The ideas of the twin towers getting destroyed was popular in fiction for decades before it happened. There were tv episodes where the towers were getting attacked and some involved planes. There was even a comic where Twoface flips his coin to decide whether or not to destroy the twin towers. A lot of writers had this weird idea of the towers getting destroyed.
Miller was battling his own mental health while being disgusted with the mainstream industry at the time. Miller's best work has always been when he's had a good editor who can help him with dialog. Now someone please explain the Master Race lol! Again superb video!
@@spongecakes1986 It's the third and final chapter of dark night returns basically the atom gets tricked by a cult inside candor to restoring them to full size and they go on try to conquer earth spree, Batman and Superman team up to try and stop them wearing mechanized armor after creating a kryptonite weather pattern only for Bruce to suddenly drop dead during the fight leading to Superman taking his body to a latter's pit, To quickly resurrect him back into his physical, In order to beat this kryptonian cult.
The irony of the Twin Towers thing is that in response to 9/11, Miller wrote a story called “Batman: Holy Terror” where Batman would get revenge on Muslims for doing 9/11, which was his revenge fantasy for the event. A story he’s since denounced entirely not only cause it is one of the worst stories ever, but because Miller said he does not have the same mindset he did in 2009.
You're leaving out how it was changed from Batman to a generic racist white guy. it started as Frank's manchild self-insert and became a generic self-insert instead.
You're wrong, Holly Terror is an elseworld Batman's story created by Alan Brennet where Bruce was raised in a church and he has to fight its corruption. Although it's true that 9/11 affected Miller hard, he never created a Batman story like you said
@@paulakroy2635 What happened was Frank Miller was in the middle of drawing the panel where he had the flying batmobile crash into a building when the reports were coming in of what was going on and had the World Trade centers and he looked down at what he had drawn and the news and he was like Oh my god what have I done.
If you think about it, Frank Miller's Batman is a tragic irony in itself. Why? Well, because both THE DARK KNIGHT and BATMAN: YEAR ONE are milestones in Batman's publication history. But in the 21st century, Miller got nuts and inserted his own traumas into his works. Can't blame him, though, since Miller's always been so misanthropic in his worldview, but his next Batman works feel so unneccesary. At least THE DARK KNIGHT is still its own thing despite those unfortunste sequels (and its two prequels that are sequels to YEAR ONE).
You're right, we can learn from the mistakes and take it to not make the same. Or think about ways to fix it without changing the narrative. Mostly the Dark Knight strikes again
DK2 is not really "different" from all the edgy 90's comics that DKR spawned. While parodying pointless edge, Miller just ended up making more edge. If he tried to replicate Kirby's art, he seemed to only have seen the simplicity and ugliness of it and turned it to 11, but he not the charm of it. And Kirbi's art is not really ugly, but rather stylistic. I think a more interesting direction would be if the comic started with a very gritty and edgy tone, but slowly reverted to a more cheerful and fantastical tone of the classic comics by reverting or introducing certain characters that acted like that and to really play on the contrast.
Bro. This is the most complete analysis I've seen to this pice of work. It's great that you went further and read complementary material in order to comprehend what was going on during the story. Pure respect for you my man. You are still and FOREVER be THE Batman channel on TH-cam. God bless you and I hope you become popular/mainstream one day.
Knowing Miler's style, I feel like the Robin/Joker might have been a bit of meta-commentary on constantly resurrecting characters and the equating it with the psychological trauma/loss of self that is often the trade-off for an actual in-universe return to the living.
I can't really be that mad at Miller for the consequences of the Dark Knight Returns as he himself has seen what he (and Moore) ushered in, where just about EVERY hack writer and editor in the comic industry took the WRONG messages from TDKR and Watchmen and applied it to mainline comics. If anything, I save my disdain for those hack writers and idiot editors like Dan Didio and his moronic sensibilities {his over-reliance of 9/11 being reflected in the DC Universe and his pathetic attempts to copy/paste Marvel's growing stupidity mucking up its own universe onto DC} being TOP of that hate list. Yeah, I miss The BATMAN of O'Neil/Adams.
An attack on the world trade center had not only happened before, but was something that was kinda expected for years. I remember many people talking about how obvious and glaring of a target it was years before 9/11. In Spider-Man 2 Enter Electro, the ending of the game had to be redone because of 9/11, Spider-Man TAS had to cut out a sequence if i remember correctly, there also the episode where a plane crashes on a bridge in season 1 or 2, there's the Raimi teaser that had a helicopter webbed up in between the towers, etc. while the attack was tragic and a shock, its surprising an attack to that degree didnt happen much sooner. Also, this a great analysis. I've never held this book in high regard but your analysis has opened my eyes to another perspective that actually gives some depth to this story. Great work man
There were previous attacks on the WTC, for instance it was bombed in 1993. It wasn't the first time something like that happened, and plenty of people were speculating that it woudl happen.
The Spider-Man Animated Series actually referenced a previous attack on the WTC where an explosion was set off in a parking garage, but didn't bring the buildings down. Kraven smells the residue of the cowardly terrorist attack in Man-Spider's webbing and figures out that he's in the WTC parking garage. (Man-Spider is Peter Parker, who's mutated into a spider creature.)
I see what you are saying but if someone has to go through such great pains to explain that this is a parody then I think Frank Miller failed at this attempt to make a parody. Just my thoughts!
@@matti.8465it is. If you were around back then you’d get it, but think of it like this, if someone made a good parody involving modern events or tropes of today, say about inclusivity or something, most people would get it easily, but in 20 years? Most people would need to have it explained to them. That’s what’s happening here, there’s enough to get that it’s a parody because some of the things he parodied are still present today in comics, but the majority of it flies over a modern readers head. Is it bad because people 20 years after the fact don’t get it?
I think the biggest problem with DK2 is that it it all feels so spiteful and unnecessary. On the one hand, yes, you can read the story as a critique on the Dark Age of Comics, an entire era that Miller and Moore distanced themselves from like absent fathers. On the other hand, the man who did DK2 also went on to do Holy Terror, a response to 9/11 that defies description, and a book that was originally intended to be a Batman story before DC stepped in and said 'absolutely not'. 9/11 absolutely broke Miller's mind, I don't think that's a particularly spicy take, but the seeds were always there to begin with and this is the start of that dark period. You can definitely be charitable to DK2, I do agree that some of the criticisms are overly harsh and unfair, but, then again, 'overly harsh and unfair' describes the book itself rather well and it doesn't change the fact that it was made by a creator past their prime with no real understanding of what they were doing or where they were going anymore. DK2 is an ugly book in all senses of the word, and while I can appreciate what's being attempted, what's delivered is a horrible mess that fails in every meaningful way.
