Lynn Varley's artwork feels less consistent in this sequel, and the cultural references that were used to effect in the original are so frequent here -- ranging from MAD Magazine's Alfred E. Newman to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and often only unconvincingly suggestive of their real-life counterparts -- that their inclusion, where not obviously drawing parallels to post-9/11 politics, seems ineffective and a distraction. And this within a story already chaotic for attempting to capture the noise of American culture and public opinion while simultaneously catching readers up on the aged incarnations of other members of the Justice League. Still, the struggle for heroes to again find themselves and their purpose is as engaging here as it was in The Dark Knight Returns but the book may have found more success and a more receptive audience if it had been branded as a Justice League title and not as a sibling of the brilliant 1986 Dark Knight series.
