Frank Miller's Batman: An Analysis of the Human Mind, Vigilantism, and Comics

[@jonburnett90]

"TDKR is about relapsing into addiction" - THIS. Thankyou 🙂

[@teleportedbreadfor3days]

Something I don’t like, because I feel like it degrades Batman as a hero, a symbol and a person. The reason why I love Batman so much is because he represents the best in Humanity in a way that Superman does not, something that encapsulates why they are the World’s Finest and so inspirational and invigorating as heroes; something that completes the two. Batman isn’t insane or an addict. He represents the strength in Humans in body, mind and spirit. Batman doesn’t embody fear and anger, but rather, he represents emerging from the darkness a better person and keeping our inner darkness at bay. He first set out into the night as an agent of fear and vengeance. Now Batman’s greatest strength is his compassion, his selflessness, empathy and his morality. Like Superman, Batman leads by example in some ways, often through his self-improvement and his ability to try and understand people on an emotional level.

[@jonburnett90]

@teleportedbreadfor3days it's just one take on the character man.. TDKR is not Batman at his best. He's a freakin monster. The book explores the possible psyche of a man that chooses the life of the Batman and where that Psyche could end up. But it is an elseworlds tale, nothing more, though most writers tend to imagine Bruce going bad in his old age. Last Knight on Earth and kingdom come come to mind

[@Yourmoms_favouriteboyfriendlol]

​@@teleportedbreadfor3days stop yapping

[@teleportedbreadfor3days]

@@Yourmoms_favouriteboyfriendlol It’s not ‘yapping’, it’s an opinion.

[@Conflict1922]

​@teleportedbreadfor3days it depends on how you view batman, ultimately batmans goal was to be a symbol of fear, dehumanizing him is a part of that. Batman usually is very self aware that deep down he's not a nice person, TDKR Batman is an acceptance of that, Superman, Lantern, Flash, they're genuinely nice people who don't want to hurt others. Batman right from the beginning isn't and does enjoy hurting bad people. 60s and 70s Batman was much more akin to A typical superhero. But realistically speaking we would see Batman as exactly what he truely is, mentally ill, cruel, cold. The message of him is that sometimes people aren't and will not always end up happy and do we as individuals accept it?. Plenty of us through our lives rich or poor will not be happy, and is happiness really the goal? He's the opposite of Superman. Superman is hope, Batman is despair. I don't mind it because it makes sense in a lot of ways.

[@jagtech490]

At the beginning when you mentioned two of the most important people in batmans history I found it odd that the second person wasn’t Neil Adams considering he was the one who brought true maturity and grit to Batman stories.

[@Ian-hj4yt]

The comics were pretty dark and gritty in 1939/1940

[@FakebookFriend]

@@Ian-hj4yt and not again until Neal Adam’s and Denny O’Neil. They were definitely a pivot point for the characters history and on the Mount Rushmore of Batman creators.

[@anthonyrossiter1374]

@FakebookFriend people overlook them so much. They turned Batman back into a Detective mystery drama.

[@CrashWeezerman]

​@@Ian-hj4yt Batman comics from the 30s/40s were more violent, but also goofier than many comics from the 60s.

[@Ian-hj4yt]

@@CrashWeezerman Early 60s or late 60s (yellow oval era)?

[@Solidjj]

One of your best

[@crummyregent0527]

Yoooo

[@nostalgiablind1999]

This has to be the best analysis of Frank's work I've ever seen. I've never really noticed how Frank writes Bruce to be really unstable beforehand.

[@chrismoola]

If you told me a person dressed like Ace Ventura was gonna educate me on the crazy ass miller-vurse, I’d say that sounds about right.

[@PeterPan54167]

I feel like the perfect Batman is the animated series version, he’s a little crazy but he’s elegant, and doesn’t go into the totally insane camp. I can’t see Animated series Batman forcing kids to become Robin or beating anyone TOO badly.

