Posts in category Frank Miller

Frank Miller – Part Four

Jun15
2011

Written by catc1731

For Frank Miller the 1990s had produced two of his most ground-breaking works, Sin City and 300, and the two which arguably drew the biggest critical acclaim when transformed into big budget movies during the next decade.

Miller’s biggest project as the world moved into the new century was the three part sequel to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Entitled Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the story pushes back the boundaries of superhero comics as a whole range of DC characters are pitted against each other – Batman, Green Lantern, The Atom and others on one side and Superman, Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel on the side of a sham government, controlled by Lex Luthor. It’s a great depiction of superhero activity in the modern world and the appearance of Green Lantern as a God-like character towards the end of the story is the icing on the cake.

In 2005 Miller wrote another Batman comic, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder which ensured yet another change of direction for the story. This comic deals in detail with the initiation of Robin/Dick Grayson ans also features The Justice League (Superman and Wonder Woman are now back on the right side). Although commercially successful, this comic series has been continually panned by critics, most of whose complaints seem to centre on the fact that Batman uses too much violence towards his enemies. He is also briefly violent to a very young Dick Graham. It’s worth mentioning that although the storyline and dialogue have been criticised, Jim Lee’s artwork has always been singled out for praise.

The series is still actually ongoing and its erratic release schedule does not appear to have affected its popularity or sales, although no issue has sold as many as the first (around 300,000 copies).

Miller had another attempt at film directing go awry with the film version of Will Eisner’s The Spirit in 2008 but a sequel to Sin City still seems to be on the cards.

Miller is a comic book artist clearly popular enough to sell stories on the strength of his name alone and although many critics do not like his more recent work, no one can deny he is one of the masters of inventive re-tellings and his influence is recognised by all.

Tagged all star batman, dark knight, dark knight strikes again, frank miller biography, green lantern, the spirit

Frank Miller – Part Three

Jun08
2011

Written by catc1731

By the early 1990s, Miller was established enough to be able to pick and chose the projects he would work on. One of the most impressive endeavours was the three part mini-series Hard Boiled, an ultra-detailed piece of art whose storyline took a back seat to the incredibly violent and gory scenes which accompanied it.

It was also during the early 1990s that Miller began what some might call a love-hate relationship with Hollywood. He was actually involved with writing the screenplays for RoboCops 2 and 3 and it was his treatment at the hands of unimpressed critics which led him to state that he would not allow Hollywood to adapt any more of his work. As we shall shortly see, this did not turn out to be the case.

Sin City was Miller’s next big breakthrough – a collection of dark crime stories based around

Sin City

a fictional city. The artwork was again a new style for Miller and brought a whole new level of critical acclaim to his work. The style was reminiscent of earlier work, particularly the Dark Knight Returns, but it added new elements and techniques along with an adult-oriented storyline.

In 2005 Sin City was made into a big budget movie, directed by Miller, Robert Rodriguez and with input from Quentin Tarantino. It featured a number of big ticket actors and actresses including Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba.

It was Rodriguez who persuaded Miller to allow the adaptation and fortunately for all concerned, it was critically well received and commercially successful. Check out the trailer below to see how well the movie measued up to the comic book style.

In a similar vein, Miller used the historical character of Leonidas of Sparta and a 1998 mini-series to re-tell the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, again in a very stylistic manner. In 2007 Zack Snyder, himself a comic book fan, directed the big budget movie with impressive results. Again Miller was involved with the production.

Snyder used an innovative chroma key technique to help bring the style of the comic book to the big screen. Have a look at some of the finished results below.

Part Four follows….

Tagged 300, biography, comic books, film adaptations, frank miller, graphic novel, hard boiled, mini-series, sin city

Frank Miller – Part Two

Jun01
2011

Written by catc1731

Miller’s association with Daredevil lasted for around two years during which time he wrote

Frank Miller's Ronin

and drew the comic, providing it with his own dark themes. Elektra was introduced (and killed) during this period but against Miller’s wishes was revived from the dead. When he left Daredevil the comic was one of Marvel’s top sellers.

Before Miller became inextricably inked with Batman later in the 1980s, he provided storylines and artwork for the X-men spin off Wolverine and then, in 1983, Ronin. This atmospheric science-fiction story clearly has similarities to the style later employed in Batman.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was first released as a part mini-series in 1986. The physical quality of the comics were exceptional and the content was an incredibly dark and gritty story following the return of Batman to crime fighting, even though he is in his 50s. This comic and the subsequent graphic novel prompted the film industry to begin remaking Batman movies but the darkness was lacking. Not until the 2005 production Batman Begins did a movie display ‘Miller’ type qualities. The other major Batman comic produced by Miller during this period was Batman: Year One in 1987, a successful and critically acclaimed effort to retell the origins of Batman.

During the last years of the 1980s, Miller returned to working and writing for Daredevil, expanding on themes he has been suggesting earlier. He was also one of the first Western artists to attempt to introduce Japanese Manga to a wider audience, providing the artwork for the covers of Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima’s Lone Wolf and Cub.

This period of his life was also a flashpoint between Miller and the comic book industry who were trying to introduce a ratings system for comics and graphic novels. Along with other notable contemporary artists such as Alan Moore and Howard Chaykin, Miller decided that all his own projects would now be published by the independent Dark Horse Comics. Miller had previously worked for them and both parties attitude to what they regarded as censorship provided them with an ideal basis for Miller’s next projects.

Part Three Follows….

Posted in Writers & Artists - Tagged alan moore, batman, daredevil, dark horse comics, dark knight, frank miller, lone wolf and cub, lynn varley, ronin

Posts in category Frank Miller

Frank Miller – Part Four

Frank Miller – Part Three

Frank Miller – Part Two

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