The Dark Knight Returns

Currently reading: "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Next Up: "The Crimson Petal and the White" by Michael Faber

One more comic book down! Finally finished Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns." The story was great, and was (what I'm discovering to be) "typical" Frank Miller - dark, gritty, political....Batman and Superman were men in their 50s. Robin was a 13-year-old girl named Carrie. Very interesting.

Have to say, though, it was a very hard read....the panels were divided into a million TV screens that were offering various "news reports" on the various story lines. Made my eyes go all squinty, and I had to go back and reread things a couple of times. It wasn't until I finished, though, that I realized that this was probably part of the point. It felt like I was constantly flipping channels, being bombarded by media. When it was over, I realized how skillful the layout really was.

The story was also really interesting - the examination of old age, withholding vs. openness, nuclear holocaust, whether vigilante-ism ever has a place in society...I asked myself a lot of interesting questions. Then there was the hardcore fight between Batman and Superman...!

I only wish more was done with the female Robin. She was an interesting character that I felt was underused...

Don't know if I'll read the sequel to this, though. I think I've had my fill of comics for a while. Need to read stories without pictures for a bit! :) Now I can dive, full-force, back into Catch-22.