Frank Miller and Women
I really don't like the way Frank Miller writes women. All of them are straight out of The Maltese Falcon, and it's cool once in a while, but literally every female character that he has in Batman sounds exactly the same. Or at least, specifically in this issue, it's the weird narration that runs through the whole bar scene that could've been completely left out and it would've been way better.
For instance:
"The music is loud and bad. It hits you like a kick in the crotch" "And it just keeps kicking."
"The whole place reeks of stale smoke and forgotten vomit."
I think we could tell that from the fact it's a biker/white trash bar, that lets someone dressed in all leather and fishnet serve them.
"One of the old ones soils himself. He doesn't even know he does it."
Really? Really? ... WHY?!
Above all it's just the ridiculousness that gets to me. For a writer who made a MARK on Batman, an everlasting MARK on the idea that Batman is a MAN with no SUPERPOWERS, but a DRIVE and an EGO and he could be any one of US, rich and driven to that EXTREME. The idea that he retires like us, and that he begins like us, and that he questions his motives like us and that he needs help like us and that he likes to do things on his own like us. It's beautiful. It's brilliant. And then to just throw in some random leather girl in literally the worst place she could ever work - like this is the norm - well, come on. Leave that in Sin City Frank, that doesn't belong in the Batman that you've created.