[@Jiub_SN]

Comics made him too dark, miller was spittin. The dcau bat is probably the ideal Batman, it struck a nice balance but it could've used a bit more camp and silly

[@darkknightfan7520]

I have immense respect for frank miller, his writing my not be the best these days but he’s a legend for better or for worse, and this is the best deep dive into his Batman I’ve seen. I mean, how can you read all star Batman & robin and actually take it seriously? It’s honestly a shame it wasn’t finished, hopefully one day. Don’t forget, Denny O’Neal was really the one who saved Batman in the comics, frank just amplified that for the mainstream.

[@Drums_of_Liberation]

No. All Star Crazy Steve and Dick Grayson, Age 12 deserves to be nothing more than a horrible memory and complete desecration of what Batman is.

[@ALIVE-co]

Man I didn’t even realize that Frank Miller’s Batman went that far, I’m gonna def check them out thanks smokey

[@2DI0pictures]

Frank Miller's Batman being a commentary on modern depictions of Batman is a pretty decent way of looking at it. Especially with All Star Batman cause it's essentially how most modern Batman fans see batman (Basically being the goku of superheroes).

[@eduardoflores1503]

I always thought it was funny that Crazy Batman Fanboys say Superman is boring or overpowered, that he can do anything so he and his stories aren't inserting cuase he could fix everything. Meanwhile they say Batman can beat anyone, he can beat Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, the rest of the league, is all knowing, etc.

[@jakejutras5420]

The montage of news reports and late night sales shows was amazing. My wife is younger than me and doesn't remember the comic collection bubble like I do and showing her that made her understand immediately lmao.

[@abdelali9279]

This was an interesting read into Frank Miller's Batman stories, I know they vary in quality especially the more recent his work is, even his art is losing quality, but his 80's Batman comics are great, I knew Year One is the seminal origin story for Bats, but seeing The Dark Knight returns as a meta commentary on not only Batman's own comic book history but also a cautionary tale of the exploitative and ultraviolent comics of the 90's and well into the 2000's, which makes the overall story great. Which reminds me of Robocop 2, getting out of the way the discussion that nothing will top Robocop 1, what I like about Robocop 2, is that after many rewrites, director changes and the studio trying to get the most profitable version of the sequel, that Frank Miller created an allegory of the movie industry dulling great stories and characterization, for the safest version possible to maximize earnings, and we see the OCP's board of out of touch, agenda pushing managerial team coming up with the worst ways to make Robocop a more marketable figure that will bring OCP's image into a more positive light. Then we see Robocop's directives being rewritten as if Robocop himself is getting "rewritten" to appeal to the masses, saying cheesy public service catchphrases while also being cartoonishly violent while enforcing even the smallest of rules, just for him to "reboot" himself and then fight the now over-the-top, ultraviolent and drug infused Robo Cain, because the big corporation has deemed Robocop obsolote, it's as if Miller's not only commenting on what popular media will become in the next decades but also big studios trying to find the best way to appeal to the masses, the politically correct Reagan era image was about to be phased out for the not only politically but also anatomically incorrect monstrosities of the edgier 90's, and the best part is, this monstrosity, was called "Robocop 2", so in the end we have the literal Robocop 1 fighting Robocop 2, and even though the sequel seems to have the greater backing from its corporation, it won't never defeat the humanity and nuance of the original, so if you see the movie in that light, it is freaking brilliant.

[@indigohendrix353]

drake bell, cole sprouse and andrew garfield combined their dna into a clone so that they could anonymously discuss their love for batman. very wholesome.

[@Artkenny284]

Li’l Jim Carey

[@kayshawn.]

LOL

[@donjon1179]

@@Artkenny284that was my first first thought as well lol

[@akiraeatsguitarpicks491]

Oof. Hopefully that Bell DNA didn’t give him bad thoughts on underaged girls

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

I think the reason why Miller's writing went down is cause his best work (Dare Devil, DKR etc etc) was ENTIRELY inspired by his personal trauma. He never learned to deal with his problems safely and got nothing but praise for turning them into comic books so now he turns every single random thought that is even marginally uncomfortable into a major plot element. As a writer some of the worst stuff I've done for my mental health was to try and write my trauma, its not a healthy idea at all and you should not even consider trying it go to therapy please.

