A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE to the comics auteur… By JASON CZERNICH Love it or hate it, 1986 was a watershed year for comics. The medium 40 years ago gained a higher mainstream media profile as it experienced a tonal shift in the superhero genre. One of the creators largely responsible for this new direction was Frank Miller, who was born Jan. 27, 1957. Here are 13 REASONS 1986 was the most significant year in comics for this legendary writer/artist: — 1. Miller Built on Past Successes. By the time 1986 rolled around, Miller already had an impressive track record, having revitalized Daredevil at Marvel in the late ’70s/early ’80s and published Ronin through DC Comics in 1983. Achieving critical success at the top two publishers put Miller in an advantageous position to produce even more groundbreaking works for them. — 2. Daredevil: Love & War. Miller returned to the character he made his bones with in this excellent graphic novel, filled with expressive, painted art by Bill Sienkiewicz. This one-off story heightened the ongoing war between Daredevil and the Kingpin but was often glossed over during its initial release, in light of Miller’s other projects in 1986. In recent years, however, it’s been reprinted in different formats, and people are discovering this hidden gem while appreciating how it fits into the larger Man Without Fear saga that Miller had been creating. This work also showed just how much Miller had evolved as a writer since his earlier breakout work with Matt Murdock. — 3. Elektra: Assassin. This miniseries was another Miller/Sienkiewicz collaboration that pushed into more experimental territory and felt like, quite possibly, Miller’s most surreal foray into sequential art up until that point. Miller wasn’t just putting out high-quality work in 1986 — he was pushing the boundaries of what was possible in the comic book medium. — 4. Daredevil: Born Again. Along with artist David Mazzucchelli, Miller crafted what many readers and critics consider to be Daredevil’s signature tale. This deconstruction and reconstruction of the Man Without Fear’s world helped influence similar approaches to other mainstream comics characters, something that was particularly utilized at DC and Marvel in the ’90s, with mixed success. — 5. Batman: Year One. Pairing with Mazzucchelli again later that year, Miller penned what many in the comics industry believe to be the Caped...