Frank Miller

Frank Miller

Frank Miller is a prolific American comic book artist and writer whose works have had a profound impact on the comic industry. He is best known for his dark, often fantastical, stories that deal with themes of violence, death, destruction, and the “pointlessness of life and being” (Answers.com). The culmination of work created throughout his legendary career has been able to transcend comic books and become a part of popular culture.

Miller was born in Olney, Maryland on January 27, 1957, but moved to Montpelier, Vermont as a small child. Though little is publicly known about his family and personal life, Miller revealed that he had six brothers and sisters growing up (George 72). His parents valued discipline and hard work. Mrs. Miller, a nurse, rarely slept between working the night shift and raising a full house. Miller lived with his middle-class family in Vermont, which he has described as a “woodsy situation,” until he was 20, but never felt like he belonged (George 15). Shy and miserable in the country, Miller became a self-proclaimed comic-book junkie who craved fantasy. He took a job as a receptionist at an art gallery featuring the work of Thomas Wood, but claims it had no influence on his artistic life. He would later admit, though, that he explored other artists and approaches and tried to absorb those styles (George 16).

Soon, Miller became fascinated with the New York he saw on television and in comics, and decided he would set off to become a comic artist. His perceptions changed when he arrived in Queens alone with no money, but he eventually “fell in love with the city in different ways” (George 15). As he produced more work, Miller earned enough to overcome poverty and quickly began his rise to comic stardom. In 1983, Miller met Lynn Varley, who was chosen as the colorist for his first original graphic novel, вЂ?Ronin.’ Frank and Lynn eventually married and continued to collaborate on several award-winning projects such as вЂ?Batman: The Dark Knight Returns’ and вЂ?300’.

Tired of New York’s atmosphere, Miller moved to Los Angeles. He worked in Hollywood during the late 1980s and early 90s, writing scripts for films like Robocop II and III, which had strong ties to the �Robocop’ comics he previously penned. Unfortunately, Hollywood proved very frustrating for Miller. Unhappy with the outcome of the Robocop films, he returned to writing graphic novels and vowed not to allow anyone to adapt one of his stories to film ever again.

Miller’s discontent with Hollywood changed a decade later when director Robert Rodriguez presented a short film based on Miller’s Sin City. Undeniably impressed, Miller approved a full-length film, which was released in April, 2005. Sin City was extremely successful on many levels, furthering Miller’s already brilliant career and paving the way for more successful adaptations. The same year, Lynn Varley divorced Frank Miller. The two did not have any children. Today, coming off the recent success of this year’s �300’ movie, Miller continues to write and draw. He looks forward to 2008’s Sin City 2 and plans to complete more novels in the series.

Miller’s artistic life began at a very young age, even though he wasn’t born into an artistic family. In fact, he recalls completing his first comic book at age 6, which he gave to his mother. Growing up, Miller knew without question that he wanted to become a comic book artist. He read comics like �Superboy’ and �Spiderman,’ and admired artists like Jack Kirby and Mickey Spillane. By age 15, he lost an interest in comic books but continued drawing. Miller became much more interested in crime stories, which were forbidden in the superhero-driven comic industry of the 1960s and 70s.

In a 1986 Comics Journal interview, Miller stated that he never received any formal training in art, but had taken art classes growing up. Instead, he attributed his learning to reading and working in the field. During his first year in comics, he produced very little work but took in a lot (George 16).

Miller’s career began in New York in 1978, with contributions to Gold Key's �The Twilight Zone’ as a freelance comic book penciler (Lambiek par 2). Though he also began drawing for major companies like DC and Marvel, earning enough money for food and shelter proved very difficult, and he nearly starved to death. During these hard times, Miller worked as an artist for DC anthologies and Marvel titles like 'Spectacular Spider-Man' and 'John Carter: Warlord of Mars' (Lambiek par 2).

Finally, in 1979, Miller received his first big break, and was chosen to take over 'Daredevil' from Gene Cola. According to Lambiek’s online biography, “Miller put his mark on this series with his own film noir style and the introduction of new characters like Elektra” (par 3). Newly acclaimed for his highly successful contributions to the “Daredevil’ series, Miller established many great relationships within the industry. During the early 1980s, Miller collaborated with other artists and writers on several вЂ?Daredevil’ and вЂ?Elektra’ projects, and even a вЂ?Wolverine’ miniseries.

In 1983, working solo for DC, he created his first graphic novel 'Ronin.' In 1986, DC also hired Miller to jumpstart another famous comic. With 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns' in 1986, starring an older Batman, Miller redefined the legendary character and “introduced