Frank Miller

Cafe Society
1

I’ve very much enjoyed the limited number of his books I’ve been able to get my hands on. Sin City was an excellent story, I felt. The total insanity of the characters was terrific, and I’d LOVE to see a whole animated series done by him (I know they did a short Batman animated series episode piece, and it was great). Of course, the series would have to be for adults, but so what? And I thought The Dark Knight Returns was good stuff, but the sequel is lacking something.

Any other fans out there who enjoy their Miller time?

2

I really hate it when I do this…stupid computer! I apoligize for the double thread folks, and hope you won’t hold such a fax paus against me.

3

Is it his writing, or his artwork?

For me, it’s all about his artwork.

4

Ah, yes. Miller time! The Martha Washington books are up there among my favorites. Oh, and Tales to Offend - remember this one shot?

I’m in agreement with the lack of inspiration this new Dark Knight book has, though. The first one broke new ground. This one falls short.

5

Daredevil has never been one of my favorite comics, but Miller’s run was fantastic, especially the second series detailing the Kingpin’s scheme to ruin Murdoch’s life. A classic.

6

His graphic novel Ronin is the best graphic novel ever written IMO, and one of my favorite stories ever.

7

I made the mistake of reading a whole bunch of Sin City in a short period of time… NEVER do this… It makes you realize that the stories are alike. Not just in theme but in pacing and structure.
I actually like the DK sequel. I didn’t think the original was all that and have never really cared for the DC universe so my attachment to the past is less so than others.

8

“Sin City” is all about the art. You gotta admit, FM is an AMAZING artist in black & white. The stories are okay, but nowhere close to his Daredevil or Batman stuff.

And I agree with Sealemon on “Ronin” … one of Miller’s underappreciated classics. Wish he’d do more SF, more samurai stuff . . . or more SF/samurai stuff!

9

Heh. Anyone else think the creaters of Samuri Jack are Ronin fans also? Not that I’m implying anything.

10

I think Miller’s writing is pretty strong, based on Daredevil (Born Again), the Dark Knight Returns and Martha Washington.

OTOH, the writing in Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot seemed uninspired. (Nice artwork by his collaborator Geof Darrow though).

Elektra: Assassin was muy bizarro.

(The movie Robocop II was written by Miller as well. It was ok, IMHO.)

There are a number of Sin City books. Which one might you recommend? What’s Hard Boiled like?

11

The original “Sin City” seems to be most people’s favorite, but it’s got the weakest storyline … basically it’s a guy killing a lot of people in various brutal ways, all the while being himself virtually unkillable.

“A Dame to Kill For” is better, I think. It has a more sympathetic hero, and some actual surprises. The follow up, “Big Fat Kill” is actually my favorite … some pretty wacked-out stuff in that one. But it helps to have read the others first. They sort of build on each other. “That Yellow Bastard” starts off great, but loses its way and gets too farfetched toward the end. Still it’s got a cool hero. I haven’t read the others in the series, or “Hard Boiled.” (I should note, by the way, that all the “Sin City” books are INCREDIBLY violent, if that bugs you…)

I forgot all about “Elektra” … man, that WAS tripped out. I don’t know if I ever completely understood it, but I liked it…

12

Thanks Winston.

BTW, the last installment of DK2 is scheduled to be at a comic book store near you on July 31st.
http://www.slushfactory.com/news/content/EpkFFFZEZkbcFfFrhx.php

DC’s DK2 site, http://www.dccomics.com/features/dk2/dk2.html has a sorta amusing flash animation, along with some jpegs.

13

Oh yeah, Batman Year One is also worth a mention.