I don’t think it’s spiteful, it clearly is a bit bitter, but it’s a solid parody. Not top tier or anything, but reading it 20 years ago made everything hit. I think people are way too harsh on it and way too harsh on miller. All star he deserves it, but I think due to the parody being so time sensitive and All Star and Holy Terror people go in expecting it to be bad and not thinking about when it was written
I'm getting the feeling that Frank Miller is "that guy" in his industry that made some generational work so everyone meat rides and makes excuses for everything he does even when it's obvious dogwater. He's the Kanye of comics
@@simplyhoodie I hear it's amazing when the purple suit clown from flap-jaw space with the tuning flower does a raw gas on Hari Kari rock! I need Smylex! 89!
Not really, it's just confusing satire disguised as an homage to certain era of American comic books. Not everything that criticizes technology or A.I. is related to MGS2. There's plenty of pre-2000s stories that do the same thing and MGS2 is not the first to bring up the themes of misinformation or A.I. manipulation.
I had zero problems with comics in the 90s. X-Men Blue and Gold teams, Death of Superman, Knightfall, the creation of Malibu and Image, great memories.
DC in the 90s actually had a lot of great runs. Kingdom Come, Doom patrol by Morrison, Starman by Robinson, Mark Waids Flash run, The Spectre by Ostrander, Morrison’s JLA run, the Justice League International run, JSA by Johns, Aquaman’s revamp by Peter David etc etc
Surprised you're not covering the whole shebang of theFrank Miller universe that universe has a surprising amount of entries and spinoffs. As of this Date that Batman universe consist of: -The Dark Knight Returns & strikes again -holy terror(all bit censored since it was meant to be Batman but DC refused to let him be used that way) -Year One -Spawn/Batman - Batman: The last crusade -all-star Batman and Robin -Superman: Year One -Dark Knight: The Master Race -Dark Knight: The Golden Child
Did it ever occur to you he might already be planning to cover all of that but videos take time to make? That's like walking out of Empire Strikes Back and going "I'm surprised they didn't show Vader losing and the downfall of the Emperor, who was barely even in the movie!"
@@paulakroy2635 makes sense though that would be difficult with the with that universe because the stretches between them are massive decades in some cases.
You have actually somewhat redeemed Frank Miller, somewhat, in my eyes. Damn, Salazar! This is the best analysis of Miller's work I have ever seen, and Miller owes you one for doing it. Great work. Kudos.
I just discovered this channel yesterday and I am BLOWN AWAY by the detail with which you’ve examined these comics with. I look forward both to your future Batman content and any other characters/franchises/general topics you decide to cover in the future ❤
WTH did I just watch !? It's like if Frank Miller and the editors at DC Comics just watched the Yellow Submarine movie and decided to use it as inspiration for this abomination as we knew it.
Good job Salazar. I have to say, I expected you to talk more about old Bruce being the love interest of Carrie, about Robin not being able to cut the mustard (or whatever miller wrote) and the ending in general. Still, magnificent essay as always. I can't unsee Kirby in those illustrations now.
This is a great idea for a video. I never see this comic discussed, at least not in a way that it is given some real analytical attention. You truly are the best Batman comic TH-camr.
I kind of like DK: The Last Crusade. It sort of feels like an older Miller reflecting on his past works with Jason Todd being a stand in for the Batman books he made post Year One.
The worst thing about that comic was Brainiac's dialogue. I kept thinking Miller must have written it in a drunken stupor after attending a strip club.
So, which means… if they had scrapped all the characters and replaced them with the ambiguous look-alikes… and named it Bad-man Darknight Re-puns, it will possess the potential to be a, say, cult satire classic? 😮
It seems like Miller was trying to do a bunch of stuff that had been done better by others. - Azrael was already a reaction to dark and gritty comics: a "cooler", "edgier" Batman. - Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker had a Robin that was turned into the Joker. I'm not sure which of them was released first, but an animated movie takes a lot longer to create than a comic book does., so I assume RotJ started production first.
A real was a reaction that supported the idea though, and BB was after this, but regardless neither are a parody like this. You could say that Spider-Man did a better job than the dragonfly with being a bug bite hero, but that can’t really apply because Spider-Man isn’t a parody
"This is all too strange to be a coincidence" That or it's just a coincidence that prior to 9/11 having a plane crash into something (like a building) was a pretty popular narrative piece to establish that shit was hitting the fan that fell out of favor after 9/11 due to 9/11 being a sensitive subject, thus making any prior uses of it seem strange given how little we see it today. That or some weird conspiracy to show 9/11 ahead of time in a batman comic happened, really both of these explanations are entirely plausible. I'm not trying to be rude per say, But the way you talked about it is conducive to conspiracy nutcases.
@@mrscruffles801 Yknow, you're right. Those 3 DC comic writers caused 9/11. Its plain as day! Its not like the superhero comic industry is solely based on the concept of good guys fighting people who would be considered actual Terrorists irl. Doing something plane-based (especially when planes are a very formidable vehicle, which, if strucken down anywhere below a city, just causes immediate havoc. And proabably the most convenient way for calendar man to cause the most damage) is COMPLETELY UNTHINKABLE? And its not like "bringing down the biggest skyscraper in Gotham" is a completely unthinkable idea pre-9/11. I mean, for me personally, the idea of "kicking down an empty trash can" sounds much less interesting. A big ass skyscraper getting hit with something might cause for the thing to fall, and kill more people. Such an attack has such a high damage potential. Gee I wonder why comic book artists would make their comic books interesting. Also the fortune teller comic... Fortune telling is pretty arabic-adjacent when it comes to stereotypes. Same for mind control. Why not continue the theme?
I've never seen a creator miss the point of what made The Dark Knight Returns such an atristic success than the people who created The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
15:47 If you want to include non-Batman stories, Grant Morrison wrote a Sentinel flying into a building on Genosha at the beginning of the m@ssacre. That was released just a few months before 9/11.
I remember a tumblr post that tried recoloring miller's work with more striking colors and less shading and it really showed that the great sin of the art isnt the art itself but rather the colors
I had almost the identical experience. Hated this book the first time around, but after I reread it the second time around, I found I actually enjoyed it more and some of the ideas actually sunk in. Oddly enough, this was the same for All Star Batman and Robin.
Nah, All Star Batman and Robin was pure nonsense. Stuff like kidnapping Dick, abusing him, being a prick to Alfred and Hal make that Batman seem like a crazy lunatic with no redeeming qualities.
