The Four Pillars of FRANK MILLER: Comics Master

The architecture of creativity…

By PETER STONE

Frank Miller turned 68 this week. Here are the four pillars of his incredible career:

STORYTELLING

It’s a tremendously important part of comics and a discipline that many artists study and struggle with their entire careers. Frank Miller turned out to be an expert in telling a story. His pacing in The Dark Knight Returns was masterful. Batman and Robin race across the rooftops, having an intense conversation before leaping across a wide concrete chasm. There is no dialogue in that moment, just a snapshot that became an iconic image from the series.

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When Frank came to NYC and begged Neal Adams to review his portfolio, Neal told him in no uncertain terms that Frank should pick another career. Neal put tracing paper over Frank’s samples and showed him what he should have/could have done. Frank, devastated, went away and worked. Sure enough, he came back. Neal sighed and showed him more storytelling tricks. “And find some photo reference,” Neal said. Frank went away, worked and came back AGAIN. Neal admitted that Frank was learning, getting slightly better. Neal started to show Frank new tricks of the trade. Frank responded with, “No, Neal. You don’t understand. I got work.” Neal laughed and said, “Well, my work is done! Good luck!”

WRITING

Within a couple of years, Frank had drawn Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and, of course, Daredevil. After only a few issues, thanks to Denny O’Neil, Frank started writing DD, and even though the sales did not skyrocket, they did start to tick up. Frank was allowed to channel his inner love: crime stories. Daredevil became a far more interesting character. Frank gave Daredevil his greatest villain, the Kingpin, who’d been a Spidey mainstay. Which leads us right into…

NOIR

Miller obviously loves and is tremendously influenced by both film noir and the noir writing of the 1940s and ’50s. Writers like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammet, and (from what I see), Jim Thompson. Dark, gritty stories about men who can take a punch… who can survive the impossible… who cannot turn down the beautiful femme fatale… and who will sacrifice themselves for their moral code. Frank was the first writer/artist who gave us Batman fighting Superman… and winning. Batman defeated Superman? Impossible, but the fight was epic! Frank’s noir stylings on Daredevil, Batman, and especially Sin City became top-selling comics. Born Again was a crime story at its heart. His All-Star Batman and Robin was a dark, gritty crime story.

Not only was Frank influenced by noir, he also understood and was influenced by the dialogue of those movies and books. “And I… I have taught him that a man without hope is a man without fear.” “There’s nothing wrong with you Joker… that I can’t fix with my hands.” “Worth dying for. Worth killing for. Worth going to hell for. Amen.” It’s some of the best dialogue in the past 40-50 years. Frank gave us a new vision of heroes. They didn’t have superpowers… they were tough, hardcore guys who could take a punch. Or seventeen.

INFLUENCES

Sure, Neal Adams was an influence. But at Frank’s heart was Will Eisner. As with Eisner, Frank told human stories. Was it the best art in the business? Probably not, but it was imminently readable. Will Eisner’s Spirit played with logos, film techniques, and tough 1940s heroes who could survive seemingly anything. Frank used Eisner for his Daredevil run and even admitted that Elektra was based on Eisner’s femme fatales.

After the Sin City movie (which Frank got to direct and write), Frank was given the opportunity to do The Spirit movie. Although a financial failure, it featured some of the most beautiful actresses working at the time. He did it in black and white, with only the Spirit’s red tie as a splash of color. It was a labor of love, full of sincerity. Maybe one day, Frank will get a chance to direct again… and I’ll be right there in line to see it on the first day.

Frank Miller is a comic legend who has been somewhat quiet recently, but he’s given us so much quality work that I really can’t complain. Daredevil, Batman, Elektra, Martha Washington, Sin City, Hard Boiled, and so much more. Once a year, I read The Dark Knight Returns and Daredevil: Born Again. They inspire me and make me want to write more.

Frank Miller is one of my heroes, and I hope he continues to write and draw. I’m sure he has many more brilliant ideas.

MORE

— Making the Impossible Choice: DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN or BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Click here.

— FRANK MILLER’s and NEAL ADAMS’ BATMAN: Two Spectacular, Conflicting Visions of the Dark Knight. Click here.

Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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8 Comments

  1. While Adams was one of the greatest comic book artists of all time, and a heroic advocate for Artists creative rights, he was so very short sighted when it came to any other style than his own. He thought every artist should take only his approach and style. This is evident in the art put out by other artists that worked at his studio. Thank goodness Miller didn’t get discouraged by Adam’s narrow-minded comments. Both Miller and Adams are treasures to the Comic Book community. Too bad they never collaborated on a Batman book.

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  2. I thought it was the red tie, not “red sneakers,” that featured a splash of color in Frank Miller’s film.

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  3. I like Neal Adams early ’70s art on Batman way better than Frank Miller’s ’80s Batman art

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  4. One thing I am constantly puzzled by is how some of Frank Miller’s independent work hasn’t been considered for film! I know “Hard Boiled” was in the conversation a few times… but it’s such an insanely rich visual story, I don’t know how you could capture that to film. But the “Martha Washington” series? That’d make for an EXCELLENT streaming series! (Discounting the fact I was not a HUGE fan of the concluding story…)

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  5. Frank has done a lot..like George perez who I went to high school with and introduced to his first comiccon and did his first fanzine with,and trevor von eeden who I discovered when he came for an interview with me at DC comics. My history with frank..we used to hang at the village comic art shop in 1976 with joe jusko. Frank was struggling and broke. I lent him 40 bucks one day for food..told him listen I’ll get you an interview with Vince colletta at DC comics where I worked. He went. Saw joe orlando..rest is history..but he still owes me the money…lol..you guys should interview me for more stories .

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  6. I’m a little disappointed to not see a mention for Jim Shooter in Miller’s development; Miller has mentioned several times that Shooter spent quite a bit of time (that he didn’t have to) working with him early on, reviewing his work, and imparting technique about storytelling. But it always seems like Shooter is the pariah, never to be praised or even mentioned…

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