Hello, my friends and the occasional relative!

I’ve been doing some reading of comics again. Specifically some of Frank Miller’s work on Daredevil. I read Vol 1. of his work with Klaus Janson, and am now reading Born Again.

Volume one of his Daredevil run, where he was not initially writing the stories, only illustrating, were pretty rote at first, but got more interesting as he started writing and doing the pencils. They weren’t the finished product, but I could see some of Miller’s signature style beginning to come through, and even then his stories were a major step up from the doldrums preceding him, which is a fascinating thing to notice as you read, and worth reading the early collection to witness that evolution alone.

Now I’m reading Born Again, and oh my god: this is Frank Miller at full power, the story, the art work (by David Mazzucchelli), the page layouts are stellar. In reading it I was reminded of how comics communicate in a way that no other medium does, the meshing of static visual information and words where sometimes the images complement the words, sometimes contrast, or are ironic, can be comic (in the comedic sense) and the response in the reader is immediate and powerful. Comics shine when the writer and artist are in command of that relationship between script and image, and both work together to create something that I have found to be intensely satisfying. Most comics don’t hit those heights, but when they do: what a ride.

I cannot recommend reading Born Again enough – the story and characters (especially the POV work, which is phenomenal) are amazing, the artwork and construction of the story is spellbinding. And I’m saying that not having finished it, I am so convinced it will deliver.

Frank Miller went from a neophyte to a master in the years between his first run on Daredevil and Born Again. He went from getting a shot in an established medium, comics, to completely dominating it. The New York of Born Again is Rorschach’s tire tread on burst stomach, and it came first, just. The gritty grim 80s comics I think had their origin in Miller. Alan Moore also defined it, and the two writers did evolve at a similar time – I read Alan Moore’s early stuff in 2000AD, before he went on to V for Vendetta and Watchmen and really defined the graphic novel in the process. But reading Born Again I feel some of Moore’s work lives in the cityscape Miller created. And incredibly the two stories ran one after another in 1986, with Born Again running February- August, Watchmen starting in September. (Incredibly The Dark Knight Returns had its 4 issue original run from February to June 1986. What a year for Miller and US comics!)

Both Miller and Moore took failing characters and made hits out of them. Both had their own style, and their own favored subject matter and theme, both of them were so talented the comics world was forced to stop and look at what they were doing, and what they did changed the direction of comics for over a decade, and even after that much of what has later been produced is a reaction to, or an attempted repudiation of their work and attitudes. (Remembering that they had very different viewpoints.) They both engineered their own success by virtue of their talent (after both served extensive apprenticeships in the industry first), and that is a rare achievement.

The lesson, if there is one, is to focus on your craft, learn, believe in your story, your message, your viewpoint, whatever it is. Miller and Moore are very different individuals, but both have a very clear vision of what they want to say, and how to say it. They don’t always hit the mark, but even their less acclaimed works are interesting. As a writer, I find that to be inspiring, and it gives me the confidence to continue to write my way, on the subjects I find to be genuinely interesting, not chase any trends, and always seek to improve my craft, so the stories I tell can become more powerful over time. I’m still serving my apprenticeship, and that is a-okay. Because you never know when a new trend is going to be born, or what creative force will drive it. If it happens to be you, well, why not?

Until next time my friends, stay focused, creative, and true to the passion that first moved you to embrace your art form, whatever it may be.