fade
Staff member
I just read this for the first time. So, first a review. This is a historically significant book that reintroduced the more dark, violent Batman that existed before the CCA, and is more or less credited (with Watchmen) as marking the beginning of the modern age of comic books. The story was very interesting. Frank Miller's art is hit-or-miss. Sometimes his panels are really confusing, and the minimalist text adds to that confusion. The use of metaphor wavers between cool (the storm) and a bit tacky. In fact, that was probably the book's biggest problem. It got muddy and confusing sometimes. The use of many tiny panels added to the confusion, I think.
But on to my question: was Alfred's stroke natural, or did Batman kill him? If it's natural, it's a bit of a corny coincidence. Yet killing Alfred would be totally out of character (and unnecessary). But then there's Alfred's words. "Of course. How utterly proper," all within scenes of Batman destroying all possible evidence. It could be interpreted both ways. 1) He just happened to die, and felt it was proper. 2) He realized batman was destroying him, too, yet felt it was proper.
I'm sure this has been addressed before. I didn't find anything on a quick google search, though.
But on to my question: was Alfred's stroke natural, or did Batman kill him? If it's natural, it's a bit of a corny coincidence. Yet killing Alfred would be totally out of character (and unnecessary). But then there's Alfred's words. "Of course. How utterly proper," all within scenes of Batman destroying all possible evidence. It could be interpreted both ways. 1) He just happened to die, and felt it was proper. 2) He realized batman was destroying him, too, yet felt it was proper.
I'm sure this has been addressed before. I didn't find anything on a quick google search, though.
