at this point everyone realized that frank miller lost his mind.

More hated than All Star Batman?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 KZfaq. God bless you and I hope you become popular/mainstream one day.

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).

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.

This is the Batman that Zack Snyder loves.

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).

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.

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.

Actually, for the first time ever, I see unexpected depth in this story. Thanks!

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.

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 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 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.

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

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

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? 😮

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.

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.

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.

I love Dark Knight Returns and Year One but everything else Miller has ever written for Batman seems to be hateful, nasty, angry crap.

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.

Joe Rogan as Lex Luthor was hilarious 🤣 that should be a fancast

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.

Miller was turning off and outsmarting himself way before the Matrix Resurrections was turning off and outsmarting itself

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.

"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.

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.

America was a very Christian nation at that time, and the story about the Tower of Babel can honestly go a LONG way in making sense of why so many American fiction writers thought that the Twin Towers would go down subconciously even if they didn't connect the dots. We're talking like 97% of adults polled vs the 60% now. It's also incredibly hard to ignore that "Big thing get destroyed" was a common place thing in so many different cultures, religions and historical battles. Castles could see their entire towers toppled, Godzilla makes a habit of throwing giant buildings at other big monsters, like the Great Flood you can find other stories in other religions of giant towers / symbols being destroyed swiftly and violently. Anyways great video as per always, and the only thing I'm sad about is that you have now informed me that there was a sequel to one of my favorite Batman comics and it sucks :) Thanks, I hate it.

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 KZfaqr.

dark knight strikes again is such a trainwreck in my opinion

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.

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.

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 actually love nearly everything about dksa. Even the art, which is hideous, its adds to the dystopia. The ending with joker Robin disturbed me for days.. but is that not it doing its job? Seriously appreciate this video Salazar

Your updated little intro is awesome and then you get straight into the video which is great. Expeditious but thorough

This is why John Byrne never returned to Superman.

After giving it much thought, perhaps Miller’s Joker 2/Robin was a response to the horrible portrayal of Bruce & Dick’s relationship that spawned in the 80s. Post-Crisis had a far more hostile version of their relationship. Where Dick was fired and belittled by Bruce. With even Dick not being invited to Jason’s funeral, and then mocked by Bruce for not adopting him. Dick not being picked to sub for Bruce, who instead picked up pretty much a stranger to be Batman. Batman hitting Dick in the fugitive story. Or the immense disrespect Dick Grayson got in the New Batman Adventures. Perhaps Miller was mocking how much more cynical and vile writers had made the relationship of Batman & Robin with TDKSA and All-Star But that’s just my guess. The hell do I know? I’m not Frank Miller……I think

DKR was also heavily satirical, it was just less obviously so. DKR is hilarious when read in the right context.

Tied for most hated with All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder

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.

there’s something so interesting about post 9/11 media as someone who was born in 2004. like that overly edge fear mongering which to some degrees is an understandable reaction to a country that just went through the layed back 90s to the rise of the internet in the 2000s. life is always changing but rarely is there such a drastic shift pre and post like 9/11 the only similarity would be covid like life is similar but definitely not 2018-2019 ya know. when gen alpha grows up more people will definitely see

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.

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.

Grand Way Batmen wasn’t rejected by DC he just gave up on the project because he had to much stuff in his plate.

this Comic should be called the Justice League Return!

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.

I love it myself don’t get where the hate comes from

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

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.

Looking at the panels you show, I think Miller was intigrating the artistic style of Bill Sienkiewicz into his own work

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.

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

watched all of your videos following Batman through the comic book ages back to back last night, so glad this came out today

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

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?

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

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 parody and also celebrating things that he liked from the Silver age is what I get now. And I think him also doing such a 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.

Saying jack kirbys artstyle as "ugly" is a bad take imo. I love his artstyle

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.

Thank God this never got a animated feature this only exists in comics and is a product of the time it came out.

It’s hard to make another good Batman comic when you’re responsible for the two best Batman comics.

i unironically enjoy frank miller's books where he probably lost his mind while he wrote them

Your best video yet, an incredible dive, and yes I'm re reading it right now with a different approach. Well done fella,

Have you considered making a DK3 video? greetings from Brazil!

This a more personal note as an artist, but if you look up recolors of this comic, part of the troubles was because of very early digital coloring. With a redone more DKR 1 inspired look as done by an artist on Tumblr, it really changes how your eyes follow the sequence. I personally am a big fan of Frank Miller's later Batman.

Hey Salazar, what happened to your video about the dark knight returns, did it get deleted?

Truly fantastic and informative. It gave me a whole new respect for this book after your video. You are a miracle worker!!! 🦇🦇🦇🦇

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

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’m glad I never read any of his Batman stuff after DKR. Keeps my love for the original pure. I liked Sin City series and that’s about it

Frank Miller having 2 of the best Batman stories and 2 of the worst is crazy

Your analysis skills never cease to amaze me. Great work!

Sal!!! You’re back!

I’ve been waiting for this next part for so long!!!

The problem is that it only has subtext, that he wants to tell something under the story, but not the story itself

Love your videos man! Keep up the good work!

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.

Will you have videos on the later post crisis batman comics in the 2000s? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on them

weird how dceu had inspiration of dark knight strikes again injustice new 52 and etc, what a mess of confusion and chaos

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

Not saying this is a great comic or anything but some of the criticism around it is pretty revealing about superhero comic fans. FM was pretty clearly trying to fuse the fine arts with caricature and cartooning here. Makes me think a lot of comic critics never set foot in a museum or heard of Picasso. They take their cartoon heroes so seriously they get mad when they're actually drawn like cartoons. Not saying people have to like it or call it successful, but the criticism usually seems to end at "ew that's not how anatomy works"

Wow, people are still talking about how bad this is. I JUST read it. I dont know why I started reading Batman for the first time beginning with DKR but I did. I still want to get through Master Race (because I already bought it) but I realize I made a mistake assuming all of Frank Millers Batman books would be good.

I heard that Miller didn’t want to do this but DC ‘persuaded’ him too, an well he s4it all over it, this helped me understand why this is the way it is✌️

Wow. You gave me a lot to think about. It makes so much sense now. Thank you.

i love day to day waiting for an upload

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

The image in the thumbnail is not from DKSA. It's a private commission that Frank did much more recently. But where did you find a colored version? Got any info? Thanks!

I've yet to watch this. Title alone, and me knowing what it will be about, is good enough for me to watch, like and comment. Please be easy on Carrie as I think it's not her fault (Like all the Robins).

Did you just suggest that 9/11 was a canon event?

I just bought those and way before I read it, you just gave me some reason to, thanks for the artists

No joke, I think the dark knight strikes again deserves an adaptation for its own self awareness and surreal nature. Or worlds funnest would be a good in an adaptation because it is genuinely true that these stories are so dark compared to how they used to be

It’s untrue that Miller could never create another great Batman story due to the success of DKR. He followed it up with Year One, which kept the serious tone but toned down Bruce’s attitude.

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?