frank miller
Benjamin W. Spaulding
work
the dark knight returns hooked me to him and i've just recently strarted
reading his martha washington "give me liberty" work
i also plan on starting sin city
i ask because i know he did alot of work for dc and heard a rumor that he
had another batman story up his sleeve
i'd appreciate a point in the direction of some of his other works
thanx
--
Benjamin W. Spaulding
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
Email: gte...@prism.gatech.edu
DHarayda
>work
>the dark knight returns hooked me to him and i've just recently strarted
>reading his martha washington "give me liberty" work
>i also plan on starting sin city
>i ask because i know he did alot of work for dc and heard a rumor that he
>had another batman story up his sleeve
>i'd appreciate a point in the direction of some of his other works
>thanx
>
Return of the Dark knight, the best comic story ever told, and Daredevil's Born
Again, far far better than the Watchmen, and it is told in such a way, that it
might be anyone it was happening to, not just some super-hero in a "funny book"
------------------
Proffesor Zoom "The Reverse Flash,The other Doctor of Doom"
-------------------
dhar...@aol.com
tphile
DHarayda wrote:
> >i was just wondering if anyone can point me to some great frank miller
> >work
> >the dark knight returns hooked me to him and i've just recently strarted
> >reading his martha washington "give me liberty" work
> >i also plan on starting sin city
> >i ask because i know he did alot of work for dc and heard a rumor that he
> >had another batman story up his sleeve
> >i'd appreciate a point in the direction of some of his other works
> >thanx
> >
>
> Return of the Dark knight, the best comic story ever told, and Daredevil's Born
> Again, far far better than the Watchmen, and it is told in such a way, that it
> might be anyone it was happening to, not just some super-hero in a "funny book"
>
check out the miller fan websites and you'll find a list of his work
then check all of the above.
did you get batman: year one?
300
All Sin City books
Elektra
his issue of SPAWN
Jeremy Henderson
<gte...@prism.gatech.edu> wrote:
>i was just wondering if anyone can point me to some great frank miller
>work
>the dark knight returns hooked me to him and i've just recently strarted
>reading his martha washington "give me liberty" work
>i also plan on starting sin city
>i ask because i know he did alot of work for dc and heard a rumor that he
>had another batman story up his sleeve
>i'd appreciate a point in the direction of some of his other works
>thanx
Besides Dark Knight he also did Batman: Year One and Ronin for DC (as
well as others I'm not remembering, I'm sure).
He also did Hard Boiled for Dark Horse(?), but Geoff Darrow's art
really stole that show.
Aaron Severson
Benjamin W. Spaulding <gte...@prism.gatech.edu> wrote:
>i was just wondering if anyone can point me to some great frank miller
>work
>the dark knight returns hooked me to him and i've just recently strarted
>reading his martha washington "give me liberty" work
>i also plan on starting sin city
>i ask because i know he did alot of work for dc and heard a rumor that he
>had another batman story up his sleeve
>i'd appreciate a point in the direction of some of his other works
Miller's first Batman work was a holiday story in a DC Christmas special,
circa 1980, although he didn't write it (it was written by Denny O'Neil).
If you've read THE DARK KNIGHT, you probably already know about his
BATMAN: YEAR ONE, a four-issue storyline that appeared in BATMAN #404-#407
in 1987, reprinted as a trade paperback. The art is by David Mazzucchelli
and Richmond Lewis, and it's a superb story. Some hold it superior to
DARK KNIGHT, although really it's just _different_ -- it's a gritty,
realistic look at Batman's earliest days, rather than the epic finale of
DARK KNIGHT.
Miller also wrote a SPAWN/BATMAN special with art by Todd McFarlane, but
it's a phoned-in effort, not really worth seeking out unless you're a big
McFarlane fan.
