Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (also referred to as DK2) is a Batman mini-series by Frank Miller with Lynn Varley. It is a sequel to Miller's 1986 miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. The series was originally published as a three-issue limited series (November 2001 - July 2002) by DC Comics. Like its predecessor, this story, which explores the relationship between Batman and his original Robin, Dick Grayson, takes place in a timeline that is not considered canonical in the current continuity of DC Comics. Told in a different visual style than The Dark Knight Returns, with more color and the characters drawn in a more cartoonish manner, DK2 works best as a commentary on what Miller perceived of the politics of the era and as a reaction of sorts to the grim and gritty movement he himself set in motion with his 1986 Batman. DK2 perhaps is a parody of what Miller views as a trend in comics to "bring a superficial reality to superheroes" to which he is vocally opposed.