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Post by spoon on Mar 11, 2016 19:38:41 GMT -5
I chose Born Again.
I have sharply different opinions on various Frank Miller works that I've read. I really love Born Again. I kind of liked his original DD run the first time I read it, but I really loved it when I re-read it. I didn't like The Dark Knight Returns when I read it. But I was pretty young at the time, and suspect I'd have a different opinion if I re-read it. I dislike Batman: Year One and Man Without Fear.
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 11, 2016 21:11:54 GMT -5
Yes, I'm the one who voted for All Star Batman & Robin. I'll explain when I have more time (probably tomorrow). Don't judge me. It's like I don't even know you...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2016 23:01:52 GMT -5
Sin City. Not a fan of his early stuff when he was still working in the house style. I understand he's reinvented several iconic characters. Still not interested in them though.
I was severely disappointed with DKR.
Huge Sin City fan. I consider myself a Miller fan but Sin City is probably his only work I care to actually read.
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Post by dupersuper on Mar 12, 2016 0:10:15 GMT -5
Yes, I'm the one who voted for All Star Batman & Robin. I'll explain when I have more time (probably tomorrow). Don't judge me. Too late.
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Post by berkley on Mar 12, 2016 0:57:24 GMT -5
I voted for Sin City. I think that's his best combination of art and writing, and the place where his hard-boiled crime stories were allowed free reign, in contrast to Daredevil and Batman, where I think the constraints of the superhero genre sometimes got in the way.
Still, DD, DKR, and Batman Year One would be in my top 5 along with Ronin
Of the things I haven't read, Give Me Liberty is probably the one I'm most curious about.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2016 1:14:11 GMT -5
What? Holy Terror doesn't make the list of choices? Shocked I say, shocked It's a tough choice for me. Batman Year One is probably my favorite project he has been involved with, but on the whole it is David Mazzuchelli's art and design on it that draws me to it moreso than Miller's writing. My second favorite would be Born Again, but yet again it is Mazzuchelli's contribution much more than Miller's that draws me to this run, so I have a hard time voting for either as Miller's strongest work. I remember liking Ronin quite a bit, but I haven't read it since the 80s and no longer own a copy, so I feel odd about voting for it as memories are fuzzy. I was quite impressed with 300 the first time I read it, but subsequent readings and the movie have diminished my appreciation for it over time. I've liked the bits and pieces of Sin City I have read, but I've only read a small fraction of it. Artistically I think my favorite thing by Miller was the covers to the American editions of Lone Wolf and Cub published by First Comics, but I am not sure those should be considered for a poll considering his strongest work. I'm saddest that his run on Dr. Strange advertised in house ads in Marvel books never materialized, as I do like what little of his Doc Strange stuff I have seen (the Spidey annual w/Doc being the main impression there). So in the end it comes down to Dark Knight Returns or his original Daredevil runs as being the works he did as both writer and artist that I am most familiar with and left the strongest positive impressions with me. Of the two, I liked DKR more on initial read, but my enthusiasm for it has faded since 1986 when I first read it (but more so because of it's legacy on the industry as a whole moreso than for the work itself), and I thought the DD run was uneven on my first read but my appreciation for it has grown over time. I'd still rather read Year One or Born Again than either but that's my love of Mazzuchelli's visuals speaking, so in the end, I am going to go with DKR... -M
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Post by tingramretro on Mar 12, 2016 2:17:22 GMT -5
DKR destroys. A lot of these are brilliant, but Dark Knight Returns was on a whole 'nother level in terms of formal design and storytelling. Add to that, it marks the start of the revisionary superhero. That's the theory, at least, although I think the honors should be given to Marvelman. Given that it predates DKR by four years, very definitely.
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Post by Ozymandias on Mar 12, 2016 4:07:06 GMT -5
Add to that, it marks the start of the revisionary superhero. That's the theory, at least, although I think the honors should be given to Marvelman. Given that it predates DKR by four years, very definitely. The chronology is clear. It all depends on whether or not, you can substantiate an argument in favor of its revisionist nature. Repty mentioned Everett's Sub-Mariner, as an even earlier occurrence. I can't say I've read that, but I'd be shocked if it were the case. Among the superhero comics I've read, Marvelman is definitely the earliest revisionist one.
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Post by earl on Mar 12, 2016 7:29:26 GMT -5
To me, Ronin is the furthest that Frank Miller really pushed his comics. Ronin has a unique hybrid of European style science fiction comics like Moebius with samurai Japanese comics and a storyline that fits along side well with other cyberpunk science fiction from the 80s. Ronin was also pretty daring for it's use of format when it came out with the to the edge printing, more modern style colors and use of print techniques such as the big fold out in the climax. I think Ronin sold pretty well, but perhaps not as gangbusters as DC hoped as you would see issues in used bins all the time back then. Miller's super hero work is more popular and accessible, but I don't think he really went for it in anything quite as much as Ronin. Sin City would probably be second as it was Millers other original creation and it's pulp overdrive sense of style is pretty unique. I think Miller's artwork becomes sloppier and loose as the series went on. The Dark Knight Returns is notable as the colors and format was really pushing printing techniques for the 80s.
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Post by batlaw on Mar 12, 2016 8:12:23 GMT -5
I have to say DKR. May not be my favorite, but it's his most famous, most popular, most revered? and most referenced work.
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Post by Arthur Gordon Scratch on Mar 12, 2016 8:13:10 GMT -5
Still, DD, DKR, and Batman Year One would be in my top 5 along with RoninOf the things I haven't read, Give Me Liberty is probably the one I'm most curious about. With 300 instead of Sin City, I completely agree. About Give Me Liberty, I recently re-read it, and it hasn't aged well at all. It's typical 80ies political paranoïa speculative fiction, no character is really likeable and the story feels quite disjointed. I lent it from a friend and when I subsequently stumbled upon a complete pack of all series at 12 $, I passed...
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,051
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Post by Confessor on Mar 12, 2016 8:59:14 GMT -5
I think that Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are probably superior works, but I voted for Miller's Daredevil run because that's the work of his that I enjoy re-reading most often.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2016 9:02:59 GMT -5
I haven't read everything on the list, but my vote went to Frank Miller's original run on Daredevil, as that is my favourite work of his that I have read.
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Post by Ozymandias on Mar 12, 2016 9:20:57 GMT -5
When I learned that Chris wasn't going to continue posting polls like this one, I thought it'd be a good idea to steal his questionnaire formatting, just for uniformity's sake. Now that I see several people voting for work they don't consider to be the best, I'm wondering if "strongest" was an adequate term.
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Post by Trevor on Mar 12, 2016 10:54:13 GMT -5
I don't think I've read a Frank Miller comic that didn't star Batman. My choice is Year One. I strongly prefer DC over Marvel in all eras, but you really should check out his Daredevil runs.
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