[@badtaketom7116]

I thought DKR was inspired by him not wanting to be older than batman?

[@SmokeysVideos]

Just like Batman! :O

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

@@badtaketom7116 His best Dare Devil books were "inspired" by the time he got mugged and DKR 2 was literally all about 9/11 which Miller lived just a few blocks from ground zero

[@badtaketom7116]

@@SHDW-nf2ki I was aware of those, I was talking about the original DKR, from what I heard the main inspiration behind the original was him not wanting to be older than a comic book character he always looked up to as a child.

[@omega-manthe8346]

Year 1 was a great story his writing hasn't gone anywhere but maybe up a little.

[@xdavier31]

An hour and a half of what if... this is amazing

[@DeeRhoe]

I'm tempted to write and draw a fan comic that ignores everything outside of Year One and DKR and acts as an unofficial replacement of DKSA. I am a huge Batman and I really want to try my hand at writing him.

[@thomasrichards460]

That'd be awesome!

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Ironically you should use BvS for that, Bats once again becomes a lost, out of touch and Violent man but after realising that he is losing himself he piece himself back together.

[@storm5ds68]

damn that might be the most positive way to look at All Star Batman and Robin I've seen on here, I kinda like looking at it that way lmao

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Yeah Frank Miller's Bats is a Bats that has completely gave in to his darkest Urges, Canon Batman kind of understands he can become this that he can snap at any moment but Frank Miller Batman only digs his own grave as he loses his mind. This is probably Why Zack Snyder did the whole Bats murdering people in BVS, that Bats is Miller's but unlike Miller's he realised what kind of nutcase he has become and once again returns to a level of Morality and Sanity.

[@jakejutras5420]

Could not agree more with your assessment of ComicPoP :) recently found them and have been binging their content, great stuff there.

[@thatoneguy3332]

don't forget how important, I'd say moreso than Frank, Dennis O'Neil was to batman comics as well. he was the one who really started the kick of darker comics which gave Frank the ability to get his success with TDKR

[@dr.sackman1683]

Ah yes a one hour and a half Smokey video on Frank's Batman,ready to pause everything I was gonna do

[@lazarussolomon3541]

So my more recent theory might be Correct. Millers decent in quality could be form him not revising his work and property just going on off the first freaking idea he gets without fixing it. Or maybe not who knows here anymore

[@ALIEN-DUDE]

I think it's also because 9/11 really fucked him up mentally and holy terror is the dead giveaway that the attack turned him into a very bitter and hateful man.

[@hashly8521]

my theory behind miller's downfall is that he simply got too much control and surrounded by yes-men, because there's no way the dude that wrote born again also wrote spawn x batman

[@lazarussolomon3541]

​@@hashly8521george Lucas syndrome I got it

[@phatdominoe]

Sometimes Miller's writing can be overshadowed by the art. It makes it easy to forget he's trying to make a commentary, analysis, or response to comic culture. Then couple that with the fact that not all of his work is deconstructive, it's easy to think ASBR is just nonsense. This video is making me think ASBR's lack of ending is stating, " This won't end because it's direction less and doesn't know where to go. This grit is pointless and unending." Also, unrelated, I think Miller and Moore are having a wizard war for fun.

[@WolfHreda]

Just yesterday I don't think I would've considered watching Ace Ventura talk for an hour and a half about Frank Miller's Batman. But here we are, and it was great. Can't wait to look through your videos to find the next few I'll listen to while working.

[@Dylan-cu4ty]

I've read through *TDKR* dozens of times, and still get chills when the lightning strikes and Batman is fully revealed. "The rain on my chest is a baptism, I am born again."

[@IStandForTJandTAW]

You just opened my eyes to year one. You just blew me away.

[@xeibei4804]

This video was just amazing. The beginning was a banger and I love the meta and real life context you got into.

[@princesspunkinn9958]

I think you're right, it seems like miller was originally satirizing batman. I can't stand all the dark gritty comics that came from people taking his satire at face value and making the entire comics industry nothing but that. it makes it a bit easier to see why miller changed the way he did.

