Pull up a chair. Let's you and I have a discussion... 1 1

[Ken Aldred]

I lost interest when I read the Elektra Lives Again graphic novel, back in 1990.

I found the artwork to be quite scratchy and ugly, and an indicator of what was to come from then on.  More into his earlier Kane / Eisner / Krigstein influenced work. Never particularly liked his later chiaroscuro technique.

Currently re-reading his Daredevil comics, which are still brilliant, peak examples of what’s achievable in the medium. 

Edited March 15 by Ken Aldred

[Ken Aldred]

On 3/15/2024 at 11:29 AM, D84 said:

Just remember, you will end up one of the old people. It happens to us all.

 

Yup. Human beings and not robots, and so one’s capabilities and motivations can change or erode significantly. As we saw with Miller as well.

I’m a 60-year-old, and, as I said previously, currently looking back with fondness at his Bronze and Copper Age zenith.

Edited March 15 by Ken Aldred

[shadroch]

I like that Miller draws his signature rather than signs it.  

Edited March 15 by shadroch

[Poekaymon]

His Wolverine Limited and Daredevil were my introduction to comics in the early 80s.  DKR is similarly one of my fondest memories from the 80s.  Ronin was decent.  I quit comics around the time of Sin City but the first few were decent.  Either way, I'd say the answer is sometime in the 90s.

When I came back to collecting in 2018 I immediately grabbed Absolute editions of DKR, DK Strikes Again, and Master Race.  Promptly sold the latter two because I couldn't even bear to have them on the shelf.  What works for me is just thinking of Miller strictly as 80s Miller.

[Strange Trip]

I agree with most folks here that the Miller wave got high with Daredevil and Wolverine, with the crest for me being Dark Knight, Elektra Assassin, Born Again, all in 86? And Year One in 87.  Everything after that just does not achieve the high water mark, so it’s easy to be disappointed.  I don’t know that I think Elektra lives again, 300, or the first few Sin City storylines “ suck”, they just are not peak Miller.  I just got back into comics this year and picked up Master Race,  Not sure if it sucks, just seems average, which for an 80s Miller kid is disappointing.

[shadroch]

I think he lost it when writing Robocop 2.    Perhaps I shouldn't say I lost it as much as he moved in directions I didn't appreciate.

[DougC]

Frank Millers art and Bob Dylans singing follow the same trajectory.

[D84]

On 3/15/2024 at 10:20 AM, DougC said:

Frank Millers art and Bob Dylans singing follow the same trajectory.

Bob Dylan is one of the best song writers of all time, but could never sing.

[SeniorSurfer]

On 3/15/2024 at 12:27 AM, szav said:

Are you saying whoever paid $4,300 for this after he "evolved his style quite a bit" didn't get a great deal?

 

 

It takes a true, trained ninja with exceptional skills to properly balance a coat button there at the tip of... ah... and then go into battle with sword drawn.

[rjpb]

His writing began to decline in the late 80s when editors/publishers just let him do whatever he wanted. I actually like the direction his art was taking by the time he started on the Sin City series, but he just kept going, getting looser and scratchier until by around 2000 it was just garbage. I had stopped buying anything he did by the time Dark Knight Strikes Again came out. Even without the decline in art, his writing in the Sin City storylines had gotten dumb and redundant by the end of the 90s.

[F For Fake]

I actually enjoyed DK2. It can't hold a candle to the impact of the original, but as far as being bugnuts crazy, it's a really good time. I don't mind his art in that, though it's definitely a step down from the early Sin City work, which to me was the "final form" of his evolution", and the pinnacle of his art. I love Daredevil, Ronin, and DKR, but to me, Sin City was the purest expression of what he'd been trying to do all along, and I think it's beautiful. 

I don't like to mock his work of the last few years, for a couple of reasons:

1. Looking at the guy, I get the feeling that he is seriously unwell.

2. Who cares if it's not for me? If he's having fun, let him collect the checks. He's earned it.

[Chip Cataldo]

On 3/15/2024 at 12:22 PM, D84 said:

Bob Dylan is one of the best song writers of all time, but could never sing.

Bob Dylan has been overrated in every way since the beginning.

[Terry JSA]

On 3/15/2024 at 1:43 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

Eh. 300 is alright.

[Ryan.]

Year One>DKR

[D84]

On 3/15/2024 at 2:24 PM, Ryan. said:

Year One>DKR

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that.

[NoMan]

On 3/15/2024 at 12:24 PM, Ryan. said:

Year One>DKR

this could be true

[F For Fake]

On 3/15/2024 at 3:24 PM, Ryan. said:

Year One>DKR

Absolutely. Probably the best Batman story ever told. Having a genius like Mazzucchelli onboard definitely doesn't hurt.

[shadroch]

Batman, pre-Miller was dead.  It was one of the lower-selling DC titles but Miller changed that. 

[MatterEaterLad]

DK2 was the beginning of the end for me.

I love most of what came before, even Ronin. 

I think he tried to be more expressive and kind of break the rules like Bill Sienkiewicz. The problem is that Miller's work was already highly stylized.

Adding a new twist was like replacing pineapple on a pizza with watermelon. It was already something that wasn't for everyone and now it's something for no one. 

[shadroch]

Only those willing to risk going too far can determine how far they can go.

Artists like Miller, Giffin, and Bill Sienkiewicz could have stuck to imitating Kirby and Starlin, but they struck out in their own direction. I don't like their new styles, but I appreciate how they evolved. Daredevil was forty-five years ago. I'm sure all of us are vastly different than we were in 1979. So is Miller.