Random Happenstance

Not gone, but a legitimate question nonetheless.

From the Dark Knight Returns, written and pencilled by Frank Miller, inks by Klaus Janson. Scanned from the Complete Frank Miller Batman, which was a bit tough to cram into the scanner. OK, I got nine panels out of thirteen from that page, which didn't quite work...

I was going to be out of town for a couple days, but now I'm staying with the kids and the dogs and it'll be about as relaxing as it sounds. Still, it made me think of this page, since I've always wondered why Clark is giving Bruce the heads-up call there, especially in light of the throwdown in the fourth issue.

It's not like Bruce, at this point in the story, was in any position to do anything, if something happened while Superman was gone: he was just about to put the Batman suit back on after years out of the game. It's also odd that Bruce pretty openly regards Clark as a totally weak sellout, a tool of the man, an utter douche; yet here Clark still calls him like they're still the best of friends. Maybe not the best of friends, maybe friends that don't see each other as often as they used too, but still on good terms.

Maybe, even unintentionally, this page says something about Superman. That once you've earned his friendship, you have to go a pretty long way to lose it. (There's some older, pre-Crisis Superman issues where he acts like he's still friends with Luthor, he's just a little exasperated at his behavior for the last twenty or so years.) Or maybe that Batman, not unlike an ex-president, still gets the daily briefings.

Anyway, we'll see if I get anything else done this weekend, and have fun either way.