Before DARK KNIGHT, Miller did a series for DC called RONIN, reprinted as
a trade paperback. It's an interesting story about a dishonored medieval
samurai revived in a decaying 21st century world to renew his battle with
an ancient demon, arising from Miller's fascination with Japanese samurai
movies and manga (especially LONE WOLF AND CUB) and his artistic interest
in French artist Mobius. It's excellent comics, although it's more
oblique and less dramatically satisfying than his Batman work.
He did a four-issue Wolverine mini-series for Marvel, with writer Chris
Claremont, an exploration of the character's background in Japan. It's an
entertaining story, although the art is better than the script.
Miller's other most famous work, aside from Batman, is his work on
Marvel's DAREDEVIL. Miller became the penciller on DAREDEVIL, with inks
by Klaus Janson, with DD #158, around 1979. He took over the writing as
well with issue #168, and wrote the title through issue #191; Janson
eventually took over most of the art, initially over Miller's rough
breakdowns. It's a superb run, well worth seeking out.
Marvel reprinted part of the Miller-pencilled run (#159-#164,
written by Roger Mackenzie) as the DAREDEVIL: MARKED FOR DEATH trade
paperback; Miller's first major storyline, setting up the villainous
Kingpin as Daredevil's arch enemy (originally in DD #169-#172, with a
follow-up in #180) was reprinted as DAREDEVIL: GANG WAR and a two-issue
team-up with the Punisher was reprinted as CHILD'S PLAY. Miller also did
a one-shot graphic novel with artist Bill Sienkiewicz, entitled LOVE AND
WAR.
Miller's most famous creation, however, was the assassin Elektra,
Daredevil's former lover, who debuted in the first issue Miller wrote
(#168). Her story, which was an ongoing plot through Miller's penultimate
issue (#190), was later recut (with some new dialogue and narration) into
the four-issue ELEKTRA SAGA mini-series, also reprinted as a trade
paperback; it's rather choppy, owing to the omission of all the rest of
the stories during that run, so it's not the best way to read the story.
Miller revived Elektra for an eight-issue mini-series from Marvel's Epic
line called ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN, with bizarre, impressionistic art by Bill
Sienkiewicz (the story was later reprinted in trade paperback), and then
in the 1990 graphic novel ELEKTRA LIVES AGAIN, a hardcover graphic album
(also later reprinted in a far cheaper paperback in normal comic size),
which has breathtaking art.
Miller returned to DAREDEVIL for a one-shot story in #220, followed by a
run from #226-#233 with art by David Mazzucchelli. #227-#233 is a saga
called "Born Again," in which the Kingpin learns Daredevil's secret
identity and systematically destroys his life. It's a superb storyline by
every standard, and must reading. It was reprinted as a trade paperback,
now out of print for several years.
Miller's Martha Washington saga began in GIVE ME LIBERTY and continued in
the MARTHA WASHINGTON GOES TO WAR and MARTHA WASHINGTON SAVES THE WORLD
mini-series. There are also two one-shot specials, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTHA
WASHINGTON and MARTHA WASHINGTON STRANDED IN SPACE, all with excellent art
by Dave Gibbons. They're not Miller's best work: they're exciting
adventure stories, but Miller's social satire is threadbare and the plot
of the later mini-series (cribbed in no small way from Masamune Shiro's
APPLESEED) rather tiresome.
Miller and Walt Simonson did a one-shot ROBOCOP/TERMINATOR special for
Dark Horse. It's fun, but it's forgettable. Miller also was responsible
for the comics adaptation of the Robocop films (he wrote the excerable
ROBOCOP 2 and 3).
Miller has done two projects with artist Geoff Darrow: HARD-BOILED, a
cynical and exceptionally violent story about a man who doesn't realize
that he's a robot, and THE BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT (soon to be an
animated series), an amusing but lightweight pastiche of Japanese pop
culture icons Astro Boy, Giant Robo, and Godzilla. Darrow's art is fun to
look at, and from interviews apparently had quite a positive influence on
Miller's development as an artist, but there's no real substance here.
