Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again

This comic combines superheroes from a number of older series. I have not read any of those older series and so it was difficult for me to understand what exactly was going on. I recognized the names of most of the superheroes, and the costumes, however my lack of knowledge regarding established relationships among them made reading this a bit frustrating. Sometimes I would know what was going on and then for a majority of the second book I was completely lost. I found myself again in the third book. The news casts were helpful and humorous, certainly a commentary on what our future might look like in a media sense: overly sexual and lacking in substantial content. I do not understand exactly the role of the Superchix, were they just a group of hot girls appropriating the super hero image for horny teenage boys and men of the time? Also, though it is clearly important that the president is computer generated and does not exist (I believe the real president is Lex Luthor, correct?) the book does not go into how people react to this fact other than immediate responses to the glitch during his presidential address.
To address the illustrations, I have mixed emotions. At first I was not a fan of the style of drawings. I generally do not like the mixture of hand drawings with digital components. However, sometimes the mixture of digital backgrounds and sketchy drawings was very affective. Specifically, I enjoyed the spread on pages 34/35 because of the layering of the newscasts and menial conversations over the silhouette of Batman and Superman. I enjoyed page 59 because of the simplicity of the digital components with the silhouette of Catgirl and The Atom. On the other hand, on page 80 the long panel to the left with superman I do not like because of the pixelation of the colors on his cape, which was certainly intentional, yet I find that it looks like a mistake or a cheap printing job. This is the case in a number of panels. Another example of a panel that did not do it for me is on page 118, specifically I do not like how Superwoman's shorts are blurry because nothing else is blurry and so this looks like a mistake. To end on a positive note, though, my favorite panel is certainly on page 133, the top panel, with Plastic man. Here, the use of digital coloring is brilliant, vibrant and energetic. It reminds me of "Fear an Loathing in Las Vegas", which is perfect, because the character is totally trippy and insane. Plastic Man might be my favorite character, though he plays a small part.