How many major Frank Miller works aren’t in oversized books?
Dark Horse put out Sin City in 8 oversized tomes. Marvel’s putting his Daredevil work into two Omnibus volumes, and they’ve already published his Spider-Man work and collaborations with Bill Sienkiewicz in oversized hardcovers. 300, his story about the Persian invasion of Greece, was originally published in an oversized hardcover. The Martha Washington stories are rumored to be put out in an Omnibus format next year by Dark Horse. Even his Comics Journal interviews are in an oversized softcover. By my count, only his Batman: Year One story and Ronin novel are missing from the "big" scene. (Feel free to correct me in the comments!)
This volume houses the classic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns story and the not-so-classic sequel Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Back, along with an elaborate sketchbook, scripts, and the original proposal for the project. Chip Kidd plays designer here, though he doesn’t have much to do; much of this material has been presented before in trade paperback, 10th anniversary hardcovers, and the first round of Kidd hardcovers that came out a few years ago. Strangely, Kidd chooses as endpapers blown-up panels with the sort of "dotted" coloring that you’d associate with material older than Miller’s first book; it makes the work look more dated than it should. The work’s never been presented better, though; sewn binding eliminates gutter loss on two-page sequences, and the printing is top notch. I did see one page in the first novel that was missing some delicate linework, but that’s it; everything else is perfect (as it should be in a book with a $100 price tag).
Chances are, you have at least the first book on your graphic novel bookshelf. Dark Knight Returns, along with Watchmen and Maus, made up the triumvirate of graphic novels in 1986 that marked the first wave of well-publicized literate graphic novels in this country. If you haven’t read this, you’re in for a treat. Both novels deal with the premise of a Batman long past his prime returning from retirement to combat evil. In the first book, he returns to 80s urban America, with New Wave street punks, rampant street crime, and Ronald Reagan locked in a Cold War with the Soviets. In the second book, we start in a twisted Y2K America, an era of stock market heights and teenypop girl bands, but by the third chapter we’re in post-9/11 times, as Metropolis is awash in skyscraper ash.
The first book deserves any kudos it gets. The work is dense and flowing; the page designs absolutely work. Lynn Varley’s washes and Klaus Janson’s inks complement the work, but this is Frank Miller’s best moment as a comics craftsman. And on an oversized page, everything just looks better.
Over a decade passes before Miller takes on Daredevil again, but in the interim, his approach to comics changed. He’s no longer interested in crafting pages with 10 or more panels. While working on Sin City, he learned how to utilize negative space, and his choices run more to splash pages with powerful images. In an interview, he said, "People are attempting to bring a superficial reality to superheroes which is rather stupid. They work best as the flamboyant fantasies they are. I mean, these are characters that are broad and big. I don’t need to see sweat patches under Superman’s arms. I want to see him fly." He’s interested in playing in the toybox of DC Comics, and less interested in plot. We end up with a story that drags at times but does entertain at times. Miller gives us the sex lives of Superman and Wonder Woman, a monstrous Braniac destroying Metropolis, and Batman rising triumphant at a concert.
The accompanying sketchbooks are worth the price of admission. There’s a page where Miller draws Batman nude in black ink, and his costume over the figure in red ink. Miller says, "I learned the approach by studying Yoshitoshi. This way you can feel the anatomy under the capes and clothes." This quote illuminates Miller’s approach to comics. Some artists look for a character’s heart or brains. Miller’s searching for muscle, and he finds it in senior citizen Bruce Wayne. The sketchbook caps a fantastic package, one that will entertain anyone willing to shell out the ducats.
Two Millers have I;
Expensive but exquisite.
How can you resist?