Fiction

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Frank Miller & Lynn Varley
Top Cop Pops by Vicki Vale
Book One

Frank Miller is a helluva writer, but his opaque introductions (which that Vicki Vale thing is one of, believe it or not) leave something to be desired in my opinion.

Anyhow, this is the follow up to Miller's truly seminal Dark Knight Returns, probably the best Batman book ever written -- so no pressure following it up 15 years later then! It was largely poorly reviewed on release, and I can see why -- Miller's art is too sparse, coming across as rushed more than intentionally sketchy; the large amount of dead space (often only two or three panels on a page, undetailed splash pages for no reason) smacks of padding, especially as the story feels rather slight; plus, despite the room and apparent simplicity, it can be damn hard to follow at times.

It's not all bad -- the basics of the story are a decent idea, and do follow thematically from DKR plus, Superman gets thoroughly smashed at the end of Book One. That's something I always like to see.