An Open Letter to Frank Miller
Dear Sir,
In the lore that is Batman, your name is put on a pedestal up there with Bob Kane.
Your seminal work, Batman: Year One brought the crusader back into the dark corner where he belongs, after the embarassment that was the camp 60s TV show. Together with the 1989 movie, you made Batman mysterious, gloomy and most importantly, cool again. Although the story wasn’t counted as canon (I think they should), the movie Batman Begin was later made based on it, which managed to again, brought Batman back into light after the embarassment that was Batman & Robin. Two of Batman’s best stories, by Jeph Loeb—The Long Halloween and Dark Victory—were following the path set by you.
The Dark Knight Returns was an art masterpiece by itself, with innovative panels and narrative, showing us the world after Batman. “Noir”. “Gritty”. Here are some of the words people use to describe the magnificent work. The same words people use to describe your best work, in my opinion: Sin City.
I love Sin City. I think it’s what you do best. A neo-noir set of intertwining yarns, where the guys are tough men with guns, and the broads are pretty damsels. The movie adaptation? The most faithful ever, yet.
Your run on Daredevil, sir, was what to Daredevil as what Year One was to Batman. It breathed new life to the series. It brought a touch of reality; you made us focus not only on the Daredevil, but the real hero: Matt Murdock. If only the movie was based on your run, it wouldn’t be met with such derision from the public as it is now.
But then, sir, you went batshit crazy.
Thinking back, I should’ve noticed when I read Ronin. I tried to make sense of it. I really tried, sir. Sure it was a culmination of your fascination with the manga subculture, and of Japanese sense in entirety. But in the end, to me it was simply a nonsensical self-indulgent claptrap.
300 was an excellent opus, though historically one-sided (but who cares). But I could never have forgiven you for being a consultant to the film and allowing Zack Snyder to ruin an otherwise visually magnificent movie with a fucking goat that plays music and other godforsaken creatures. You were sort of pushing it with Ephialtes the hunchback already, sir.
The Dark Knight Strikes Again continued your run of self-indulgence. The predecessor was genius. The sequel was a lazy job.
When DC launched the ala-Ultimate line of All Star Comics, they put their trust in you to flesh out All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. I wanted to read the series, sir, I really do. But after reading reviews like this, I’m not pretty sure. All Star Comics is about the timeless essentials of the character. As dark as Batman is, I do not believe that he would lead Dick Grayson to hunt rats for food. That’s bordering on psychopath. “I’m the goddamn Batman,” indeed.
But the last straw, sir, has to be when you went completely out of your mind by deciding to produce Holy Terror, Batman! Which has Al-Qaeda in it. With Batman “kicking their ass”.
All I have to say is:
WHAT THE FUCK??!!
In conclusion, I pray that you would be kept away from Batman forever. Your crusade to turn Batman into a take on the dark side has gone too far. Maybe you should’ve just stopped at Sin City before it bled into your other works too.
Please STOP ruining Batman. He’s a hero.
Sincerely, the undersigned,
Zurairi Abd Rahman
[...] raybuenanina wrote a priceless post today on “An Open Letter To Frank Miller.” Here’s a quick excerpt: Dear Sir, In the lore that is Batman, your name is put on a pedestal up there with Bob Kane. Your seminary work, Batman: Year One brought the crusader back into the dark corner where he belongs, after the embarassment that was the camp 60s TV show. Together with the 1989 movie, you made Batman mysterious, gloomy and most importantly, cool again. Although the story wasn’t counted as canon (I think they should), the movie Batman Begin was later made based on it, which managed to again, brought Batman back into light after the embarassment that was Batman & Robin. Two of Batman’s best stories, by Jeph Loeb—The Long Halloween and Dark Victory—were following the path set by you. The Dark Knight Returns was an art masterpiece by itself, with innovative panels and narrative, showing us the world after Batman. “Noir”. “Gritty”. Here are some of the words people use to describe the magnificent work. The same words people use to describe your best work, in my opinion: Sin City. I love Sin City. I think it’s what you do best. A neo-noir set of intertwining yarns, where the guys are tough men with guns, and the broads are pretty damsels. The movie adaptation? The most faithful ever, yet. Your run on Daredevil, sir, was what to Daredevil as what Year One was to Batman. It breathed new life to the series. It brought a touch of reality; you made us focus not only on the Daredevil, but the real hero: Matt Murdock. If only the movie was based on your run, it wouldn’t be met with such derision from the public as it is now. But then, sir, you went batshit crazy. Thinking back, I should’ve noticed when I read Ronin. I tried to make sense of it. I really tried, sir. Sure it was a […] [...]
An Open Letter to Frank Miller - Batman - The Dark Knight
1 Feb 08 at 4:26 am
Dude, I totally agree with you!
Saya Hebat
8 Feb 08 at 3:12 am
Guess I’m the only on the entire net that finds Miller’s latest interpretation of bats to be the most fascinating yet. But no, by all means, give us the same old same old we’ve become accustomed to, or better yet, reheat some of that Year One magic we loved so much. Geez, is it really that hard to buy that the disciplined, idealistic batman of that comic would, after obsessing over his crusade in almost complete isolation, become a bit… unhinged? Drunk with power, perhaps? Maybe that’s his arc in this run–going from a good man dangerously close to the edge, to the rational, stoic hero we see resurface in DKR.
But again, no, more of the same, please! I don’t know if my heart can take it, sir.
PePeAmiAmi
1 May 08 at 4:13 pm
[...] Sure there are some complaints. Pepper as the blonde (potential) love interest? Happy reduced to JUST a measly driver? Jarvis as a disembodied voice of a butler? (Although to be fair, an English butler would be too Wayne-ish.) Iron Man battling Taliban-ish terrorist cell?! What is this…Holy Terror, Batman?! [...]
Loving Tony Stark « coffee conversations
21 May 08 at 2:11 pm
I agree wtih PePeAmiAmi. This has got to be one of Miller’s best ideas yet; and I think for him it will be a return to form. Superman kicked Hitler’s ass, why can’t Batman kick Al-Qaeda’s ass?
Kellan Schmelz
29 Jun 08 at 1:01 pm
[...] serving justice without compromise, but I’d much rather prefer this direction rather than letting Frank Miller ruin him. As Michael Jelenic, the co-producer and editor of the series stated in an interview with Wired: I [...]
The Brave and the Bold Puts Smiles Back in Batman’s Fans Faces « coffee conversations
17 Nov 08 at 1:13 am