[@actualzafra]

Smokey I really admire your Ace Ventura hair. Great video, by the way. I'll be seeing Miller's work with different eyes for now on.

[@AsgersWeb]

Year One and DKR are written legitimately, they aren't satires though DKR does have a lot of goof in it and does poke fun a few times. Strikes Again, Holy Terror (which was originally a Batman book), All Star Batman and Robin are all sattires but with a message in there. Last Crusade was Miller writing a legitimate Batman book again, and that was also great. Though obviously he did lose his way a bit there during that time. Also great cameo from Sal

[@samspurgeon4222]

TDKR is my favorite book ever. Using that as a starting point, your analysis of Miller's work is the best I've seen. You earned my respect and a sub, and your fashion sense is impeccable. It's funny, but when I saw all the hate for ASBAR, I went and picked it up, and saw immediately what it was. This was the borderline insane younger version of the Batman we saw in TDKR, and I gotta admit, I kinda liked it and wish they hadn't cancelled it before it was finished....it was also a good satire of the type of comics he helped to usher into existence. Now, for a completely insane Batman story, I still can't really make heads or tails outta Neal Adams Batman: Odyssey lol

[@atticusp6592]

Honestly man this is an example video, got me to subscribe, I didn't even know DK IIII was a thing until now, I'd be interested in seeing you cover them or anything else really

[@Justin-Ver-Ka]

This helped me understand Dark Knight Returns/ Strikes Back so much better than I did before. Great video!!!

[@joelg5823]

This is my favorite Smokey video. Keep coming back to it because of the excellent deep dive into the eras and what was behind these insane stories!

[@luisalbertoapariciomaganda8333]

What an interesting video of Frank Miller's Batman,never thought of that way,but thanks to you i see Miller's Batman in another way,along side of his comic books. Anyway,great video as always,looking forward for the next episode.

[@wtk6069]

It's obvious when Miller had something to say and when he was just cashing a paycheck. That's why the quality varies wildly.

[@NhBleker]

All Star Batman & Robin and The Dark Knight Strikes Again is just The Batman Who Laughs but with extra steps.

[@sushiatsushi1538]

I always enjoy your videos congrats on achieving 33k subscribers and more power to your channel!!!

[@SmokeysVideos]

Thank you!

[@ARMRStudios]

Man, I never knew Ace Ventura was such a comic book fan. Awesome!

[@Leomatoad]

Really… this is one THE most criminal underrated channels on KZbin

[@turtleanton6539]

Indeed

[@Shift_Salt]

Great video! Not sure how I feel about Frank Miller, whether his later works were solid commentary or not it's honestly just dissapointing. He had a chance to expand his take on Batman further but tossed it away to make insane ranting and raving nonsense. Still, it's worth dissecting these things for the sake of commentary and you did real good with that here

[@morgannyan2738]

This new comic writer looks pretty cool

[@JustKandyMan1]

Loved Year One and heard a lot of stuff about Miller's other entries now i definetely want to check them out, seem like a good laugh if nothing else!

[@someminecraftplayer8557]

that batman year one dialogue with bruce talking to his father is honestly my all time favorite comic book scene.

[@CallMetheMusicMan]

Wow. What a thorough and investing breakdown. Smokey, this is SUCH a great video and I loved it. The only bad thing about it is that it ends. Awesome work man.

[@JeremyLeal1695]

Year One and TDKR are still two of my all time favorites and while the sequels and prequels to those books i feel are unnecessary and not very good, this video has way more nuance and interesting perspectives on them than anything that hack Linkara had to say in any of his videos.

[@_h1ghl4nd3r]

Great video and deep dive into the mind of madman Frank Miller.

[@sergegarcia155]

Man... THANK YOU, for everything

[@autorka1001]

43:49 Laughed! Thanks, that cut was hilarious. Seriously enjoying the video; I'm loving your commentary.

[@AlbertPaulMariLucero]

such a refreshing and well-communicated take! Hard agree on Miller having his tongue very much in cheek when writing his later Batman works and how that drove said works. Wonderful!

