quite a bit more respect then they have allowed in this book. Let Miller be the hero everyone wants him to be for redefining Batman 15 years ago as the dark hero he should be, but for goodness sake, place the Elseworlds symbol on the book, DC, and a short explanation on why it was left out by accident. DK2 fails miserably, and comes off as a pathetic attempt at trying to out-do the excellent Kingdom Come graphic novel, which by contrast, was superbly written, and impeccably illustrated.
Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: One word review for this one -- awful. I want to give this 0 stars, but that's not an option. If you loved The Dark Knight Returns, like me, and thought, like me, that the follow up would follow in the footsteps of greatness you are to be painfully disappointed. I'd go so far as to say that you are going to be horrified. I checked the credits for this series numerous times, because I quite simply could not believe that the people I credit with making me realize that comic books aren't for kids had created this abomination. I converted skeptical friends to comic book readers with The Dark Knight Returns -- The Dark Knight Strikes Again, volumes 1 through 3, is almost enough to make me give away my collection. The plot is a mess. The dialogue is an embarrassment -- does ANYONE think that swearing a lot makes something "edgy" or "cool"? It shows a lack of creativity and, quite bluntly, intelligence. The artwork? The less said the better. I couldn't make out who was who during volume 3. Finally, the coloring. Lynn Varley made me realize the amazing work done by a colorist fifteen years ago, I realized that a comic book was raised to a higher tier by the colorist. Sadly, this series appears to be trying to prove that color can be provided by a color-blind 3 year old. This series is an embarrassment to DC Comics. And yet they released it. As another reviewer comments, the only reason for this can be commerce. Put another way, cold greed. The only other explanation I can think of is that when Miller said he'd do a sequel he made DC sign a contract that guaranteed publication despite quality. I did not buy the third volume. After buying volumes 1 & 2 I was so stunned I read volume 3 in a store to see if I wanted to spend my money. I read volume 3 in a state of shock. I left with my money firmly in my wallet.
Rating:
Summary: A Train Wreck
Review: "Sequels disappoints" in the words of a character in the movie "Scream 2." And while that statement was intended to describe the usual track record of movie sequels in failing to meet the standard of their predecessors, it can just as easily applied to any other medium of entertainment -including comic books. Unfortunately, it can also be applied to the "The Dark Knight Strikes Again," Frank Miller's follow-up to his classic four-part "Dark Knight Returns" series of graphic novels. Let's get one thing straight, Miller's original tale of an aging Batman coming out of retirement wasn't just a groundbreaking classic, it was a seminal event in comics history. Published roughly 15 years ago, it's impact cannot be overstated. Not only did it redefine Batman, changing the way the character's comics were written and drawn, but it also changed the comics medium period. The graphic novel format, generally used only in occasional experiments prior to "Dark Knight," soon became an industry standard after it hit the stands. Comics themselves became darker and more mature following "Dark Knight." It not only paved the way for harder edged revamps of characters like the Punisher, The Spectre, and the Question but also for D.C.'s mature readers imprint Vertigo which recently prompted Marvel Comics' Marvel Knights and Max imprints. The impact of the original "Dark Knight" was felt even beyond comic books. One could argue that Tim Burton never would have been handed the reins of the Batman movie franchise if Miller's series hadn't shown that audiences were willing to spend their dollars on a Batman that wasn't of the Adam West, "Biff, Bang, Pow" variety. And the success of that first film clearly paved the way for a new wave of cinema superheroes that continues to this day. Bottom line, "Dark Knight" wasn't just a great comic book series. It was a series that changed the medium it operated within in the same way that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" changed pop music or "Star Wars" changed moviemaking. This being the case, it was almost impossible to expect that the sequel "DK2" would meet the standards set by its predecessor. But could any fan have expected that it would be a disaster of colossal proportions? Simply put, "DR2" isn't just bad. Its' a train wreck. To list everything that is wrong with it would be almost impossible but let's start with the highlights or in this case, lowlights: 1) The Plot - has to do with Batman coming out of retirement to thwart a government conspiracy to take over the world masterminded by old Superman archenemies Braniac and Lex Luthor. The obvious question this raises is why nemeses of another hero are placed front and center in a Batman storyline. This isn't a bad thing in and of itself. The problem is that the plot is so sketchy and so poorly executed that it just doesn't stand up even for three issues as opposed to the original series' four. Certain story elements are introduced and either discarded or never fully fleshed out. Others, like the reemergence of the original Robin, come out of the blue in a way that is completely unnecessary. Furthermore a running theme of interjecting television news style commentary and narration throughout the series is ultimately just distracting. Bad writing, Bad art - Even though major players from the original series returned for this project, most notably Miller and Lynn Varley, neither the writing or the art are up to snuff here. The writing is scattershot as hell and the artwork lacks the detail and richness that made the "Dark Knight Returns" such an oft duplicated but never replicated classic. Shading on many panels is virtually non-existent and the use of so many bright, lurid colors isn't at all consistent with what we've come to expect from Batman storylines. Too little Batman - though his work clearly paved the way for the Batman film series, you'd think Miller would have learned from the critical mistake the movies made - namely making Batman a supporting character in his own story. In the same way that the movies crowded Batman out of the frame in favor of villains and sidekicks, Miller has done the same here by cramming this series full of other superheroes. The involvement of Luthor and Braniac pretty much guaranteed that Superman would get major facetime. But is the involvement of a new Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, the Atom, Flash, and Captain Marvel, just to name a few, really necessary. Given the number of costumes here, a better title for this series would have been, "The Justice League Strikes Again." Continuity problems abound - Given that the original "DK" took place in a DC universe that had yet to be completely reshaped and retooled by the "Crisis on the Infinite Earths(that's another piece of seminal eighties-era reading for those of you not familiar with DC history)it was inevitable that a sequel wouldn't completely square with what we now know to be the DC Universe. But the continuity flaws here raise obvious questions that you wish somone had thought of in the editing process. For example, if this series takes place in a universe where the Crisis never occurred why is Captain Marvel around when anyone familiar with DC comics history knows that, pre-Crisis, Captain Marvel lived on a parallel earth, Earth S? This obviously suggests that maybe the series does take in place in current continuity. But if so, that raises even more questions like Why is Silver Age Flash Barry Allen still alive? Why does the bottled Kryptonian City of Kandor still exist? One suspects that all flaws aside, the powers that be at DC let an inferior product like this hit the stands for one reason and one reason only: Commerce. For years Hollywood studio heads have green lighted movie sequels that they knew wouldn't hold a candle to the original movies. They knew and still know that a large portion of the public will still show up at their local multiplex with cash in hand regardless of how good or bad these movies area. With "DK2", the DC brain trust has essentially done the very same thing with the comic-buying public. The hard truth is that this series is an insult to the memory of the original "Dark Knight" series and everyone involved with it should be ashamed. This series gets one star and that only because there's not a "no star' option.
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