ok, just a few quick thoughts on the "Batdance" video. i know this has probably been rehashed soo much in here that its not funny, or maybe i'm just the only one who likes the music P put out during this period, whatever. I was just wondering about some of the imagary used in this video. There seems to be an overabundance of guns displayed, something that MTV did away with during the early 90's rap wars that seemed to be in constent rotation, thoughts on Mr. Purple's obbsesion with the gun? Also, "All this and brains too" was that an attempt to get kim or was that relationship already finished when this vid was made, i was only like 9 when it came out and don't really know the paticulars on that whole situation. any help will be appreciated.

I think "all this and brains too" was an allusion to Kim Basinger's character in Batman, who happened to be the love interest and a newspaper reporter.

And the whole gun thing was, I thought, an allusion to the song "Electric Chair", which is sampled in "Batdance".

I always thought the "all brains and this too" was a quip on the "dumb blonde" image.

It could use some research but I believe the ALL THIS AND BRAINS TOO is an element from old Batman comics. It actually does have some historical and meaningful value from the old Batman...

alexnevermind319 said:

MeTouchMyself said:

Take a look here (read bold text):

http://home.flash.net/~re...s0302.html

Retro Reviews
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1-4
Reviewed by Ramsey Rusef

Story and Pencils: Frank Miller
Inks: Klaus Janson and Frank Miller (Issue 4)
Colors and Visual Effects: Lynn Varley
Letters: John Costanza
Co-Editors: Denny O'Neil and Dick Giordano
Published by DC Comics
Mini Review: Better than Swamp Thing. Better than Watchmen. This is the best original comic of my lifetime.

In 1986, X-Men ruled a mindless comics world. DC was putting out boring titles like Green Lantern Corps, Batman and the Outsiders, and Booster Gold. Batman was just another hero who saved people, and he looked more like Adam West's Batman than Dennis O'Neil's Darknight Detective. He ran around with the Outsiders (not Hall or Nash, but Halo and Katana), a rather silly group of superheroes who fought stupid villains like the Duke of Oil.

Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns changed everything. Batman became a terrorist, who fought crime through fear and intimidation rather than through great detective work. The Batman, as envisioned by Bob Kane, returned with a vengeance. He became more than a pulp hero with a costume. He became a myth.

Look at the picture of the Batman that Grant Morrison uses. The man is completely unbeatable. He plans so thoroughly that no one stands a chance against him. That started here. This is the first book that I can remember which seriously told fans that Batman could kick Superman's butt. Batman as the obsessive loner begins here as well. Even the Batcave looks like it did in this story, down to the glass which holds up Jason Todd's costume.

The book also changed the entire way that comics were presented. It was the first prestige format book, or Dark Knight format as it was known for years. Dark Knight proved that fans would be willing to pay big bucks ($2.95 at the time was a huge chunk of change.) for a good title. Immediately following this series, (It also added to the DCU in that it took DC Comics characters and presented them in a possible future without saying, it was only a dream at the end. If the Dark Knight were published today, it would be an Elseworlds book. Slapping that tag on the book would be a complete slam. The Dark Knight stands alone in a world of vanilla comics.

This story, strangely enough is supposedly a sequel to a book that Miller never wrote, called Batman: Ten Years Later. That story was supposed to be Batman's last adventure, where the Joker had kills off Jason Todd and , if I was told correctly, rapes him.

Bruce Wayne starts the series off in retirement, racing cars built by Carol Ferris's company. He quit pretending to drink some time ago, and Commissioner Gordon reminisces about the act that Bruce Wayne played for so long.

The world, meanwhile has taken a major turn for the worse. A vicious street gang called the Mutants (I wonder if that's a potshot at a certain costumed street gang which sells so many comics.) has taken over a great part of the city, making life completely unsafe for anyone in town. Commissioner Gordon is ready to retire. The only good thing is that Batman's rogues gallery seems to be dormant or, even healed.

More importantly, superheroes are banned in this world. Superman works as an agent of the US government. Wonder Woman returns to her home. Green Lantern goes to the stars, and Green Arrow, was the only one to fight the ban. That is, until Batman comes back.

