I'm gonna side against Frank Miller. The guy hasn't been "sabotaging his own career" since The Dark Knight Returns and Sin City as he has proven he was a one hit wonder.
Yes, we all applaud how Frank Miller renewed interest in Batman. Yes, it allowed some of the yesteryear fans to come out of the closet about their comic collections. Yes, it created a darker, grittier Batman that seems to have left a permanent mark on the industry.
But that was twenty-five years ago. Geeks don't need to "jock things up" anymore. We enjoy our camp, our cheese, our corn, and we enjoy it with pride.
I for one am getting tired of the "darker, gritter" Batman. Frank's comic and a lot of Batman material released since then have continued to paint Batman as nothing more than a brutal, emotionless, but otherwise functional sociopath. Nothing motivates him but rage, which always seems ready to boil over into full-out madness, that he can make himself stop at all seems to be his only heroic ability.
The Animated Series, by contrast, showed us Batman could enjoy gothic stories and yet still remain true to the Batman as a hero. He was motivated by the tragedy of his past, and it was that pain that drove him to overcome the odds without giving up his principles. Not only was the Batman a better character, his villains were better, as well. Mark Hamill's Joker and Mr. Freeze. Absolute awesome.
So yeah, sorry Frank, you wre just a placeholder.
Yes, we all applaud how Frank Miller renewed interest in Batman. Yes, it allowed some of the yesteryear fans to come out of the closet about their comic collections. Yes, it created a darker, grittier Batman that seems to have left a permanent mark on the industry.
But that was twenty-five years ago. Geeks don't need to "jock things up" anymore. We enjoy our camp, our cheese, our corn, and we enjoy it with pride.
I for one am getting tired of the "darker, gritter" Batman. Frank's comic and a lot of Batman material released since then have continued to paint Batman as nothing more than a brutal, emotionless, but otherwise functional sociopath. Nothing motivates him but rage, which always seems ready to boil over into full-out madness, that he can make himself stop at all seems to be his only heroic ability.
The Animated Series, by contrast, showed us Batman could enjoy gothic stories and yet still remain true to the Batman as a hero. He was motivated by the tragedy of his past, and it was that pain that drove him to overcome the odds without giving up his principles. Not only was the Batman a better character, his villains were better, as well. Mark Hamill's Joker and Mr. Freeze. Absolute awesome.
So yeah, sorry Frank, you wre just a placeholder.
