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| Posted By | Discussion Topic: The New Dark Knight | ||||
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| PatCooper | posted on 12-05-2001 @ 6:35 PM |    | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Jan. 01  | Day of the Dark Knight Batman's on mission vs. fascism By ETHAN SACKS Special to The News Fifteen years after a middle-aged Batman came out of retirement to save Gotham City in a comic- book landmark called "The Dark Knight Returns," writer Frank Miller's version of the Caped Crusader has returned to the Bat Cave. The first chapter of a three-issue series called "The Dark Knight Strikes Again," colored by Lynn Varley, arrives in stores today. Miller-Time: Fans have waited fifteen years for a sequel to 'Dark Knight Returns.' "Dark Knight" was one of the first major comics to be written for adults. Heroes grappled with politics and inner demons with the same relish that they grappled with costumed villains. In the process, the series became one of the best sellers in comic history. Vanished Heroes "I sometimes refer to it as my suicide mission," said Miller. "Because I have no doubt that there will be more than one twentysomething who comes up and says, 'This doesn't make me feel like I did when I was 12.' That's inevitable; you can't compete with memories from childhood." The story takes place just three years after the original. "The world has become a kinder, gentler fascist state," Miller said. "All the old heroes have vanished, and Batman is recruiting them to make things right." 'Knight'-mare Scenario: Batman takes on the government in 'Dark Knight Strikes Again.' To help Batman with his battle against a totalitarian America, Miller brought out some other D.C. Comics heavyweights, altering them to fit his dark vision. The female Robin that Miller introduced in the first series is now the sneaker-clad Catgirl; Superman is now more tortured by his emotions than he ever was by Kryptonite; Captain Marvel looks as though he might lose his dentures yelling, "Shazam!" "[The original] was one of the biggest books of the '80s by far.... It's a perennial favorite," said Marty Grosser, editor of the monthly trade publication put out by Diamond Comics, the largest distributer of English comics in the world. According to Diamond's projections, the first "Dark Knight Strikes Again" issue is expected to earn more money and sell more copies than any title this year. "'Dark Knight' was one of the seminal works not just for D.C. but for the industry as a whole," said Paul Levitz, executive vice president and publisher of D.C. Comics. "It was one of the works that began to deconstruct what it meant to be a hero. And that was an inspiration to at least a generation of writers creatively." "Miller's 'Dark Knight' legitimized the character for a whole new audience," said Michael Uslan, the executive producer of the Batman movies. "It brought Batman into today's world of sophisticated comic-book readers, who are no longer 8-year-olds, but the college graduates and professionals." Man of Mystery Miller's creepy visuals influenced Tim Burton's design in the first Batman movie, released in 1989, Uslan said. He'll have a more direct hand in the next Batman movie, currently in development. He is co-writing the screenplay, based on another of his series, "Batman Year One." Miller helped erase the hangover surrounding Batman since the campy '60s television series, transforming the character back into a mysterious, vengeful enigma who was scarier than the villains he faced. That was the Batman created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bob Finger, the one who captured the imagination of a 6-year-old Miller two decades later. "I just opened [the comic] up and fell in," he said. As a teenager in 1976, Miller moved to Manhattan to break into comics, but his portfolio consisted mostly of crime-story art. Some editors suggested he shift to superheroes, and Miller was signed first as an artist and then as a writer and artist on Marvel Comics' "Daredevil." After "Dark Knight," "Year One" and another run on "Daredevil," Miller returned to his crime-story roots. In the '90s, his "Sin City" series, published by Dark Horse Comics, told the story of a city populated by deranged killers, hookers and con men who would put a blush in the Joker's cheeks. On the critically acclaimed "Martha Washington" and "300" series, Miller continued weaving social satire into his stories. Sometimes that satire can hit close to home. In the first issue of the original "Dark Knight" series, Batman foe Two-Face threatens to destroy Gotham's version of the twin towers. In the final issue, a disabled passenger jet slams into a building and explodes, killing scores of bystanders. Miller said there is an even eerier coincidence in the new series, a sequence that he finished the day after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. "My editor and I sat down and really had to take a deep breath because it was really scary how much it keys into Sept. 11," he said, without revealing the story line. Nothing was changed, however, in the aftermath of the attacks. "Temporarily, my work has gotten much angrier," he said, "but in the long run, we'll see what happens."  | ||||
| Arpikarhu Harmless Teddy I wish Maynard was still posting here so I could implant my head up his ass. Needle dick, bear salesman. I think I'm a revolutionary. Actually, I'm a one trick pony. I enjoy C&BT | posted on 12-05-2001 @ 6:37 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Apr. 01 | i can think of two people that are going to be pissed that you beat them to this earth shattering news AIM- Arpikarhu  | ||||
| PatCooper | posted on 12-05-2001 @ 6:42 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Jan. 01 | Hey if you were a fan of the orignal dark knight series you'd give a fuck now wouldnt you? They only thing that might suck is that the article says theres gonna be another Batman movie coming soon.Dear God please not Clooney again. | ||||
| PeterDragon | posted on 12-05-2001 @ 9:15 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Jan. 01 | Clooney may have sucked in the role, but he does have a sense of humor about it. I was flipping during the holidays and I saw him being interviewed the actors in Oceans 11; he referred to himself as "the only guy that could kill the Batman movie franchise" | ||||
| IkeaBoy P.L.F. Portugese Liberation Front- Liberating Status' everywhere from the Tyranny of Portugal I will die a traitor's death | posted on 12-06-2001 @ 1:28 AM | | |||
| O&A Board Veteran Registered: Sep. 00 | I don't blame George, it's all Schumacher's fault. George Cloony is a good actor, Schumacher and an awful script fucked the movie. I'd like to give Cloony another shot at it with proper backing. | ||||
| Sephiroth | posted on 12-06-2001 @ 7:00 AM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Dec. 00 | I will buy anything with Frank Miller's name on it for the simple reason that I am a hopelessly devoted fanboy. This is no exception.
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Displaying 1-6 of 6 messages in this thread. |