I didn't even read this article before writing my hello world article and yet we talk about many of the same things; for example, how Batman is just a man. Johnson writes, "Batman, if anything, is the possibility of what a person can be." He talks about how Batman "is a man...with no superpowers." Notice how Johnson uses the italicized 'can' to emphasize his point or his use of a trailing off '...' to drive the point home that Batman literally has no superpowers...and we love Batman for that!
Another example of italicized sentences being a powerful tool of conveying a meaning is in Johnson's line, "The obsessive manhunter is balanced by the humane knight." In this instance, Johnson talks about the mind-frame of Batman and the parallels between the dark knight and Two-Face, a split-personality disorder patient. Batman, in essence, balances his psychotic and obsessive hunt for crime with his humanity, thus separating himself from his enemies.
Often, Johnson will write a dense paragraph, skip a line, write a single sentence, then skip a line and start a paragraph anew. This adds great emphasis on the points he is trying to make. The single sentence floating in-between two paragraphs jumps out at the reader, screaming importance. In three, long and detailed sentences, Johnson writes about the Joker and his challenge to Batman - how he challenges his intellect, wit and sense of justice. After this paragraph, Johnson writes, "But that should be no surprise" alone after the previous paragraph ended. Immediately, the reader picks up on the Joker's identity being shrouded in secret (the subject of the previous paragraph). Not only does it add emphasis, it also poses a sort of question to the reader; "Why isn't it a surprise?" It gently pushes the reader into the next paragraph. Johnson's use of long and short paragraphs, as well as spaces between paragraphs, makes him a strong writer.
I also like how Johnson addresses the reader. He writes, "Right now you may be thinking this sounds ridiculous." I appreciate this sort of writing because the blogger is writing as if he is speaking in an informal and sociable way. While writing this blog, I want to be as personable as possible, so using second person in a sentence is something I want. However, I don't want to write in an unscholarly way and Johnson clearly is personable yet scholarly.
About halfway through the blog post, Johnson uses a graph to show the reader an exchange of dialogue between Superman and Batman. It's really interesting and detailed and Johnson chooses the right lines to examine. For instance, Johnson discusses the dichotomy between the Dark Knight and the Son of Krypton and how the two are reacting to near-death experiences in the graphic novel "Public Enemies." While I liked the use of direct quotes in his blog, I would take it a step further and perhaps show a photo of the desires pages of the comic. Otherwise, Johnson's examination of actual texts of the Dark Knight is greatly appreciated and shows an understanding and knowledge of the source material.
I highly recommend this blog post by Johnson; its insightful, easy to read and just interesting. For now, I'll leave you with the teaser of The Dark Knight Rises...
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