Graphic Novels That You Would Like If You Weren't Too Chicken To Read Them - 'The Dark Knight Returns'

In 1986, when Frank Miller (of ‘Sin City’ and ‘300’ fame) was given the task of revamping comics’ most famous detective, Batman’s sales were as flat as a tack. The specter of the campy ‘60s TV show still hung overhead, and edgier, more modern heroes such as the X-Men had usurped the Caped Crusader’s place in terms of both relevance and popularity. It was up to Miller to take the Batman back to his chilling roots, and he did so, paradoxically, by taking the character forward in time, making the Batman even older than his readers and the enemies he faced. In the process, Miller created the most influential graphic novel of the past 30 years – one that, along with the similarly lauded ‘Watchmen’ (also appearing in ’86), inspired artists and filmmakers alike to tear away the baggage that surrounded their favourite heroes and rebuild them as they saw fit.



It has been ten years since the Batman retired, and Gotham has become overrun by vicious street gangs. They are, as Batman’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne notes, a ‘purer breed’ of criminal than the man who killed his parents – unrepentant of their crimes, and only looking out for the next big rush. The continual stream of violence eventually forces Batman out of retirement, and he returns a darker, more brutal crimefighter than the one we are used to seeing, sweeping through Gotham’s underworld like a man possessed. We see far more disturbing sides to old enemies Two-Face and the Joker, and discover that the Batman-Superman rivalry is not anywhere near as friendly at it seems. And a new, 13 year-old female Robin pops up, a new soldier in the Batman’s war.

In contrast to ‘Watchmen’ which was meticulously planned down to the last panel, ‘DKR’ reads like a jumble of ideas that Miller is just skillful enough to keep from collapsing into a mess. The pacing of the story is relentless, with Miller making continual use of television screens to move events forward as well as to explore the milieu surrounding Batman. But Miller is careful to intersperse the action with full-page shots of both Batman and Superman, giving these icons the space they need to prevent them being swallowed up by the dystopia that he has created. Readers that are used to having all of the details set out before them may find Miller’s storytelling techniques a bit vague, but there is enough there to satisfy you if you’re willing to follow the clues.



As with the recent ‘Dark Knight’ movie, ‘DKR’ explores both the need for a Batman and the dangers of him. On one hand, it seems that Batman is simply adding to the violence in Gotham City. He has lost almost all compunction when it comes to his war on crime – he blasts his way through enemies with his modified Batmobile (now essentially a Bat-tank), he breaks their arms and legs with the object of striking fear into their fraternity, and in his final showdown with the Joker, he is unhesitant about putting a Bat-a-rang straight through the villain’s eye. A vigilante group – the Sons of Batman – spring up in his wake, using much the same methods and little of the judgment. Other crimes, rightly or wrongly, become attributed to the Batman’s return, the most spectacular being the Joker’s awakening from a catatonic state to go on a mass murder spree. However, Batman manages to encourage heroism as well, inspiring the new Robin to take up the cape and boots and acting as her mentor. And when the Russians begin to rain down bombs, it is Batman, not Superman, who has the preparedness to deal with it, and restore a semblance of order to Gotham.




Those who have only seen ‘The Dark Knight’ movie may think they have seen the best and the worst that Batman and the Joker have to offer. While that movie was a fine effort, in the end, it tones down the madness that is heaped upon Gotham, in the process doing much of Batman’s work for him. ‘DKR’ is a more complex, more intense achievement, and one that fans of ‘The Dark Knight’ movie, if they have the stomach for it, would be well advised to seek out. After reading it, you’re guaranteed never to think of Adam West as Batman again.

Diary Of An AFL SuperCoach Obsessive - Week 18

Friday:

Why, when I’m away for a while, does it seem like my SuperCoach team is spiralling out of control? In fact, things are not as bad as I feel. Had my lowest score for the season last week, but I still won by heaps and am now assured of a top four position in my league. The reasons for the low score were the absences of Johncock, Milburn and Pavlich, leaving me with 20 scoring players. But even then I only dropped to 106 in the overall championship, so it seems like I’m not the only team having problems. And I still have five trades left.

