Frank Miller’s Best Comics
Highlights
- Frank Miller’s style, which is dark and shocking, redefined major comic book characters and influenced the entire comic book world.
- Miller’s original stories, such as
Ronin
and
Hard Boiled
, have had mind-blowing influences, inspiring the creation of other iconic characters and genres. - Miller’s works, including
Elektra: Assassin
and
Sin City
, have left an indelible mark on the world of comics, elevating him to become one of the most influential comic book writers of all time.
Few comic book writers have become well-known enough for fans to say they left an indelible mark on the entire world of comic books. However, Frank Miller is unquestionably one of these. A man who rose to prominence throughout the 1980s, he helped redefine several major characters in the comic book world with his trademark style, which was generally dark and shocking, taking on elements of film noir style.
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Besides these, Miller also crafted some incredible original stories which are well-known names of their own today. Without Frank Miller, the entire landscape of the comic book world would be a very different place today. This makes it important for all fans of comics and the movies adapted from them to know his name.
8 Ronin
GoodReads Score: 3.66/5 (7,920 Ratings)
- Published 1983-1984
- Published By DC Comics
Miller’s work has influenced a lot and been influenced by a lot, and Ronin is one of the best examples of both these things. At the time, Miller had been influenced heavily by Kung-Fu movies and Manga while doing research for his Daredevil series, leading to him creating this story about a Samurai who was reincarnated in futuristic New York City.
Ronin was a six-issue miniseries, another fairly short story in comic terms, but the influences it has had have been mind-blowing. Not only was it cited as an inspiration for the creation of Samurai Jack, but also the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which has recently leaned much more into the Samurai style with the likes of The Last Ronin, making it a true forerunner of an entire genre and style.
7 Hard Boiled
GoodReads Score: 3.73/5 (3,336 Ratings)
- Published 1991
- Published By Dark Horse Comics
One of the most bizarre but fascinating comic book stories ever told, Hard Boiled, was published over three issues as a miniseries, telling the story of Carl Seltz. Though he initially appears to be a normal insurance investigator, Carl soon realizes he is also a cyborg who is the last hope of a robotic race.
With all of Miller’s trademarks already apparent by the early 90s, Hard Boiled was one of the first times that Miller had free rein over a new world he’d been able to create from the ground up. It got him major recognition with his first Eisner Award, and the rights have been sought for a big-screen adaption of Carl’s fascinating story for decades.
6 Elektra: Assassin
GoodReads Score: 3.91/5 (3,317 Ratings)
- Published 1986-1987
- Published By Epic Comics (A Marvel Comics Imprint)
Many great worlds have been created by Frank Miller and many worlds which he didn’t create, but he left an imprint on which will be felt forever. His early work when he first arrived on the scene was at Marvel, working as an artist on a Daredevil series which was under threat of cancelation.
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Miller’s involvement led to the series rising in popularity, and he even created some important pieces of the Daredevil mythos, including the character of Elektra. Once Miller created her, he decided to do some work with the character on her own. This came in the form of Elektra: Assassin. An eight-issue series that had grittiness, like almost all of Miller’s works, but also satirized many elements of comic books, including the portrayal of women. This helped popularize Elektra to the point that she got her own feature film in 2005, and may see her return in the new Daredevil series.
5 300
GoodReads Score: 3.98/5 (52,297 Ratings)
- Published 1998
- Published By Dark Horse Comics
One of the most recognizable names from Miller’s history of work, 300 has been adapted into a major motion picture and a sequel, all based on Miller’s love of The 300 Spartans, a film he saw when he was young. Each of these adaptations is based on the Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas led the Spartans against a huge Persian force.
300 was a brutal, fantastical take on a real-life battle. Miller brought magic and darkness to an inspirational tale, and in doing so, elevated it into something grander and sadder than reality. In his trademark style, he created one of the most bloody and brutal comic book miniseries in history.
4 Sin City Vol.1
GoodReads Score: 4.17/5 (64,981 Ratings)
- Published 1991
- Published By Dark Horse Comics
Miller is known both for his incredible takes on famous characters and his own worlds. Sin City is perhaps the most famous of these. The unique visuals and film noir theme helped make this a huge success and even led to Miller co-directing the film adaptation in 2005, as he was the owner of this work, and almost turned into a video game.
Featuring interconnected stories taking place across a brutal city, the Sin City series was a world of its own. Many different stories were told over several years, each becoming beloved because Miller simply didn’t miss inside this wondrous world he’d created. It felt like something of a culmination for a man who’d used the gritty, film noir style he loved on famous faces, and finally took a chance by creating his own world where he had no limitations.
3 Batman: Year One
GoodReads Score: 4.24/5 (248,826 Ratings)
- Published 1987
- Published By DC Comics
Miller was obligated by the contract he signed to create The Dark Knight Returns to provide a new Batman origin story as well, which would be published over four issues within the monthly Batman comic of the time. The result was Batman: Year One, which introduced some major ideas into the series like Bruce Wayne having left Gotham for over a decade before returning to take up the mantle of Batman.
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There was a heavy focus in these issues on a darker style, like that which Miller brought to his more major Batman work. But he also focused on the origins of Catwoman, and the burgeoning relationship between Batman and Jim Gordon, which helped define much of the Batman mythos. The inspirational nature of Miller’s work on the character was apparent in projects like Batman Begins.
2 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
GoodReads Score: 4.26/5 (185,681 Ratings)
- Published 1986
- Published By DC Comics
Many of Miller’s works were influential on the comic book genre and beyond. But none had the lasting impact that The Dark Knight Returns did. Telling a story about an aged Batman in a brutal, dystopian world, this story not only inspired major live-action films and countless Batman stories told since, but it also helped the comic book industry take a major shift.
Credited alongside Alan Moore’s Watchmen series for being the heralds of a new darker age of comics with grittier and more mature storytelling, The Dark Knight Returns is a masterpiece that will be remembered as long as any comic book can ever be.
1 Daredevil: Born Again
GoodReads Score: 4.35/5 (17,234 Ratings)
- Published In 1986
- Published By Marvel Comics
Frank Miller first rose to prominence in the comic book industry working on Marvel’s failing Daredevil series. When he was promoted to head writer for this comic, it only took three issues for its popularity to rise again so quickly that Marvel deemed it necessary to return it to monthly publication instead of bi-monthly.
As such, Miller’s return to Daredevil in 1986 was a major moment, and he told over several issues what has become known as the most important Daredevil story of all time. Featuring a brutal tale about Kingpin discovering Daredevil’s secret identity and ruining his life, Born Again was a deep cut of character exploration that was partially adapted for the Daredevil Netflix series in the third season. Additionally, the revival of that show on Disney Plus has been named after this story, showcasing once again the prominence of Miller’s works in one of the best and most underrated comic stories ever.
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