The Tower: pt.2

Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again is set three years after the revolutionary events of its predecessor, The Dark Knight Returns. Although there isn't much history connecting Dark Knight 1 and DK2, it's important that you read DK1 before touching this book. Miller's take on the DC universe is not something that you can begin reading and expect to understand immediately. In DK2, Miller explores, warps, and plays with the characters that you thought you knew to the point where you may not recognize them, and DK1 is the best way to prepare yourself for a very different DC universe.
If you have read DK1, don't expect this book to be too similar. The characters and philosophy are the same, but this book is a very different creature. Batman is no longer an individual fighting against an endless armada of crime. Rather, he is the commander of a formidable army comprised of DC's cast of characters. Expect to see plenty of familiar faces, clashing egos, and delightful partnerships. This book isn't the soloist of DK1, it's a whole freaking orchestra.
So what are all the excitement and warnings about? Just like the first book, perhaps more than the first book, DK2 is a revolution; an uprising of the superhero genre; chaotic, violent, lovable, disturbing, inspirational. The Earth has deteriorated even more in the past three years than it had in the decade before DK1 takes place. The American government has become an all-powerful, self-sufficient monolith of evil, secretly powered by the minds of two infamous villains. Under a gilded cover of apparent peace and prosperity, the world works on a solid foundation of blackmail, corruption, injustice, and deception. The superheroes of the world, distracted by their battles with supervillains and petty crime, have been ultimately defeated by this force and forgotten by the people who once revered them. And as this evil grows more powerful, Batman has been in hiding, having faked his own death at the end of DK1. DK2 tells the story of his uprising, his freeing of the people of the world and the superheroes of the world.
In the chronicling of this, Miller again displays his spectacular storytelling. Every panel speaks a hundred words and beautifully flows into the next panel and page. Scene changes can be erratic, but this is remedied by the poetic text narration that has made Miller famous. This narration also greatly compliments the artwork while not becoming boringly over-descriptive. Sometimes, admittedly, the quality of his art takes a backseat to his storytelling, but Miller's work is less about beauty than it is about imagery. You can tell that he had a blast illustrating the exaggerated bodies and motions of the superheroes, but was less than eager about drawing the faces of uninteresting extras.
A final warning before I wrap this up: be prepared to see a very different side of Superman. The end of the first chapter, especially, will leave an impact on your mind. Writers for DC have always had Batman and Superman play off each other well, but Miller really takes things to the extreme (as always) this time around. Fans of Supes should definitely read this book, but if you come away slightly disturbed, don't say I didn't warn you.
The book takes a bigger bite of the DC universe than DK1 did, and mixes it well with Miller's amazing mind. Arguably, the best aspect of the book is that it tells a story with a multitude of characters and themes, but somehow is able to keep Batman and his values the center of attention. This is a book that you must read, but must also be prepared for, for it will haunt your mind long after the last page has been turned.

Lots of shōnen (boy’s manga) is boring trash. Full of overdone (and confusing) action sequences and frequently unfunny jokes, most of this medium’s stories are tragically insubstantial, often following a shell of a plot shared by a dozen other books. Characters are generic and have little to no personality, or have the same personality as a dozen other characters in a dozen other shōnen, going so far as to make me wonder if there isn’t a “Create your own manga!” printing press out there who offers forms to mangaka with blank underscores with lines like “insert spikey-haired main character’s name here.”
D.Gray-Man vol.1 looks like it doesn’t fall into this trap, but alas, when judging a book, covers should not be presented as evidence. The character and costume design stands out from the usual manga crowd by a couple of paces. Some examples can be noted in Komui Li, with his Met-like helmet and weird hairstyle, or in the darkly jovial grin of the Millennium Earl. But don’t be fooled by the quirky appearance of this book; the promise of (at least) notable humor is not followed through and is replaced with the generic story type that I’ve already ranted about. In 19th century England, 15-year-old Allen Walker wanders about destroying evil weapons called akuma that hide themselves in the bodies of humans, killing their victims in the process. He’s able to see and destroy akuma thanks to the anti-akuma weapon embedded in his deformed left hand. Hoping to become an official exorcist of akuma, he spends this volume traveling to the exorcist headquarters, making some new friends and enemies along the way.
The artwork is undoubtedly nice, but inevitably unoriginal. It’s manga. Pointy chins, big eyes, and spikey hair. Speed lines, fancy poses, and fan service. Panel structure isn’t as confusing as some action comics can be, but the book does retain the poor dialogue and ineffective character drama common in shōnen. I had hopes that this book might break the trend set by far too many manga, but those hopes were ultimately dashed. I suggest looking into Rurouni Kenshin if you want a worthwhile action experience.

The Losers vol.1: Ante Up isn’t actually a graphic novel. It isn’t actually a comic book. It’s actually a Hollywood action flick that somehow transformed from something that Ebert and Roper might give two thumbs up to something that found its way into this post. It’s the type of movie you’d expect to see Denzel Washington or George Clooney in. It’s the type of good bad-guy, criminal-espionage, neo-Robin Hood movie that is released at least once every year. It’s, basically, Ocean’s Eleven.
In the end, personal preference made me dislike this book, but if you liked the Bourne Supremacy or Mission Impossible or any of those patriotically-charged Harrison Ford films, then you’ll probably enjoy the clever, edgy, star-spangled action-adventure that is The Losers. Otherwise, there isn’t much to say. Seriously, comparisons to Hollywood flicks are the best way I can describe this book. Even the “vibrantly intense art” of illustrator “Jock,” which is full of deep shadows and hard, thick lines, reminds me of the heavy light contrasts of movies like Minority Report.
The story is the same situation. A group of supposedly dead CIA black ops agents band together to try to steal back their lives from the people in the high end offices of the government. The team’s made up of the vengeful leader, Clay, the playful joker, Jensen, the nice guy, Pooch, the sadist, Rogue, the quiet and deadly sniper, Cougar, and the hard-ass chick, Aisha. Along their adventures there are cars, copters, explosions, drugs, Benjamins, and guns. Lots of guns. Oh, and don’t forget the strategic blackmailing and political conversations with allusions to gambling. It’s a good story if you’re into that kind of thing, and the artwork is quite good if a little too dark and shadowy for my taste.