Ah, the trades… with every week they seem more and more like my key to glory. I am playing the top team in my league this week, so the temptation is to use up two of them, particularly with Gary Ablett still sidelined. But there’s no advantage to finishing first rather than fourth, at least in a league as close as this, so I think the better strategy is to plan for the finals. With that in mind, I traded for cash, swapping David Myers for Eric Mackenzie, giving me 4 trades and over $220,000 in the bank for the finals next week. Then if Ablett and Johncock return next week, I can use that extra cash to dump Cyril Rioli and go into the finals with an all-star line-up (yes, even with Brent Stanton). If one or neither return I still have enough trades to bring in other star replacements. That’s provided there are no more absences.

(Crap! What if there are more absences?)

P.S. If nothing else, will put my opponent, who barracks for the Kangaroos, into some sort of conflict this week by picking Brent Harvey as my captain. With the finals coming up, it’s time to psychologically unsettle my opponents however I can.

My Top Ten Highlights from the Lion City

1. The view from the City Space bar on the 70th story of the Swissotel. From the comfortable chairs beside the window you can see Singapore's city centre laid out before you. (My Rough Guide book told me you can actually see as far out as Indonesia and Malaysia, but I'll have to take its word for it.) More from good timing than good planning I arrived just in time for sunset, and sipped my martini until the city lights came on. In my opinion, if you see only one thing in Singapore this should be it.

2. Cycling around Pulau Ubin, a barely inhabited island between Malaysia and Singapore. The island is a bit of a labyrinth, and you could easily cycle around there all day if, you know, you're actually fit and all. A 12-passenger bumboat takes you to and from the island whenever the ferryman feels like it.

3. The cable car on the way to Sentosa (south of the city), which creaks along over the harbour, past the construction site of the proposed multi-million dollar entertainment complex, and then back up to Mount Faber on the return trip. The ride was even better once I worked out I should shift my weight to the center of the car.

4. Lying down at Palawan Beach, metres away from the southernmost point of continental Asia. You can get to that point either by water or narrow, rickety suspended rope bridge. The beach itself is nothing special, but hey, it's warmer than Melbourne at the moment.

5. The white tigers at the Singapore Zoo. One of the three tigers was prowling up and down the stone embankment, as if he working out how he could have one of us visitors for lunch. As I had walked up to the exhibit there had been a line on the ground showing how far tigers are able to jump, and it was a bit disconcerting to realise that 'gee, you know, that tiger's actually not that much further away... if he really wanted to...,'

6. Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin' as covered by Singaporean band Jive Talkin'. The singer had a good voice, and the passion and irony with which he belted out the tune made this version even better than the original. (By this logic, a karaoke version could be freaking unbelievable.) And having a middle-aged transvestite/transsexual/very manly woman on back-up vocals didn't hurt.

7. The Singapore Sling I had on the flight over, even though it was served in a plastic cup. Man, the guy at the drinks trolley must have got it just right. It was even better than the one I had at the Raffles Hotel (although that was pretty good as well).

8. Of the Chinatown Heritage Museum, the Rough Guide said that if you only see one museum in Singapore this should be it and I took it at its word (I saw it, and it was the only museum I saw). The CHM is hidden away amongst the shopfronts on Pagoda Street but worth seeking out. Visitors are guided along a windy route which culminates in a recreation of the cramped living quarters that the residents of Chinatown used to live in. You could describe them as shoeboxes, that is, if your feet were bound.

9. Is it wrong to be excited about the efficiency of the railway system?

10. The Dark Knight. Will Heath Ledger win a posthumous Oscar? Probably not, but he is still a standout in this rather disturbing re-imagining of the Batman mythos. The Joker is more terrorist than murderous prankster, while Batman becomes even more of an anti-hero. All in all, not a bad effort.

Just So You Remember...