Truthfully, I've always liked DK2. Miller knew he couldn't top The Dark Knight Returns. So, he was having fun with the whole concept of sequelizing a work like that. The wheels came off the wagon, and the wagon was on fire... He was just exploding on every page. I had a great experience. I found it to be a fun ride.
As much as this is absolutely INSANE, I find the artwork and story very interesting. While this may the craziest sequel ever, out of context I think it's really interesting and the artwork in particular is really cool looking to me.
A risky idea, poorly executed. I read the DK2 graphic novel one afternoon in a bookstore. I intended to buy it, but couldn't resist sitting down and getting a sneak-peek first. I remember opening it up, waiting for it to get good, at which point I would take it to the register and make my purchase, but it never did. I was so disappointed when I finished it; I put it back on the shelf and left the store feeling like a really bad joke had been played on me.
Oh man lovely. Just some days ago I reminded myself about this comic's existence because of one reddit post talking about it I hate it more than anything but it also fascinates me how it was created in the first place. It's kinda like a car accident that you can't look away from. The art in the comic can actually make you feel sick. There sure are some ways to explain why Miller choosed this approach but still DK2 sure doesn't have place in my heart but it does have place in my head...
I can still recall the first time i read this so many years ago shortly after it came out and I was absolutely baffled by the complete lack of backgrounds. You could never tell where anything that was happening was supposed to be happening. I suppose you could call it a minimalist approach or something but it just comes across as lazy. Terrible storytelling even if the story was good. It's just characters running around in colourful voids where things like depth and distance are impossible to discern.
At the time, while browsing over the issue in a bookstore, I saw it as a typical sloppy cash grab, indicative of the massive decline in quality put out by DC and Marvel. 'What is this GARBAGE? No wonder I only read and support small indie published or foreign graphic novels." I remember saying out loud to myself.
I couldn't even read it straight through. Tried several times.. it seems like there should be a story there, the layout, dialogue & art is all over the place.
I bought this when it first came out when I was in college. I was already a fan of Frank Miller's work, reading Sin City throughout the 90s and having read the Dark Knight Returns, which was originally released when I was a little kid. I didn't like it. I gave it to my friend for free. He wasn't a big comic book reader like me so had no major complaints.
Very good comments. I may now go back and give the second series another shot. Frank can be easily misunderstood, but sometimes a great 'failure' can be as interesting as anything in a Creator's catalog. I give Miller credit for trying something new, raw and unpredictable.
Every critique I have watched about this masterpiece always says the story makes no sense, or its hard to follow the narrative, but I never had that issue. Its very straightforward with its story. Sometimes I think this comic is too smart for the average comic reader, who seems to need neat, tidy panels that hold their hand.
Giving too much credit it’s just Frank miller being crazy, I mean why is Martian Manhunter looking like the thing with no importance to the story a tribute to Jack Kirby? Or Wonder Woman and Superman is actually a subtle celebration of craziness/silliness of comic books?
I often find it bizarre when people cite the Dark Knight as their favorite Batman story, because it simply omits or straight up contradicts his original character, while it was a cohesive story I never felt a connection to it. When I first read DK2 I enjoyed the callbacks immensely, and despite its MANY flaws I still have a special place for it, especially that flash costume
I didn't mind Dark Knight 3 or the one-shot Dark Knight Universe issue he did, but the only thing I remember liking about The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Plastic Man complaining that the Elongated Man wasn't even funny.
i disagree with the comment that frank miller cant do satire or parody.Besides DKR being the dark reimagining of Batman it is filled with satire and jokes about politics,media and society in general that resonate with people and are true to this day.Just because a writer/artist lost his touch and wanted to do a full parody and exaggeration about the comic industry of the 90s doesnt mean hes bad at it.
DK2 is prophetic and prescient. Ugly art but BRILLIANT story. It pretty much could've been written today with how much it predicted. It's a great book with really awful art. It would make a great animated story.
The Master Race was pretty good! The more I read DK2 I appreciate it more and this video will also help with that. The art is terrible of course but I’m not a fan of the first Dark Knight’s art either although that is one of the greatest stories ever made
Whoa. Thank you for this essay. I actually only ever read the first issue of DKR2 and never bothered with the following issues. But having watched this video i get it now and I never would've come to these conclusions on my own. You've once again proved why your channel is one of the best comic book channels. Kudos.
I think for example the crazyness of the narrative is a very good point in what INTERNET was becoming at time and is today. DK one is narrated through telejornals - well edited and filtred. DK2 is narrated through INTERNET. A mess of counterpoints and memes and shit.
A plane crashed into Gotham in The Dark Knight Returns as well. It's the scene where Gordon has to rally the citizens to put out the fire instead of rioting during the blackout.
@@jimjo8541 You're thinking of the Two-Face sequence. After the nuclear bomb detonates though, the EMP knocks out a jumbo jet that crashes into Gotham, setting fire to several city blocks. Gordon quells the riot and rallies the people to help put out the fires.
When you're pass your prime and seeking those glory days...STOP!!! JUST ENJOY WHAT YOU DID!!! Was the Editor was sleeping when he sent that work to editorial?
Great vid, so excited to hear you cover this one! I have a confession; I kind of love TDKSA for just how relentlessly bad it is, climbing whole new levels of WTF along the way
The first time I read this comic I hated it, but I was also on a 3-day beer bender after having a sucky week. Upon rereading it (because I'm a sadist like that) I can appreciate aspects of it. For example if you were to see it without color or just the original pencils, the art is much better. I'm inclined to believe this was the beginning of the fallout between Frank Miller and colorist/then wife Lynn Varley. Frank doing this as a parody and also celebrating things that he liked from the Silver age is what I get now. And I think him also doing such an over-the-top version of Batman is probably him basically telling annoying people bugging him about doing more Batman, "F you, I've done other things." You're spot on when you say that it should have been called The Justice League Strikes Again or something.
Very good video. I think it'd be interesting if people who did the two-part TDKR film adapted the follow-up by incorporating its stronger elements and severely tweaking the flaws, sometimes in a self aware way. Casting wise, you could have Peter Weller, Ariel Winter (as Carrie Kelly's Robin), Mark Valley and Robin Atkin Downes reprising their roles. As an added bonus, Jeffrey Combs may reprise his role as The Question from Justice League Unlimited. He is impeccable in that part after all.
I'm so much angrier now that I've been corrected on the identity of the DKR2 Joker. My brain turned him into Jason Todd and I had to goggle it to verify you were right. WTAF
This was one of the nost funniest and at the same time thought provoking breakdowns ive watched. I love a great breakdown,especially one that makes you think great job man 🤙🏾.