[@14141313]

40 mins in and i think you did a great job on this video

[@MartenKey]

Really great doc man, with the news edits it really feels like a feature doc. Hats off

[@PK-MegaLolCaT]

... man i been thinking about all this thing you been talking for years.. wondering if i should have done a video to talk about it... now i dont have too ..cause you did it! Thank you!.. it feel really good to hear someone also seeing what i been seeing for years.

[@Hawbitten]

One of the best videos on Batman I've seen Thank you.

[@Nono-hk3is]

That kid who says he know his comics will be worth something in the future, is me.

[@MidTierVillain]

I remember the exact day when the Superman died issue came out. Me, and my bro, were at the comic book store in Key West. The comic was selling fast, I mean really fast- ppl we(comic book store regulars) never seen before were coming in buying more than one; a couple ppl bought a stack. The cashier, whom we looked at like The One Above All of comic book enthusiast- he held all the knowledge, and looking back, we asked him, challenged him, and held him in the highest regard.. anyways, he always held us issues of each comic he knew we’d be interested in- and , variant cover issues. I wasn’t into Superman, SpiderMan, or any of the popular characters.. but, Batman was always a must have. At the time I was into a new character, that was badass, and edgy- Spawn! I was collecting every issue, and it was pretty new at that time.. then my favorite, The Punisher, along with the crossovers Batman v Predator, Terminator v Batman, the What If comics, and a lot of Dark Horse stuff.. I rambled a lot, but we knew Superman’s death wouldn’t last long.. it created the hype they hoped, sold a lot, and once it dried up, he came back.

[@forty_two42]

You know Frank Miller better than he knows himself. This was really amazing. It's easy to read Miller as Authoritarian and Hyper individualistic. In fact Miller seems to think that's all he is based on later interviews of him. Alan Moore once called him " Ayn Rand for people who can't read" (which I actually think is a little too critical on Moores part) but You were able to look at Miller's Career and see him reacting and evolving to the world around him. Sure Miller absolutely does have Authoritarian (and often in his indie work, outright facist) undertones. But you're the only person I've seen ask why and you did it without even asking the question. That is some amazing literary analysis.

[@Slyarno2795]

I get so confused if Batman Year one is just in its own timeline or in The Dark Knight returns universe.

[@PosthumanHeresy]

45:16 What you're missing is that Frank has gone on record endorsing this mindset. This isn't written as a critique. This is written as an endorsement.This isn't Frank doing commentary, this is Frank becoming a vengeful, hateful person because he was hurt. Not looking into the interviews was a mistake. This is Frank being honest, not Batman as a parody. This is who he became. Your analysis of Batman is spot-on, but is not authorial intent. Your analysis of Batman in these books is an analysis of Frank. 9/11 broke him. This is Frank Miller's concept of a hero. Frank is the man who believes one bad day can break you, and his bad day was 9/11/2001. Frank is the one who became a deranged anti-authoritarian fascist despite that being complete non-logic. Frank _is_ Batman here. You just gotta read the interviews.

[@antonioclifton6605]

bro these are so awesome

[@sariellakingdom1878]

The idea that Miller was just going into uber-Satire with All Star gets even funnier if you consider that having year long delays between issues and still selling like gangbusters is just a way to take Satire to new Meta levels.

[@vincentfranklin17]

The Dark Knight Returns, and Batman: Year One, made me a Batman fan for life!

[@DrJay-iy8rv]

So Miller’s Batman Starts off in Batman Year One Gets off in All Star Batman & Robin Backs off after Jason is killed in The Dark Knight Returns & TDKR Last Crusade Runs off after faking his death to finish War in The Dark Knight Strikes Again Jumps off into the Moonlight with Batwoman With renewed vigor in The Dark Knight Master Race Underneath all this crazy that is the Millerverse Batman goes on a journey from the start to inflict pain on others to enjoying the thrill but not the cost of his war. Then after regaining his spirit then later his youthful body that the war still goes on. The Journey is………Batman is Jacking off to this 😂😂😂

[@DrJay-iy8rv]

I didn’t include Holy Terror since technically that’s the Fixer (Batman no ears lol 😂)

[@crdbtmn8232]

Just found this channel and gotta say it's amazing

[@rustless_pillow6755]

This vid was outstanding. Love your work and Had my perceptions of frank challenged with this video. Love it

[@reddays8448]

I love your videos my dude

[@MuggMen]

25:23 I think that has to be the most fucked up way I've ever heard the Wayne's death being described. I mean I never thought of a corpse as an inanimate object before but; God that inanimate object line makes you think about how they're not even human or alive anymore. And seeing that as an eight-year-old would scree anyone up for life.