Miller's more recent projects are SIN CITY and 300. SIN CITY is Miller's
great love, a dark, film-noirish series of crime stories. The black and
white art is striking and exceptionally good, but Miller's plots for these
series doesn't live up to the tight plots of the James M. Cain and Raymond
Chandler pulp crime stories that inspired him. There have been a lot of
minis, and a couple of one-shot specials. The best example is probably
the first SIN CITY collection, reprinting a story originally serialized in
DARK HORSE COMICS PRESENTS, about a brutal but curiously honorable man
named Marv going to great lengths to avenge the death of a beautiful woman
he knew for only one night. My feeling about SIN CITY to date is that
if you've read one story you've basically read them all -- if you really
enjoy the first book, you're likely to enjoy the rest, but if you don't,
don't expect a great improvement in the subsequent arcs. Be warned that
all the SIN CITY storylines are _exceptionally_ violent, and some
segments, like most of the last third of the Marv story, are definitely
not for the faint of heart.
300 is a historical dramatization of the last stand of the Spartan army,
drawn in a style similar to SIN CITY (albeit in color). It's good,
although I'd wait for the (inevitable) trade paperback.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
argent __ __ ____ ___ ___ ____
arg...@primenet.com /__)/__) / / / / /_ /\ / /_ /
/ / \ / / / / /__ / \/ /___ /-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Baytor
> Miller also wrote a SPAWN/BATMAN special with art by Todd McFarlane, but
> it's a phoned-in effort, not really worth seeking out unless you're a big
> McFarlane fan.
>
I actually thought it was a fun book. Quite a number of funny lines (my favorite: "you're even dumber than Clark"), and it managed to put to shame just about
every issue of Spawn written by McFarlane.
> Miller's Martha Washington saga began in GIVE ME LIBERTY and continued in
> the MARTHA WASHINGTON GOES TO WAR and MARTHA WASHINGTON SAVES THE WORLD
> mini-series. There are also two one-shot specials, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTHA
> WASHINGTON and MARTHA WASHINGTON STRANDED IN SPACE, all with excellent art
> by Dave Gibbons. They're not Miller's best work: they're exciting
> adventure stories, but Miller's social satire is threadbare and the plot
> of the later mini-series (cribbed in no small way from Masamune Shiro's
> APPLESEED) rather tiresome.
>
The social satire of the first one was wonderfully over-the-top. Where else would you find the Arayan Thrust--the future of America is white, male, & gay. I
still crack up at the giant Big Boy tank in the Amazon War.
Second one was alright, but heavily derative of Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED. The third one has me hoping that there won't be another Martha Washington book.
--
Steven "Baytor" Clubb -- ICQ #21127064
"Inspired by the most logical race in the galaxy, the Vulcans, breeding will be permitted once every seven years. For many of you, this will mean much less
breeding. For me, much, much more." -- the Comic Guy
jose_d...@my-deja.com
mini-series "Daredevil: The Man Without Fear", written by FM, with
art by John Romita, Jr. It's basically a retelling of the early years
of Daredevil's career, based on (from what I've heard) a script FM
was asked to write for a DD movie. I do recall some of the continuity
conscious getting worked up about it when it came out, but it's a
fairly good standalone story introducing the DD characters.
