by Mike Shea on 19 August 2002
Among my other nerdy pursuits, I am a die-hard comic book fan with very select tastes. I really only read stuff done by Frank Miller including Ronin, Sin City, 300, Hard Boiled, and some Electra stuff. Miller is best known for his work, The Dark Knight Returns, an epic graphic novel depicting Bat Man's heroic return 30 years after his retirement. It is a dark and gritty look at (at the time) modern politics and the role of the hero. It is the best comic ever done.
Frank Miller finished the third of a three-part sequel to the Dark Knight Returns called The Dark Knight Strikes Again (here's issue 1, 2 and 3). Although one would find it hard to write a sequal to the greatest comic ever, Miller did not disappoint. Following another 5 years later, Metropolis is once again corrupted so badly that even the every day citizen is ambivalent to the corruption even when it is proven to exist. The Justice League is in shambles and the only heroes that weren't banished are blackmailed into serving the greatest evil they ever knew. It is a wonderful look at the JLA after 30 years and a wonderfully fresh look at their downfall and return. It is a wonderful comic and a worthy sequel.If you have never read a comic book or haven't since you were a kid, I highly recommend you read the Dark Knight Returns and the Dark Knight Strikes Again. The artwork is wonderful and the story is really powerful.There is a wonderful interview with comic book authors and historians including a great discussion with Frank Miller on the second DVD of the movie "Unbreakable". It is one of the most interesting movie background pieces I've seen on dvd. There is also a very interesting Onion AV Club Interview with Miller about the new batman series./me gets back to other nerdly pursuits.