[@reddays8448]

And it’s cool that you had Sal from comic pop that’s cool

[@o-shawnspecific80]

lmao holy shit....Zack Snyder is definitely one of the Sons of Batman.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Sons of Miller, more like.

[@o-shawnspecific80]

@@michaelandreipalon359 Step-son at best. I'm sure Miller wouldn't claim him.

[@francozambrano4980]

i agree with you in a lot of things. i always thought miller later work was a angry reflection of his carrer but i didnt know he put that much in a satirical sense. But i think maing something to make fun of another thing doesnt make it good. after 9/11 there was the mention decline in the work and i would argue in his mental health. he is screeming his feelings on the page and in all honesty is messy. all the theames that you mention are still there and i can see another vrsion of those stories that i could apreciate more. Finally i dont have a problem with an interpretation of a character i care about that i desagree with or a satirical one. Lets just say Holy terror was bad not just because it was politicaly incorrect, so something similar aplies here. Still this was eye opening on what Miller was going for and the many references he put in.

[@DJFilthy]

Great video man but you dressed like you had an ace ventura audition after this 😂

[@StoryTeller796]

I'm just chuckling at the Batman dialouge, your voice has me rolling. Also, yeah, I prefer seeing something original, more explored, and more better than what came before. Oh, okay. I can tell that this video was a blast to make.

[@Elricsedric]

My favorite batman story. Absolutely amazing

[@bekindrewind3339]

This Batman is America

[@thedaltoid0266]

Start great, fall off, and repeat

[@tjjordan4207]

I’ve always believed that The Dark Knight Returns was mainly famous because of its premise being revolutionary at the time. An elderly Batman returning for one final mission to save his city? Of course that would get readers’ attention back then. But I do have issues with Frank Miller’s views on the character, especially that of Superman and the relationship between Bats and Sups.

[@turtleanton6539]

Yuup😊

[@TheJediRyguy]

Hey Smokey, you've got some great insights on not only Batman, but Frank Miller, who I've been a fan of since his run on Daredevil. Also, I've been a friend of Jim Shooter for awhile now ( that's a great story, used to be as bartender) Jim gave Frank his first BIG job, in about 84 I by putting him on Daredevil, so I would constantly ask Jim questions about Frank. Have you ever read Frank Miller's Ronin? If not you should definitely check it out, it's a difficult read for sure, but it gives you a really great look into Frank Miller's creative process early on. Let me know what you think!

[@SmokeysVideos]

I've had the RONIN Artist Edition for a few years now but haven't actually taken the time to read it. I definitely need to get around to it.

[@TheJediRyguy]

@@SmokeysVideos Do it man! 😁 just make sure you're in a reading and thinking mood. BTW- brand new subscriber, stumbled across your Channel I totally dig it! I know Jim is a bit of a controversial figure, but he has some great stories! I'll email a few that he me if you're interested.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Wasn't Ronin one of the comics that inspired Samurai Jack?

[@jaredgarcia8638]

The O'Neil era of Batman when editorial was consistent and near perfection. The 2000s era of the Dark Knight is where all of the current regression came from

[@webheadcamstudios1344]

It's finally here!

[@sickmountains]

Yooo, bro just gave me the best impersonation of Grant Morrison

[@rashadcross8452]

Ok that intro was well done. Im still making it through the video but i'd rather die than wait another moment to give praise my guy 😂.

[@francozambrano4980]

Will the episode in back issues ever happen because ill love that.