It’s really interesting seeing where in his career miller made this comic. With less faith in authority (Superman and the us government) but faith in a new one, some strong man like Batman creating a new authority to combat an outside attack
Crazy Uncle Frank: "So how'd you like the book I wrote and drew?" "That's not writing and drawing. I've seen writing and drawing. What you did in there was pure chaos."
Frank Miller pulled a Tobe Hooper? Hooper made Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre II which in itself is a parody of the slasher tropes that Hooper helped solidify in the genre.
@@VuotoPneumaNN imagine being the guy who uses All-Star Batman and Robin as an argument AGAINST parody. I wholeheartedly believe Frank Miller is smart enough to realize when he accidently does satire... even years after the fact. Edit: checked out your music playlist... you have great taste in music Holmes.
@@VideosJacked I simply think that one being the sequel to the other and keeping the same tone, while definitely not being a parody, proves that the other was meant to be taken equally seriously? Or are you claiming that ASBAR is parody too? A parody of what? I think Frank Miller has proven time and time again (Sin City, 300, Holy Terror) to be utterly incapable of subtlety and subtext. He has a very simplistic, crass worldview and it transpires in his thematic and narrative choices. Basically, all of his oeuvre could be summarised in "white strong men good". I think with DK2 he wasn't parodying the edginess he generated, he was reclaiming possession of it. And if that degenerated into accidental satire, well, then it means he is so entrapped in his own tropes that he himself has become a parody of his golden age. Re: music. Thank you very much. Glad you enjoyed the playlist.
@@VuotoPneumaNN You have restored a little faith in humanity. While I don't agree, you at least have thought a bit about this. I am not too versed in 300 or Holy Terror; I only saw 300 on tv. Holy terror has piqued my interest for it's sheer lack of tact. Curious, you didn't even touch on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre parallel I made; have you seen them? Because of your arguments against parody, I'm going to pick up a copy of 300... get a used copy of Holy Terror.
@@VideosJacked I would advise you read online scans of both and don't spend money on them. Neither is worth the money. I haven't seen the second Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I get what you mean, and remain convinced that Miller's intent was different.
Regarding the weirdness of the stories coming together prior to 9/11, it feels like that was going on across media in general. Like...there was an episode in Superman the animated series where a plane was going to crash into something, but then 9/11 happened and they changed it to a train. It's very eerie that so many similar stories happened and were conceptualized around 9/11.
The vast majority of people don't seem to mentally grasp that a bomb was detonated below the World Trade Center by members of Al-Qaeda in 1993. There was no prediction for anything, all references from the 90's are in fact, referencing that attack.
I've needed a DK2 TH-cam video for the longest time; this really scratched that itch. Having read World's Funnest, those connections between some of DK2's most iconic/infamous aspects and arguably the best part of the former comic blew my mind! Genius catch there
Yep, this was a hard read. Just look at how Lex Luthor looked, with those ridiculous shoes. 😂 It only started to make sense near the end. Wonder woman was anoying too. I agree, it was a JL Story. GREAT VIDEO BY THE WAY!! 👏
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
The ideas of the twin towers getting destroyed was popular in fiction for decades before it happened. There were tv episodes where the towers were getting attacked and some involved planes. There was even a comic where Twoface flips his coin to decide whether or not to destroy the twin towers. A lot of writers had this weird idea of the towers getting destroyed.
Some of this may have something to do with the 1993 bombing.
It was also raised in a report on possible terrorist attacks that the Bush Administration apparently ignored.
@@VonWenk There were a lot of reports on possible attacks during that era
Building 7 😮
@@lordcolinb Spare me from conspiracy nuts
Miller was battling his own mental health while being disgusted with the mainstream industry at the time. Miller's best work has always been when he's had a good editor who can help him with dialog. Now someone please explain the Master Race lol! Again superb video!
Do I even want to know what Master Race is?
@@spongecakes1986 It's the third and final chapter of dark night returns basically the atom gets tricked by a cult inside candor to restoring them to full size and they go on try to conquer earth spree, Batman and Superman team up to try and stop them wearing mechanized armor after creating a kryptonite weather pattern only for Bruce to suddenly drop dead during the fight leading to Superman taking his body to a latter's pit, To quickly resurrect him back into his physical, In order to beat this kryptonian cult.
@@mrheroprimes that's wild. Kryptonite weather pattern? What the hell does that even mean?
@@spongecakes1986 Exploding a kryptonite bomb into a rainstorm which weekend the cultists,
@@mrheroprimes okay that makes more sense
The irony of the Twin Towers thing is that in response to 9/11, Miller wrote a story called “Batman: Holy Terror” where Batman would get revenge on Muslims for doing 9/11, which was his revenge fantasy for the event. A story he’s since denounced entirely not only cause it is one of the worst stories ever, but because Miller said he does not have the same mindset he did in 2009.
You're leaving out how it was changed from Batman to a generic racist white guy. it started as Frank's manchild self-insert and became a generic self-insert instead.
I feel like what isn’t mentioned is Frank actually saw 9/11 happen in person
You're wrong, Holly Terror is an elseworld Batman's story created by Alan Brennet where Bruce was raised in a church and he has to fight its corruption. Although it's true that 9/11 affected Miller hard, he never created a Batman story like you said
I remember when attack of the 4th wall covered it. It was terrible.
@@paulakroy2635 What happened was Frank Miller was in the middle of drawing the panel where he had the flying batmobile crash into a building when the reports were coming in of what was going on and had the World Trade centers and he looked down at what he had drawn and the news and he was like Oh my god what have I done.
If you think about it, Frank Miller's Batman is a tragic irony in itself. Why? Well, because both THE DARK KNIGHT and BATMAN: YEAR ONE are milestones in Batman's publication history. But in the 21st century, Miller got nuts and inserted his own traumas into his works. Can't blame him, though, since Miller's always been so misanthropic in his worldview, but his next Batman works feel so unneccesary. At least THE DARK KNIGHT is still its own thing despite those unfortunste sequels (and its two prequels that are sequels to YEAR ONE).
A parody that isn't easily understood as one is obviously a failure. That said, just because something is a failure doesn't mean it has no value.
understanding of a parody directly depends on the knowledge and outlook of the reader/viewer. it shouldn't be easy to understand for tourists.
@@Jackfromshack Yes, it actually should. A parody easily mistaken for a poorly made comic is in fact a poorly made comic.
You're right, we can learn from the mistakes and take it to not make the same. Or think about ways to fix it without changing the narrative. Mostly the Dark Knight strikes again
@@fanofmediastuff269 And a failed story can be interesting, even a weird piece of history or a stage in the decline of legend.
mgs2 took years for people to realize all the hidden commentary it had and now most people like it
DK2 is not really "different" from all the edgy 90's comics that DKR spawned. While parodying pointless edge, Miller just ended up making more edge. If he tried to replicate Kirby's art, he seemed to only have seen the simplicity and ugliness of it and turned it to 11, but he not the charm of it. And Kirbi's art is not really ugly, but rather stylistic.
