i recently decided to reread 'the dark knight returns' by frank miller. i had read it a couple times before years ago, but i recently got it back from a friend and couldn't help but page through it again. the book had a huge impact on the world of comics, it brought about 'the dark age' in comics. in the eighties most comic books were light and silly. when 'the dark knight returns' came out, it was a catalyst that shifted the gears of the industry and everything focused instead on dark gritty characterizations. this came to a head in the 90's with the anti-hero, and every character seemed to be willing to kill. the story itself takes place when bruce wayne is in his fifties and has retired from being batman for about ten years. the city has gone to crap and now gangs rule the landscape. all the superheroes have been arrested or disappeared, superman is a neutered lapdog of the government, and there seems to be no hope. bruce has had it, and decides to put the cape and cowl back on. except this time he's angry. the story is a dense tale that looks at corruption and responsibility and how those things are ignored. its a great story and worth rereading every couple years. 
after having finished that one, i pulled out the follow up 'the dark knight strikes again'. this one came out around 2001 and is startlingly different than the first one. this one seems to try and be the opposite end of the spectrum. the story continues as batman is trying to bring the world's superheroes back into the spotlight to try and change the growing shallowness and apathy of gotham's residents. the shock of reading this one right after the first one is the stark contrasts between the two. where the first one is dark and moody, this one is bright and electric. the first is written densely and packed with small panels and lots of words, this one is full of splash pages and minimal dialog. the art in this volume seems to be no longer interested in representing the figures, rather just give a vague simplified version of the characters. instead of dark imagery based in darkness, this one has the backgrounds in all white, or generic outlines in light hues. the characters seem to be having fun and relish the role of being a superhero instead of brooding over everything.just as the first one was in response to the shallow simplicity of the comic industry in the 80's, the second feels like a response to the gritty dark comic industry of the 90's that the first had created.