Jose
In article <7qiddr$lfo$1...@nnrp02.primenet.com>,
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Murray K. Roach
> >i was just wondering if anyone can point me to some great frank miller
> >work
> >the dark knight returns hooked me to him and i've just recently strarted
> >reading his martha washington "give me liberty" work
> >i also plan on starting sin city
> >i ask because i know he did alot of work for dc and heard a rumor that he
> >had another batman story up his sleeve
> >i'd appreciate a point in the direction of some of his other works
> >thanx
> >
>
> Return of the Dark knight, the best comic story ever told, and Daredevil's Born
> Again, far far better than the Watchmen, and it is told in such a way, that it
> might be anyone it was happening to, not just some super-hero in a "funny book"
>
> ------------------
> Proffesor Zoom "The Reverse Flash,The other Doctor of Doom"
> -------------------
> dhar...@aol.com
DD 227-233 are excellent (not Watchmen, but excellent);
His entire first run (158-191) is still the definitive Daredevil run, even though
Miller didn't assume full writing chores until 168;
He also did the story for DD 219 (with John Buscema art)
Elektra: Assassin 1-8 w/Bill Sienkiewicz
Elektra Lives Again - beautiful hardcover, with the awesome Lynn Varley colours;
Wolverine Limited Series 1-4 - Miller only did the artwork, but this is by far the
best Wolverine story ever produced
He also did Spectacular Spider-Man 27 & 28 as well as a couple of Amazing
Spider-Man annuals (13 & 14??) and Marvel Fanfare 18 (with a Roger Stern Captain
America story)
For DC...
DC Special Series #21 - Miller's first Batman artwork in a story with Santa Claus!
Ronin mini-series - not very well remembered by most folks, but a cool futuristic
tale about a master-less samurai;
Batman 404-407 - Year One with David Mazzucchelli (same artist as the DD 'Born
Again' run)
DKR - you know this one!
For Dark Horse:
Whew, where to begin?
A ton of Sin City's - the best of which IMO is 'A Dame to Kill For', although most
of them are pretty enjoyable to the die hard Miller fan.
A bunch of Martha Washington mini's - started out well, but the last one-shot was
no hell, even with Dave Gibbons pictures
Hard Boiled 1-3 - awesome (Geof Darrow!) - although really violent
Robocop vs. Terminator 1-4 - with Walt Simonson artwork
The Big Guy and Rusty the Robot - don't own this, but I think it's also with Geof
Darrow
And, of course, his coup de gras, '300' - which is just as good as everything
you've heard about it (that's why it won the Eisner!)
For Image:
Spawn #11 and Spawn/Batman - both with Todd 'Wonderboy' McFarlane artwork - these
are not vintage Miller by any stretch of the imagination, but if you can find 'em
in the dollar bin, buy 'em.
He also did an oversized book called 'Bad Boy' for Oni Press a couple of years ago,
which was also no great work of literature, but it did boast some pretty wicked
Simon Bisley artwork. Good luck in tracking down some more Miller.
Regards,
Murray
die-hard Frank Miller fan (and Walt Simonson too!!)
GregoryD
DHarayda <dhar...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:19990831185617...@ng-fh1.aol.com...
> >i was just wondering if anyone can point me to some great frank miller
> >work
> >the dark knight returns hooked me to him and i've just recently strarted
> >reading his martha washington "give me liberty" work
> >i also plan on starting sin city
> >i ask because i know he did alot of work for dc and heard a rumor that he
> >had another batman story up his sleeve
> >i'd appreciate a point in the direction of some of his other works
> >thanx
> >
>
> Return of the Dark knight, the best comic story ever told, and Daredevil's
Born
> Again, far far better than the Watchmen,
Excuse me, but you are out of you damned mind. DKR was a great story, but
it was one which went to great lengths to butcher other characters to make
the
ending seem believable. Watchmen was THE classic, and beats DKR in every
respect other than not having Batman in it.
> and it is told in such a way, that it
> might be anyone it was happening to, not just some super-hero in a "funny
book"
Oh yeah. Just anyone gets into a big tank, rides around shooting at
mutants,
and gets into a fight with a fake Superman. The book, because it was trying
to
be grim and serious, needed even more suspension of belief than most.
marshall
is a MUST!. I also got a kick out of "Ronnin", a Miller mini-series
I believe is available in a TB.
Benjamin W. Spaulding <gte...@prism.gatech.edu> wrote in message
news:7qhltt$q...@catapult.gatech.edu...