I think a more interesting direction would be if the comic started with a very gritty and edgy tone, but slowly reverted to a more cheerful and fantastical tone of the classic comics by reverting or introducing certain characters that acted like that and to really play on the contrast.
Has to do with 9/11 imo, miller felt very strongly about it and it likely result in heightened edge
More hated than All Star Batman?
I think they’re both equally hated
More hated than Tom King’s Batman Run?
I LOVED the Jim Lee art-work tho. GOOD stuff.
All-Star Batman had a few good moments and PHENOMENAL art. This shit doesn't have either.
@@jaydenjohnson4221How could it be worse than the two works of Frank Miller folks had just mentioned?
It's wild that Miller is responsible for two of the best Batman stories (Year One and TDKR) but also two of the worst (All Star Batman and DK2).
@BareMcDaddy I don't know, DK3 is a good Superman story.
@@DrLynch2009The problem is not the story but the art. Bad art and bad computer effects and coloring.
@@DrLynch2009those mini comics that were bad
at this point everyone realized that frank miller lost his mind.
And yet they still hired him to write All-Star Batman and Robin.
Including Frank Miller himself, eventually.
Lost his mind? Did you watch the video? This is his best work. He's holding a mirror to the comics of the time.
@@garrettwhite5943 Even Frank Miller says that he was not in his right mind when he wrote this graphic novel.
@@simonmacomber7466 He's literally never been in his right mind. He's like Alan Moore lite
Bro. This is the most complete analysis I've seen to this pice of work. It's great that you went further and read complementary material in order to comprehend what was going on during the story. Pure respect for you my man. You are still and FOREVER be THE Batman channel on TH-cam.
God bless you and I hope you become popular/mainstream one day.
Knowing Miler's style, I feel like the Robin/Joker might have been a bit of meta-commentary on constantly resurrecting characters and the equating it with the psychological trauma/loss of self that is often the trade-off for an actual in-universe return to the living.
Robin/Joker queer ia a commentary about the Fredric-Werthamistic gay fear
Like on The Boys Comic?
That would be nasty
Actually, for the first time ever, I see unexpected depth in this story. Thanks!
Nothing will be more iconic when batman declares he has grown past the concept of being old as Dick burns to death in motten slag.
Literally everything in the DKR1 was more iconic.
I can't really be that mad at Miller for the consequences of the Dark Knight Returns as he himself has seen what he (and Moore) ushered in, where just about EVERY hack writer and editor in the comic industry took the WRONG messages from TDKR and Watchmen and applied it to mainline comics. If anything, I save my disdain for those hack writers and idiot editors like Dan Didio and his moronic sensibilities {his over-reliance of 9/11 being reflected in the DC Universe and his pathetic attempts to copy/paste Marvel's growing stupidity mucking up its own universe onto DC} being TOP of that hate list.
Yeah, I miss The BATMAN of O'Neil/Adams.
An attack on the world trade center had not only happened before, but was something that was kinda expected for years. I remember many people talking about how obvious and glaring of a target it was years before 9/11.
In Spider-Man 2 Enter Electro, the ending of the game had to be redone because of 9/11, Spider-Man TAS had to cut out a sequence if i remember correctly, there also the episode where a plane crashes on a bridge in season 1 or 2, there's the Raimi teaser that had a helicopter webbed up in between the towers, etc. while the attack was tragic and a shock, its surprising an attack to that degree didnt happen much sooner.
Also, this a great analysis. I've never held this book in high regard but your analysis has opened my eyes to another perspective that actually gives some depth to this story. Great work man
There were previous attacks on the WTC, for instance it was bombed in 1993. It wasn't the first time something like that happened, and plenty of people were speculating that it woudl happen.
The Spider-Man Animated Series actually referenced a previous attack on the WTC where an explosion was set off in a parking garage, but didn't bring the buildings down. Kraven smells the residue of the cowardly terrorist attack in Man-Spider's webbing and figures out that he's in the WTC parking garage. (Man-Spider is Peter Parker, who's mutated into a spider creature.)
I see what you are saying but if someone has to go through such great pains to explain that this is a parody then I think Frank Miller failed at this attempt to make a parody. Just my thoughts!
I mean, idk from first reading I thought it was a parody
And even then, it's not a very good parody
I understood it when I first read it blind
@@matti.8465it is. If you were around back then you’d get it, but think of it like this, if someone made a good parody involving modern events or tropes of today, say about inclusivity or something, most people would get it easily, but in 20 years? Most people would need to have it explained to them. That’s what’s happening here, there’s enough to get that it’s a parody because some of the things he parodied are still present today in comics, but the majority of it flies over a modern readers head. Is it bad because people 20 years after the fact don’t get it?
Exactly. While it pains me to quote the Joker, he made a good point. "If you have to explain a joke, there is no joke."
I think the biggest problem with DK2 is that it it all feels so spiteful and unnecessary. On the one hand, yes, you can read the story as a critique on the Dark Age of Comics, an entire era that Miller and Moore distanced themselves from like absent fathers. On the other hand, the man who did DK2 also went on to do Holy Terror, a response to 9/11 that defies description, and a book that was originally intended to be a Batman story before DC stepped in and said 'absolutely not'. 9/11 absolutely broke Miller's mind, I don't think that's a particularly spicy take, but the seeds were always there to begin with and this is the start of that dark period.
You can definitely be charitable to DK2, I do agree that some of the criticisms are overly harsh and unfair, but, then again, 'overly harsh and unfair' describes the book itself rather well and it doesn't change the fact that it was made by a creator past their prime with no real understanding of what they were doing or where they were going anymore. DK2 is an ugly book in all senses of the word, and while I can appreciate what's being attempted, what's delivered is a horrible mess that fails in every meaningful way.
Spiteful is also the best way to describe All Star Batman.
I don’t think it’s spiteful, it clearly is a bit bitter, but it’s a solid parody. Not top tier or anything, but reading it 20 years ago made everything hit. I think people are way too harsh on it and way too harsh on miller. All star he deserves it, but I think due to the parody being so time sensitive and All Star and Holy Terror people go in expecting it to be bad and not thinking about when it was written
I'm getting the feeling that Frank Miller is "that guy" in his industry that made some generational work so everyone meat rides and makes excuses for everything he does even when it's obvious dogwater.
He's the Kanye of comics
From what I've gathered, this story is just Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Malone. Matches Malone. Lieutenant Jr. Grade.
