Word: comicality
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...Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's second chapter in his revival of the DC Comics franchise, will hit theaters with all the hoopla and fanboy avidity of the summer season's earlier movies based on comic books. It's the fifth, and three of the first four (Iron Man, Wanted and Hellboy II) have been terrific or just short of it. (The Incredible Hulk: not so hot.) It's been one of the best summers in memory for flat-out blockbuster entertainment, and in the wow category, the Nolan film doesn't disappoint. True to format, it has a crusading hero...
...grip of a mordant masterpiece. That feeling will pass, as the film spends too many of its final moments setting up the series' third installment. The chill will linger, though. The Dark Knight is bound to haunt you long after you've told yourself, Aah, it's only a comic-book movie...
...effects and visual flourishes not only inspired some of the finest science fiction films of the 20th century, such as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey; the unique aesthetics of the film left its mark on numerous fields of popular culture, from comic books such as Superman to music videos by Madonna...
Along the way he twisted an aged form--the travel narrative--into something uniquely American. Twain didn't just describe exotic sights; he thoroughly reimagined them with self-deprecation and enough comic invention to keep the reader guessing what really happened. He also demolished the writerly veneration of the Old World at the expense of the New. Yes, Americans could be boorish and loud, but Europe could be tired and sad. Be proud, he said to the home folks. Besides, the food over here is lousy...
...commentator on serious matters, the funnyman as our collective conscience who can utter uncomfortable truths that more solemn critics evade. In an election year when so many Americans are getting their news from nontraditional sources, Twain is the godfather of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as well as the comic voices who influenced them, from Lenny Bruce to Richard Pryor to Kurt Vonnegut. And Twain, with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, created the literary dna that helped shape race relations in America over the past century...