The Goddamned Batman

I haven't written anything in a long time, partially because I didn't feel like there was a point to this blog. Honestly. To have a blog to just explore my more...literary inclinations seemed to be height of human hubris.

Hah. So, why am I writing now?

Batman. The Goddamned Batman, to be exact. The whole bruhaha that Mr. Miller has caused by writing All Star Batman and Robin.

It seems like so many people are complaining about how the caped crusader is portrayed by Mr. Miller, that it seems like such a departure from his version of Batman in the now-classic Dark Knight Returns. These same people probably have not read their copies in a while.

Miller's All-Star Batman is the same Batman as the Dark Knight. Exactly the same. Sadistic, slightly off his rocker, cocky as hell with his own ability. It's just more obvious when the guy is not pushing fifty and the weaknesses aren't as glaring. What do we really expect from a man who has trained obsessively since childhood and decides that a rodent costume is the perfect means by which he could scare criminals? He's nuts, and thank goodness.

It seems like few people actually understood Miller's vision of Batman when the earlier (now classic) books came out. Miller has remained true to his interpretation of the character, its our understanding of them that has changed. Decades of Batmen, reinvented, re-written, re-imagined, have been placed in between The Dark Knight and All Star Batman. And, apparently, it's colored the viewpoints of those who read (and even review) comics.

Personally, Miller's Batman was always the most interesting of the various versions out there. At least the guy enjoyed what he was doing.

Miller's hilarious send-up of common Bat-conventions and his decidedly skewed point of view of other heroes should be welcome in an industry that has suffered terribly from its own obsession with reinvention.

Thanks, Frank for a great set. Looking forward to more.