@@one_with_kevrything9825 Batman, close your comic book, now!
@@simplyhoodie I hear it's amazing when the purple suit clown from flap-jaw space with the tuning flower does a raw gas on Hari Kari rock! I need Smylex! 89!
Not really, it's just confusing satire disguised as an homage to certain era of American comic books. Not everything that criticizes technology or A.I. is related to MGS2.
There's plenty of pre-2000s stories that do the same thing and MGS2 is not the first to bring up the themes of misinformation or A.I. manipulation.
I had zero problems with comics in the 90s. X-Men Blue and Gold teams, Death of Superman, Knightfall, the creation of Malibu and Image, great memories.
DC in the 90s actually had a lot of great runs. Kingdom Come, Doom patrol by Morrison, Starman by Robinson, Mark Waids Flash run, The Spectre by Ostrander, Morrison’s JLA run, the Justice League International run, JSA by Johns, Aquaman’s revamp by Peter David etc etc
Saying jack kirbys artstyle as "ugly" is a bad take imo. I love his artstyle
Yeah anyone who considers Kirby's art to be ugly is not worth listening to.
I'm with you. His artwork is so distinct, even to this day.
@@calumhouston3308it’s very stylized. I have heard arguments that a lot of hated artists in comics have a lot in common with Kirby
Surprised you're not covering the whole shebang of theFrank Miller universe that universe has a surprising amount of entries and spinoffs.
As of this Date that Batman universe consist of:
-The Dark Knight Returns & strikes again
-holy terror(all bit censored since it was meant to be Batman but DC refused to let him be used that way)
-Year One
-Spawn/Batman
- Batman: The last crusade
-all-star Batman and Robin
-Superman: Year One
-Dark Knight: The Master Race
-Dark Knight: The Golden Child
He does things in chronological order
Did it ever occur to you he might already be planning to cover all of that but videos take time to make? That's like walking out of Empire Strikes Back and going "I'm surprised they didn't show Vader losing and the downfall of the Emperor, who was barely even in the movie!"
@@paulakroy2635 makes sense though that would be difficult with the with that universe because the stretches between them are massive decades in some cases.
You have actually somewhat redeemed Frank Miller, somewhat, in my eyes. Damn, Salazar! This is the best analysis of Miller's work I have ever seen, and Miller owes you one for doing it. Great work. Kudos.
I just discovered this channel yesterday and I am BLOWN AWAY by the detail with which you’ve examined these comics with. I look forward both to your future Batman content and any other characters/franchises/general topics you decide to cover in the future ❤
WTH did I just watch !? It's like if Frank Miller and the editors at DC Comics just watched the Yellow Submarine movie and decided to use it as inspiration for this abomination as we knew it.
I doubt that. Yellow Submarine was really fun. This comic... isn't.
Good job Salazar.
I have to say, I expected you to talk more about old Bruce being the love interest of Carrie, about Robin not being able to cut the mustard (or whatever miller wrote) and the ending in general.
Still, magnificent essay as always. I can't unsee Kirby in those illustrations now.
This is a great idea for a video. I never see this comic discussed, at least not in a way that it is given some real analytical attention. You truly are the best Batman comic TH-camr.
I love Dark Knight Returns and Year One but everything else Miller has ever written for Batman seems to be hateful, nasty, angry crap.
I kind of like DK: The Last Crusade. It sort of feels like an older Miller reflecting on his past works with Jason Todd being a stand in for the Batman books he made post Year One.
@@arcadeassassin7176 I wasn't aware of that one. Perhaps I'll look it up. Thanks.
The worst thing about that comic was Brainiac's dialogue. I kept thinking Miller must have written it in a drunken stupor after attending a strip club.
So, which means… if they had scrapped all the characters and replaced them with the ambiguous look-alikes… and named it Bad-man Darknight Re-puns, it will possess the potential to be a, say, cult satire classic? 😮
It seems like Miller was trying to do a bunch of stuff that had been done better by others.
- Azrael was already a reaction to dark and gritty comics: a "cooler", "edgier" Batman.
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker had a Robin that was turned into the Joker. I'm not sure which of them was released first, but an animated movie takes a lot longer to create than a comic book does., so I assume RotJ started production first.
A real was a reaction that supported the idea though, and BB was after this, but regardless neither are a parody like this. You could say that Spider-Man did a better job than the dragonfly with being a bug bite hero, but that can’t really apply because Spider-Man isn’t a parody
I really liked this comic book. I don’t get what everyone’s problem is.
"This is all too strange to be a coincidence" That or it's just a coincidence that prior to 9/11 having a plane crash into something (like a building) was a pretty popular narrative piece to establish that shit was hitting the fan that fell out of favor after 9/11 due to 9/11 being a sensitive subject, thus making any prior uses of it seem strange given how little we see it today.
That or some weird conspiracy to show 9/11 ahead of time in a batman comic happened, really both of these explanations are entirely plausible. I'm not trying to be rude per say, But the way you talked about it is conducive to conspiracy nutcases.
Or maybe you're just looking for reasons to criticize someone and have a point of contention.
@@mrscruffles801 Yup, that's exactly what it is when anyone slightly criticizes an influencer you like lmao.
@@vlagerio7921 Who asked you?
@@mrscruffles801 Yknow, you're right. Those 3 DC comic writers caused 9/11. Its plain as day!
Its not like the superhero comic industry is solely based on the concept of good guys fighting people who would be considered actual Terrorists irl. Doing something plane-based (especially when planes are a very formidable vehicle, which, if strucken down anywhere below a city, just causes immediate havoc. And proabably the most convenient way for calendar man to cause the most damage) is COMPLETELY UNTHINKABLE?
And its not like "bringing down the biggest skyscraper in Gotham" is a completely unthinkable idea pre-9/11. I mean, for me personally, the idea of "kicking down an empty trash can" sounds much less interesting. A big ass skyscraper getting hit with something might cause for the thing to fall, and kill more people. Such an attack has such a high damage potential. Gee I wonder why comic book artists would make their comic books interesting.
Also the fortune teller comic... Fortune telling is pretty arabic-adjacent when it comes to stereotypes. Same for mind control. Why not continue the theme?
I've never seen a creator miss the point of what made The Dark Knight Returns such an atristic success than the people who created The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
15:47 If you want to include non-Batman stories, Grant Morrison wrote a Sentinel flying into a building on Genosha at the beginning of the m@ssacre. That was released just a few months before 9/11.
I remember a tumblr post that tried recoloring miller's work with more striking colors and less shading and it really showed that the great sin of the art isnt the art itself but rather the colors
I had almost the identical experience. Hated this book the first time around, but after I reread it the second time around, I found I actually enjoyed it more and some of the ideas actually sunk in. Oddly enough, this was the same for All Star Batman and Robin.