Batman comes back, of course with the intent to deal with the Mutants. He does this with some astounding alacrity. Batman does such a good job with the gang leader (a physical marvel in his own right) that many of the Mutants end up taking after his identity and call themselves the sons of the Batman.

This is a problem because the new commissioner, Ellen Yindel, has problems with the way Batman has disobeyed the law since day one. Not only has Batman become more violent (He uses shuriken which are shaped like the old Batarangs.), a group of kids following in his footsteps has begun to take up vigilantism instead of crime. They cut off the fingers of shopkeepers who don't fight off the criminals hard enough.

Along the way, Batman runs across some of his old foes. Two Face receives more psychotherapy than Barbra Streisand ever did, and, with surgery conducted to heal his face, he apparently is sane again, looking to make things right. Catwoman ends up as the madam of a high priced call girl ring. The Joker remains the Joker, and he revives from a catatonic state the second that Batman's return gets national airplay on the news.

Everything builds up to a fight with Superman, which occurs as the United States and the Soviet Union fight World War Three. The two fight as Batman has brought order to a powerless Gotham City.

Miller doesn't paint a completely unflattering picture of Batman. He deliberately maims a criminal with a kick, when he even admits that he could have disarmed the man with minimal contact. He doesn't even bat an eyelash when he drags an untrained girl with a slingshot into combat situations. Batman/ Bruce Wayne keeps evaluating situations to determine whether they would present him with a good or a stupid death.

This is the magic of this story. You begin reading it thinking that Batman has turned into a kewl, brooding criminal basher like Wolverine. Miller is too good a writer to let this happen. Batman is, like two face, a schizophrenic. This is the book which made Batman real and Bruce Wayne a fantasy. Batman also controls whatever situation he is in. He knows that he can't, under normal conditions, duke it out with Superman, or the mutant leader, so he makes sure that they come to face him in an environment that makes things work for him. The one thing that shines through is that Batman doesn't consider himself a human for a long time in the story. The fact that he wants to die shows how little regard he holds for himself. Only in the end does he find a long term mission for his life, and it's then when he doesn't want to die.

Miller uses Batman and Superman to tell the reader about the other. Superman worries about what Batman will end up doing to ruin life for him and the rest of the superheroes. Batman calls Superman a joke with the hope that he can restore a sense of manhood to the Man of Steel. Each of Batman's opponents from Two Face to the Mutant leader to the Joker to Superman to Commissioner Yindel exposes a different aspect of Batman's personality.

Miller, who had tended to be overly dramatic in so many of his stories, shows a really good sense of humor in this book. The reporters who broadcast the news are so wonderfully daft that one actually wears her "All This and Brains, too" t-shirt while on the air. The president, who resembles Ronald Reagan, goes into space when he realizes that he may be killed in a nuclear war.

No matter how much Miller crams into the story, the reporters, the cat and mouse game that Batman has to play with Yindel as he tries to save lives, Miller's portrayal of most people as stupid and self centered, Miller keeps a strong sense of tension alive throughout the entire story. The climactic battle with Superman gets built up from the second issue. Batman's preparations for his own death makes the reader know that this whole thing will not end with Batman happily standing watch over Gotham. No other comic has been able to keep the reader on edge.

Miller's artwork has never been so good before or after. He makes Batman look like the larger than life symbol that he describes in words. Superman and the Mutant leader also look like you would picture them. Miller creates some of the most memorable comics visuals ever. From the moment that Batman's hands break through a window and grab a rapist from behind to the Bat-Signal on Gotham Towers to the death of the Joker the reader feels what Miller wants him to feel. Every moment sends an image to the gut. Klaus Janson's inks make the characters look positively huge, and Lynn Varley proves herself to be possibly the best colorist in comics. She changes her coloring scheme from page to page to match Miller's mood.

Final Take: Even though Miller can get a bit over dramatic, this work stands as the greatest work of the modern era. ***** out of *****



Redoubt is Copyright © 1999-2000, Ramsey Rusef. All articles contained inside are Copyright by their original authors. All characters and comic books reviewed in Redoubt are Copyright and Trademarked by their respective owners.