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What Happened to Frank Miller?

Started by ChrisInBaltimore,

332 posts in this topic

ChrisInBaltimore

ChrisInBaltimore

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I'm a bit young and missed Miller's Daredevil run. About 7 years ago, I read the Frank Miller Visionaries one summer and was blown away by it. I spent the rest of that summer reading everything I could find by Miller.

 

Somehow I missed Born Again. I just read Daredevil 227 and Wow! His writing is incredible. He uses imagery and pacing perfectly. The words just hit you as you turn the page. The story is crafted so smooth it flows from page one to the end. The imagery isn't over the top like a lot of writers. I found myself smiling in awe and appreciation of what was on the page. It was truly incredible. I imagine the rest of my summer will be spent re-reading everything I own and then some by Frank Miller after I finish Born Again.

 

All of this brings me to my next point though: What the heck happened to Frank Miller? As I sit here, my mind keeps coming back to All Star Batman and that god awful film Spirit. The man hasn't written anything of merit in a long time.

 

Did it all go to his head? Was he the Bob Dylan of comics? Did he just fizzle out? If he could write with even a fraction of the skill he shows in DD 227, he'd be doing better than half the industry right now.

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Geek-migration

Geek-migration

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I'm a bit young and missed Miller's Daredevil run. About 7 years ago, I read the Frank Miller Visionaries one summer and was blown away by it. I spent the rest of that summer reading everything I could find by Miller.

 

Somehow I missed Born Again. I just read Daredevil 227 and Wow! His writing is incredible. He uses imagery and pacing perfectly. The words just hit you as you turn the page. The story is crafted so smooth it flows from page one to the end. The imagery isn't over the top like a lot of writers. I found myself smiling in awe and appreciation of what was on the page. It was truly incredible. I imagine the rest of my summer will be spent re-reading everything I own and then some by Frank Miller after I finish Born Again.

 

All of this brings me to my next point though: What the heck happened to Frank Miller? As I sit here, my mind keeps coming back to All Star Batman and that god awful film Spirit. The man hasn't written anything of merit in a long time.

 

Did it all go to his head? Was he the Bob Dylan of comics? Did he just fizzle out? If he could write with even a fraction of the skill he shows in DD 227, he'd be doing better than half the industry right now.

 

Hey now! He might've done some crud lately, but that's no reason to compare him to Bob Dylan. That's harsh!

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shadroch

shadroch

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You've tried Sin City, right?

 

Sin City and 300 were done between Born Again and All-Star Batman. That's two hits among the misses.

 

 

Baseball players make millions for getting it right three out of ten times.

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ChrisInBaltimore

ChrisInBaltimore

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You've tried Sin City, right?

 

Of course (thumbs u

 

I thought the visionaries I bought collected all the Daredevil stuff, but for whaterver reason Born. Again wasn't in the books. I'm not sure why...

 

I think I've read everything else Miller has done.

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Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

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He got divorced from his partner and longtime colorist, Lynn Varley. That probably had a bit to do with it.

 

Both of them seemed to lose it around the same period, DK 2.

 

I liked Varley's colouring on the original DKR, but her work on DK 2 was overwhelmingly loud, headache inducing.

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MatterEaterLad

MatterEaterLad

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He got divorced from his partner and longtime colorist, Lynn Varley. That probably had a bit to do with it.

 

Both of them seemed to lose it around the same period, DK 2.

 

I liked Varley's colouring on the original DKR, but her work on DK 2 was overwhelmingly loud, headache inducing.

 

Yep. That's when we knew the wheels were off for sure.

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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Marital troubles change you. Look at Tiger Woods.

 

I hear he can still be found at nights around the Hell's Kitchen area. I don't know if he drinks a lot or not (I heard he used to). That might have something to do with the creative juices as well.

 

Age also changes you. Neal Adams is a terrific artist and story teller but I don't think he's the same Neal Adams that he was 30 years ago.

 

That's not to say that age makes people's work worse, it's just different and maybe not in the sweet spot that people enjoyed in the past.

 

One finally thing to consider is what else is going on around you.

 

Sometimes greatness has a lot to do with the stage that is set in your surroundings and something that was great 30 years ago may not be perceived the same way today because of everything else going on around it.

 

 

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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He got divorced from his partner and longtime colorist, Lynn Varley. That probably had a bit to do with it.

 

Both of them seemed to lose it around the same period, DK 2.

 

I liked Varley's colouring on the original DKR, but her work on DK 2 was overwhelmingly loud, headache inducing.

 

Yep. That's when we knew the wheels were off for sure.

 

I enjoyed DKR 2 but then I was a Miller fanatic. I'd enjoy any bread crumbs from him. lol

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ChrisInBaltimore

ChrisInBaltimore

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He got divorced from his partner and longtime colorist, Lynn Varley. That probably had a bit to do with it.

 

Both of them seemed to lose it around the same period, DK 2.

 

I liked Varley's colouring on the original DKR, but her work on DK 2 was overwhelmingly loud, headache inducing.

 

Yep. That's when we knew the wheels were off for sure.

 

I enjoyed DKR 2 but then I was a Miller fanatic. I'd enjoy any bread crumbs from him. lol

 

Did you enjoy All Star Batman and Robin?

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