Nah, All Star Batman and Robin was pure nonsense. Stuff like kidnapping Dick, abusing him, being a prick to Alfred and Hal make that Batman seem like a crazy lunatic with no redeeming qualities.
Truthfully, I've always liked DK2. Miller knew he couldn't top The Dark Knight Returns. So, he was having fun with the whole concept of sequelizing a work like that. The wheels came off the wagon, and the wagon was on fire... He was just exploding on every page. I had a great experience. I found it to be a fun ride.
As much as this is absolutely INSANE, I find the artwork and story very interesting. While this may the craziest sequel ever, out of context I think it's really interesting and the artwork in particular is really cool looking to me.
Miller was turning off and outsmarting himself way before the Matrix Resurrections was turning off and outsmarting itself
A risky idea, poorly executed. I read the DK2 graphic novel one afternoon in a bookstore. I intended to buy it, but couldn't resist sitting down and getting a sneak-peek first. I remember opening it up, waiting for it to get good, at which point I would take it to the register and make my purchase, but it never did. I was so disappointed when I finished it; I put it back on the shelf and left the store feeling like a really bad joke had been played on me.
Oh man lovely. Just some days ago I reminded myself about this comic's existence because of one reddit post talking about it
I hate it more than anything but it also fascinates me how it was created in the first place. It's kinda like a car accident that you can't look away from. The art in the comic can actually make you feel sick. There sure are some ways to explain why Miller choosed this approach but still
DK2 sure doesn't have place in my heart but it does have place in my head...
I can still recall the first time i read this so many years ago shortly after it came out and I was absolutely baffled by the complete lack of backgrounds. You could never tell where anything that was happening was supposed to be happening. I suppose you could call it a minimalist approach or something but it just comes across as lazy. Terrible storytelling even if the story was good. It's just characters running around in colourful voids where things like depth and distance are impossible to discern.
At the time, while browsing over the issue in a bookstore, I saw it as a typical sloppy cash grab, indicative of the massive decline in quality put out by DC and Marvel. 'What is this GARBAGE? No wonder I only read and support small indie published or foreign graphic novels." I remember saying out loud to myself.
Your updated little intro is awesome and then you get straight into the video which is great. Expeditious but thorough
dark knight strikes again is such a trainwreck in my opinion
I couldn't even read it straight through. Tried several times.. it seems like there should be a story there, the layout, dialogue & art is all over the place.
Joe Rogan as Lex Luthor was hilarious 🤣 that should be a fancast
I bought this when it first came out when I was in college. I was already a fan of Frank Miller's work, reading Sin City throughout the 90s and having read the Dark Knight Returns, which was originally released when I was a little kid. I didn't like it. I gave it to my friend for free. He wasn't a big comic book reader like me so had no major complaints.
Very good comments. I may now go back and give the second series another shot. Frank can be easily misunderstood, but sometimes a great 'failure' can be as interesting as anything in a Creator's catalog. I give Miller credit for trying something new, raw and unpredictable.
watched all of your videos following Batman through the comic book ages back to back last night, so glad this came out today
You should watch the Golden, Silver and Bronze Bat from the Unlisted playlist. These are old but more detailed.
I’ve been waiting for this next part for so long!!!
Every critique I have watched about this masterpiece always says the story makes no sense, or its hard to follow the narrative, but I never had that issue. Its very straightforward with its story. Sometimes I think this comic is too smart for the average comic reader, who seems to need neat, tidy panels that hold their hand.
Giving too much credit it’s just Frank miller being crazy, I mean why is Martian Manhunter looking like the thing with no importance to the story a tribute to Jack Kirby? Or Wonder Woman and Superman is actually a subtle celebration of craziness/silliness of comic books?
That wasn't Wonder Woman that was Bonkers Betty
I often find it bizarre when people cite the Dark Knight as their favorite Batman story, because it simply omits or straight up contradicts his original character, while it was a cohesive story I never felt a connection to it. When I first read DK2 I enjoyed the callbacks immensely, and despite its MANY flaws I still have a special place for it, especially that flash costume
Sal!!! You’re back!
I didn't mind Dark Knight 3 or the one-shot Dark Knight Universe issue he did, but the only thing I remember liking about The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Plastic Man complaining that the Elongated Man wasn't even funny.
Frank Miller having 2 of the best Batman stories and 2 of the worst is crazy
i disagree with the comment that frank miller cant do satire or parody.Besides DKR being the dark reimagining of Batman it is filled with satire and jokes about politics,media and society in general that resonate with people and are true to this day.Just because a writer/artist lost his touch and wanted to do a full parody and exaggeration about the comic industry of the 90s doesnt mean hes bad at it.
DK2 is prophetic and prescient. Ugly art but BRILLIANT story. It pretty much could've been written today with how much it predicted. It's a great book with really awful art. It would make a great animated story.
DKR was also heavily satirical, it was just less obviously so. DKR is hilarious when read in the right context.
This is the Batman that Zack Snyder loves.
This is a fantastic analysis. I think you've rescued this book and its satire
The Master Race was pretty good! The more I read DK2 I appreciate it more and this video will also help with that. The art is terrible of course but I’m not a fan of the first Dark Knight’s art either although that is one of the greatest stories ever made
Love your videos man! Keep up the good work!
Thank God this never got a animated feature this only exists in comics and is a product of the time it came out.
Tied for most hated with All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder
You mean Crazy Steve and Dick Grayson, age 12
This is best analysis of this comic that i ever saw. You sir just deserved a new subscriber. I will look forward to the analysis of All-Stars B&R
This is why John Byrne never returned to Superman.
Your analysis skills never cease to amaze me. Great work!
Truly fantastic and informative. It gave me a whole new respect for this book after your video. You are a miracle worker!!! 🦇🦇🦇🦇
Whoa. Thank you for this essay. I actually only ever read the first issue of DKR2 and never bothered with the following issues. But having watched this video i get it now and I never would've come to these conclusions on my own. You've once again proved why your channel is one of the best comic book channels. Kudos.
I think for example the crazyness of the narrative is a very good point in what INTERNET was becoming at time and is today. DK one is narrated through telejornals - well edited and filtred. DK2 is narrated through INTERNET. A mess of counterpoints and memes and shit.
A plane crashed into Gotham in The Dark Knight Returns as well. It's the scene where Gordon has to rally the citizens to put out the fire instead of rioting during the blackout.
