The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Connection between Montage of a Dream Deferred and this: "A young boy dashes past me, healthy, dirty, and beautiful... I see the face of a killer who isn't yet old enough to shave."

This reminds me of the poem Flatted Fifths in which Hughes muses on the draft and how young boys are forced to grow up much too fast. It seems as if in a crime-ridden city such as Gotham City, this would also be the case.

I also see connections between this and American Psycho where The Joker is telling people he is going to kill them but they don't listen. Bateman does the same thing. People ignore them in favor of ignorance, contentment, and therefore happiness.

Another connection between this and another piece we've attended to in class is with Cabaret. There is a swastika on the blonde woman on p. 106. Nazism seems to be a symbol in these works for an invasion from the outside, something attempting to stop their current train of action or thought.

Pictures in relation to text... We can tell the motives of characters that we would otherwise not know if we didn't have the pictures. On p. 47 we know the true motives of The Joker due to the evil smile he gives while asking a seemingly innocent question. Also, we can tell when a character is very sick or hurt due to the condition of their thought bubbles or faces. When they are in extreme pain these things are scraggly and wilted. This gives the reader a more well-rounded idea of the state of affairs throughout the book--more so than a book solely made of text would.

It seems ridiculous to me that Batman is continuously blamed for decisions other people make and crimes other people commit. It is also baffling how, while there is so much devastation and death happening in the city, there are still constant media interruptions about rumors, gossip, celebrities, etc. The only thoughts going through my head at this point are STOP TALKING AND START ACTING! Why is everyone wasting time talking and speculating and debating about right and wrong when it makes no difference? The only RIGHT thing to do would be to act now and go to help the people who have been hurt and try to prevent more injuries and destruction.