Diary of an AFL SuperCoach Obsessive - Week 17

Monday:

Had easily my best round of the season, racking up 2,481 points. O’Keefe (an excellent pick-up indeed) scored 199, Pavlich scored 182 (or 364 given that he was my captain), Dean Cox scored 171, Stanton (my gawd!) scored 162, Dal Santo (my gawd again!) scored 158, Milburn (another excellent pick-up) scored 141, and Nick Riewoldt scored 139. At the other end of the scoreboard Heath Shaw was only marginally more useful than a wooden plank, scoring 40, Nick Stevens scored 46, Graham Johncock scored 49, and Trent Cotchin, filling in for the injured Gary Ablett, scored 51. Thought I might be in the running for the weekly prize, but could only manage position 42 in the end, which I’ll put down to Heath Shaw’s propensity to go missing in every second match. Did zoom up to No.71 in the overall standings though - the top 50 teams get their names on the front page of the teams list (but as Kelvin reminded me, no money); I might get there by season’s end.

Speaking of Kelvin, did manage to obliterate his squad to the tune of 463 points this week. To make things even better, my captain Pavlich outscored his captain, Dean Cox. No, even better was his comment that if I hadn’t picked up O’Keefe and Milburn this week he would have beaten me. I liked this comment for three reasons:

• I did pick up O’Keefe and Milburn, so it doesn’t really matter what would have happened if I hadn’t.
• But let’s say I didn’t pick up O’Keefe and Milburn. Well, then I would have picked up two different players and they would have scored points for me instead.
• Here’s the kicker: say O’Keefe and Milburn scored absolutely nothing this week instead of the combined 340 points they did score. Well, then I still would have won, and by over 100 points!

(Of course, I could have just let the comment go, but such is not the obsessive’s way. And I won’t mention the fact that Kelvin’s beaten me every time at chess…)

Wednesday:

Gary Ablett: to trade or not to trade? Once I would not have considered dumping the Football Jesus, but this is the second week in a row that he is scheduled to miss with his ankle injury. Let’s break this down further:

Pros:

• He’s worth so much that you can trade him for a star midfielder and still free up some cash.
• He is shaping up as an uncertain prospect from week-to-week, so it may just be better to make a clean break.
• Even if he does return, the injury may hamper him, reducing his stats and his trade value.
• He may kill off any small chance I have of being the nationwide SuperCoach winner.

Cons:

• I’m playing a weak team in my league this week, so in terms of winning my league I shouldn’t need to trade him just yet.
• If I trade him, then I actually have to think about who my captain is each week.
• He’s Gary freakin’ Ablett, and trading him could easily come back to bite me.

Verdict: I’ve got a good chance of winning my league, and only an outside chance of winning the entire comp. Keep him for this week, but if he doesn’t come back next week then drop him like a hot potato.

Thursday:

The good news is that O’Keefe is playing this week, despite his ankle injury, but the bad news is that Graham Johncock has been dropped. But good news!: my opponent has Johncock on his team as well. Considering that I scored over 2400 points last week and my opponent for this week only scored around 1400, even my cautious self can handle being one down. So no changes.

(Looking over Wednesday’s entry just reminded me that I was still in with some sort of chance of winning the overall comp. So I guess, by going one down, the choice has been made – win the league, screw the nationwide glory.)

Diary Of An AFL SuperCoach Obsessive - Week 16

Monday:

Was in Sydney this weekend, so not only did I not have much of an idea of which players had gone well but I didn’t even know who had won half the matches. Got back last night, but couldn’t check the results because of the distressing AC Adaptor Incident. Therefore, a little apprehensive when I logged in to see the results this morning, but I need not have worried. Everything has come up ‘Phantom Lunches’ this week. Let’s review:

• Scored 2,209 points, which was enough for a 400-point plus win.
• Moved from fifth to third on the league ladder, and from 359 to 206 (out of 223,335) in the nationwide standings.
• Scored 140 more points than anyone else in my league this week. This bodes well. This bodes very well indeed.
• Richmond won by 70 points last night. Doesn’t make much difference to my SuperCoach team, but it puts me in a better mood.
• Brent Stanton scored 133 points.
• Gary Ablett, Brett Burton and Jonathan Brown all got injured. Why is that good news? Well, even though I have all of those guys in my team, so do a lot of other people. But the difference between me and them is that I haven’t burnt up most of my trades yet. Have fun playing two or three short, fellas! Burton is the only long-term injury, and probably the only one I will need to trade out, but even that has a silver lining because, you see, it validates my decision not to trade Tippett or Rioli for O’Keefe last week. Now I can trade Burton for O’Keefe, and Tippett will become more of a focal point for Adelaide with Burton on the sidelines. See, even the setbacks are going my way.

Yes, things are going pretty well. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop any moment now…

Friday:

Completed the Burton for O’Keefe trade, but had to use up a second trade this week with Brett Jones also out for the season. After some consideration, went for Darren Milburn, who tends to play every week (yep, there goes his knee) and is a consistent performer. The two trades ate up some cash as well, but with five trades left and $70,000 in the bank I’m still in a good position.

Further upside of the Milburn trade was that it annoyed my opponent, Kelvin, who sits in the desk beside me. In SuperCoach, everyone has Franklin, Ablett, J. Brown, Judd, etc., it’s the rest of the players that determine whether you win or lose. By picking Milburn, he now has to rely on his lower-rung players beating my lower-rung players, which I don’t consider a likely prospect. Annoyed him even further by picking Matthew Pavlich as captain, after which he went off mumbling about he was going to change who his captain was now. I think I really need to win this match.

The Finger Points Outwards - No.11

Chas from the Chaser has written an article on how to stop 'tanking' in the AFL. It's not only a funny read, but actually the most sensible suggestion I've ever read on the topic.

Diary Of An AFL SuperCoach Obsessive - Week 15

Friday:

Feel strangely divorced from all things football this week, due to both the split round and me spending last weekend and this Wednesday in the somewhat less football-mad city of Canberra. Will this put me out of the loop or provide me with a measure of perspective? Have lost past two games even though my team has been scoring well, with my opponents waiting until I play them to rack up phone number scores. Last week’s result was a little more worrisome as there were quite a few teams in my league that outscored me. The thought that I have eight trades left comforts me, however – I have room to improve, while the rest of them probably do not.

Mild panic set in last night when the wires in my AC Adaptor busted, leaving me unable to connect to the internet. Have internet connection at work, so could fix my team today, but my temporary inability to make changes to my team left me a little anxious. I always make changes on the Thursday night, since that’s when the teams are released – there’s no advantage to making changes earlier. Except this – if one week your AC Adaptor busts on the Thursday night, and then you are struck down with a mystery virus which leaves you unable to get your work the next day, or you break your leg, or your computer at work breaks down, or you’re too busy, then you don’t have to worry about fifteen weeks of blood, sweat and tears going down the drain. But I’ve made my changes now, and all is OK.

I did end up trading for cash this week, kicking out forgotten man Tom Hawkins for young Kangaroos player Lachlan Hansen, which put $200,000 in the bank. Having lost the past two games I did consider whether to upgrade a mid-range player for a star, more specifically, Cyril Rioli for Ryan O’Keefe. But my opponent this week looks pretty weak, and I should be able to win without burning another trade. (On the other hand, he has had phenomenal luck so far, whereas my luck has gone to the crapper.) O’Keefe’s value should also drop next week, and I can trade Kurt Tippett for him instead. Or do something else… it’s good to have your options open…

(Does that feel right? Yes, but my instincts haven’t done me much good lately.)

P.S. Replaced Ryan Griffen with Brent Harvey last week, and Griffen proceeded to outscore his replacement. But Griffen is out this week due to family reasons. Is it wrong to get satisfaction from this? Maybe I should send him a card to allay my guilt.