Helicopter
@@jimjo8541 You're thinking of the Two-Face sequence. After the nuclear bomb detonates though, the EMP knocks out a jumbo jet that crashes into Gotham, setting fire to several city blocks. Gordon quells the riot and rallies the people to help put out the fires.
When you're pass your prime and seeking those glory days...STOP!!! JUST ENJOY WHAT YOU DID!!! Was the Editor was sleeping when he sent that work to editorial?
i love day to day waiting for an upload
Great vid, so excited to hear you cover this one! I have a confession; I kind of love TDKSA for just how relentlessly bad it is, climbing whole new levels of WTF along the way
To be fair I’ve always thought the art was garbage in the dark knight returns too. Great story but man is it tough to look at.
Have you considered making a DK3 video? greetings from Brazil!
The first time I read this comic I hated it, but I was also on a 3-day beer bender after having a sucky week. Upon rereading it (because I'm a sadist like that) I can appreciate aspects of it. For example if you were to see it without color or just the original pencils, the art is much better. I'm inclined to believe this was the beginning of the fallout between Frank Miller and colorist/then wife Lynn Varley. Frank doing this as a parody and also celebrating things that he liked from the Silver age is what I get now. And I think him also doing such an over-the-top version of Batman is probably him basically telling annoying people bugging him about doing more Batman, "F you, I've done other things."
You're spot on when you say that it should have been called The Justice League Strikes Again or something.
Very good video. I think it'd be interesting if people who did the two-part TDKR film adapted the follow-up by incorporating its stronger elements and severely tweaking the flaws, sometimes in a self aware way. Casting wise, you could have Peter Weller, Ariel Winter (as Carrie Kelly's Robin), Mark Valley and Robin Atkin Downes reprising their roles. As an added bonus, Jeffrey Combs may reprise his role as The Question from Justice League Unlimited. He is impeccable in that part after all.
This comic grew on me over time.
I think it's a classic from Frank
The problem is that it only has subtext, that he wants to tell something under the story, but not the story itself
Your best video yet, an incredible dive, and yes I'm re reading it right now with a different approach. Well done fella,
Grand Way Batmen wasn’t rejected by DC he just gave up on the project because he had to much stuff in his plate.
Gerard Way, you mean. Too bad, because that rendition of Bats looked SICK!!!! Would have loved to see the finished product. damn.
@@juniorjames7076 Way Gerard Way, Thanks for correcting me.
I'm so much angrier now that I've been corrected on the identity of the DKR2 Joker. My brain turned him into Jason Todd and I had to goggle it to verify you were right. WTAF
This was one of the nost funniest and at the same time thought provoking breakdowns ive watched. I love a great breakdown,especially one that makes you think great job man 🤙🏾.
Wow, I think it's one of the best Dark Knight Strikes Again analysis.
I'm not a Dark Knight Returns fan and never read the sequel, but now I think I have to read it. It seems way more up my alley.
Year One is till the best Frank Miller Batman storry
Will you have videos on the later post crisis batman comics in the 2000s? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on them
Of course I will. It's just a matter of time before we get there.
It’s really interesting seeing where in his career miller made this comic. With less faith in authority (Superman and the us government) but faith in a new one, some strong man like Batman creating a new authority to combat an outside attack
It’s hard to make another good Batman comic when you’re responsible for the two best Batman comics.
Crazy Uncle Frank: "So how'd you like the book I wrote and drew?"
"That's not writing and drawing. I've seen writing and drawing. What you did in there was pure chaos."
Frank Miller pulled a Tobe Hooper? Hooper made Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre II which in itself is a parody of the slasher tropes that Hooper helped solidify in the genre.
No he didn’t. DK2 is not a parody, and the existence of ASBAR proves it. This video is completely wrong.
@@VuotoPneumaNN imagine being the guy who uses All-Star Batman and Robin as an argument AGAINST parody. I wholeheartedly believe Frank Miller is smart enough to realize when he accidently does satire... even years after the fact.
Edit: checked out your music playlist... you have great taste in music Holmes.
@@VideosJacked I simply think that one being the sequel to the other and keeping the same tone, while definitely not being a parody, proves that the other was meant to be taken equally seriously? Or are you claiming that ASBAR is parody too? A parody of what?
I think Frank Miller has proven time and time again (Sin City, 300, Holy Terror) to be utterly incapable of subtlety and subtext. He has a very simplistic, crass worldview and it transpires in his thematic and narrative choices. Basically, all of his oeuvre could be summarised in "white strong men good". I think with DK2 he wasn't parodying the edginess he generated, he was reclaiming possession of it. And if that degenerated into accidental satire, well, then it means he is so entrapped in his own tropes that he himself has become a parody of his golden age.
Re: music. Thank you very much. Glad you enjoyed the playlist.
@@VuotoPneumaNN You have restored a little faith in humanity. While I don't agree, you at least have thought a bit about this. I am not too versed in 300 or Holy Terror; I only saw 300 on tv. Holy terror has piqued my interest for it's sheer lack of tact. Curious, you didn't even touch on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre parallel I made; have you seen them? Because of your arguments against parody, I'm going to pick up a copy of 300... get a used copy of Holy Terror.
@@VideosJacked I would advise you read online scans of both and don't spend money on them. Neither is worth the money.
I haven't seen the second Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but I get what you mean, and remain convinced that Miller's intent was different.
Regarding the weirdness of the stories coming together prior to 9/11, it feels like that was going on across media in general. Like...there was an episode in Superman the animated series where a plane was going to crash into something, but then 9/11 happened and they changed it to a train. It's very eerie that so many similar stories happened and were conceptualized around 9/11.
The vast majority of people don't seem to mentally grasp that a bomb was detonated below the World Trade Center by members of Al-Qaeda in 1993. There was no prediction for anything, all references from the 90's are in fact, referencing that attack.
I love it myself don’t get where the hate comes from
Says a lot about you.
Really? The art is gross, the story is a mess, and Miller had way too many ideas going on that he didn't flesh out.
Wow. You gave me a lot to think about. It makes so much sense now. Thank you.
I've needed a DK2 TH-cam video for the longest time; this really scratched that itch.
Having read World's Funnest, those connections between some of DK2's most iconic/infamous aspects and arguably the best part of the former comic blew my mind! Genius catch there
Yep, this was a hard read.
Just look at how Lex Luthor looked, with those ridiculous shoes. 😂
It only started to make sense near the end. Wonder woman was anoying too. I agree, it was a JL Story. GREAT VIDEO BY THE WAY!! 👏
weird how dceu had inspiration of dark knight strikes again injustice new 52 and etc, what a mess of confusion and chaos
Great video! Thank you for the interesting analysis!
Did you just suggest that 9/11 was a canon event?
Cool