[@VidelxSpopovich]

I think Frank Miller’s Batman feels in a weird way more realistic. He is actually a psychotic angry man trying desperately to make up for the loss of his parents by feeding into his own addictive need to be a hero. He’s super screwed up. Almost as bad as his villians… and honestly that totally makes sense when you consider that this version of Batman is MASSIVELY sleep deprived and wildly obsessive. I mean yeah I could see a vigilante running around in a bat suit being this crazy. In fact it’s kind of hard for me to take mainstream super detective Batman seriously because of this. Mainstream Batman is just too well adjusted to the point that it seems really fake and unrealistic.

[@bujilou]

oh yes... an hour and a half video of dark knight returns? consider me torqued

[@archeogeek315]

Seriously, dark batman wasn't brought back my Miller by the time he had written the Dark Knight Return, batman was already back to being somber in regular comics. (Dennis O'Neil first stories were in the seventies.)

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

This is like a video essay, except it's good and not pretentious.

[@shinyocelot04archive]

Sal's Jameson impression is on point.

[@PerAnkh418]

thoroughly enjoyed this ACE! Alrighty then!

[@dannyolortegui3776]

I see there's no mention of Denny O'Neal as far as changing the game

[@yuothineyesasian]

Sad to hear you're being sued by Conan O'Brien for copyright infringement over a hairdo.

[@cheezy8492]

The comics code authority are loosely responsible for the batman theme, the original "na na na na na na na na batman" is a tune literally everyone to this day just knows

[@markbertenshaw3977]

Pretty good analysis. However I did note that make your thesis flow better, you missed out the early nineties mainstream Batman books edited by Denny O'Neil which were making the point you say that Miller was making: making Batman dark and gritty like the Image books is NOT a good thing. Nearly two years of Batman continuity has Bruce Wayne critically injured by Bane and replaced by Jean-Paul Valley who is a genuinely disturbed person. As he gets progressively more insane, he starts retooling the batsuit, until it looks like a way cool 90s Image comic, and inflicts death and destruction with no restraint. Bruce has to rehabilitate himself and face off against Jean-Paul until in a beautiful bit of symbology, they are both returned to the light. Maybe it isn't as "deep" as Miller's take on it. But then again, maybe we sometimes mistake obscurity for depth. I personally prefer O'Neil's clarity over Miller's obscurity - I consider it part of good writing. And by the way, I am not trying to take away anything from the writers, Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Doug Moench, etc. - but these are the days when a DC editor actually edited, and he had the final word.

[@MG-fv4oj]

Thanks people seem to forget how much of Batman comes from Denny. Denny also was a dying breed of proper editors who genuinely protected the character. Also I was watching an interview with Chuck Dixon and he said Azreal was made to be a parody/ critique of 90s edge.

[@kingklank6732]

I love all Batman stories equally and beleive they are all in continuty on one Earth or the other. Year one is a masterpiece that leads into more than one continuity. DKR is a masterpiece and an almost timeless one. Come at me.

[@raulmendieta9696]

This was brilliant 👏👏👏

[@henryfleischer404]

I didn't like Batman in TDKR, so thank you for explaining why he's like that. My favorite Batman comic is Death By Design.

[@mccabestevenson]

Bro you opened my eyes

[@willgillies5670]

Bruces car in Year One is a Porsche 928 S. Amazing the trivia you learn.

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

Thank you for posting, I always enjoy your comic analysis' :P

[@i.need.more.comics]

Oh dang time to grab some popcorn.

[@ryanmooney217]

20:33 “here 2 4 unseen”

[@manperson5784]

frank Miller's batman should have been the batman who laughs he really is the perfect "anti-batman" for the real batman to fight one day

[@AT-AT-AT-AT]

dark knight got me into comics. 11y/o in 1986 :D

[@samspurgeon4222]

I was already into comics, but I still remember the snowy day my Dad took me to a local comic shop and I found TDKR. I'd seen the ads in other comics I had, but I wanted it bad being a huge Batman fan and my Dad, not knowing what FOR MATURE READERS meant lol, bought it for me....I went home and read it about 4 times that day while listening to my brand new Who Made Who by AC/DC cassette lol...we were living in Golden Times my friend

[@Vergil7553]

my expectations were subverted... cause i was gonna send this video to Sal :D