Happy Birthday Beard of the Day

Frank Miller

Frank Miller was a big comics writer/artist in the 70s and 80s. He wrote and penciled the Marvel series "Daredevil" for a long time. His friend, Klaus Janson, inked. He also wrote two spinoffs about the character "Electra" and did a miniseries about the "X-Men" character "Wolverine". His hit miniseries "Ronin" was published by DC in the mid-eighties. His greatest success came with DC's character "Batman". In 1980, he wrote the acclaimed "Batman" story "Wanted - Santa Claus - Dead or Alive!" for DC Comics. In 1986, his most notable comic-book work, the groundbreaking "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns", an alternate history story about Batman in a grim future, was published by DC. Miller wrote and penciled. In 1988, he wrote the acclaimed "Batman: Year One", about Batman's first year on the job, for DC. In 1996, he wrote "Spawn versus Batman", a one-shot issue published by DC and Image Comics. He wrote the major motion pictures RoboCop 2 (1990) and RoboCop 3 (1993) and did the "Robocop" comic series for a little while.

Miller is best known for his grim film-noirish comic book stories using characters like Batman and Daredevil as well as original works like Sin City.

He often features characters with a physical or mental affliction. Both Miho and Kevin from Sin City are mute, whilst Marv's mother, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Stick and Manute are all blind. Both Sin City's Hartigan and Batman in Dark Knight Returns suffer heart problems.

He also often features characters who are 'killed', disfigured or mortally wounded, only to be surgically rebuilt stronger and deadlier than before, eg. Robocop, Dwight, Batman.

Miller writes, draws, and inks all of his Sin City comics. He has worked for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics.His comic book series Sin City is on the Dark Horse Comics label.

In mid-2003, a comic book company called Avatar is publishing a comic book series adapting his original screenplay for Robocop 2 (1990)_, which allegedly had enough subplots and material for several movies.

He claimed in the introduction to "The Dark Knight Returns" that he got the idea of writing of a Batman in his mid 60s from a age crisis he had. He "could stand that his little brother was older than Spider-Man, but that he himself getting older than Batman, was something that had to be stopped." He was 29 years old, closing up on 30, writing "The Dark Knight Returns."

Has told in several interviews that he got the inspiration for the "noir and gritty experience" of all his comics (especially Sin City) from noir writers Mickey Spillane, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The pacing was very influenced by the Lone Wolf & Cub manga by Goseki Kojima & Kazuo Koike.

Moved to New York in 1976, when he was 19. Within a week of his arrival he had found work as a comic book artist.

Has said that "The Romantic Manifesto" by Ayn Rand, a book of collective essays about art and romanticism, helped him to determine how he'd go about creating his heroics.

Was approached by New Line Cinema in 1988 to write and direct A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). He declined due to prior commitments.

Created the comic book character "Elektra" who has gone on to appear in the movies Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005), played by Jennifer Garner.

Personal Quotes
I figured Daredevil must be Catholic because only a Catholic could be both an attorney and a vigilante.

You can't have virtue without sin. What I'm after is having my characters' virtues defined by how they operate in a very sinful environment. That's how you test people.

I was always into noir. When I lived in Vermont I was drawing stuff that looked like an amateur doing 'Sin City'. When I first got to New York I was swiftly informed that they only did guys in tights.

I realized that I was about to turn 30, and Batman was permanently 29. And I was going to be damned if I was older than Batman.

[about his inspirations] I'm a comic book artist. So I think to myself, what do I like to draw? I like to draw hot chicks, fast cars and cool guys in trench coat. So that's what I write about.

[On Batman Begins (2005)] "I totally thought they did a damned good job. It was the first "Batman' movie I've genuinely liked. I sat there, I watched it, and I came out of there going, 'Well done, man.' Sure, they used my stuff - they used everybody's stuff, but they used my stuff a lot - but they did it well, and that's all I care about. It was Batman. What I mean by that is, I thought the character was true. You understand, when I work on a character, I have a very, very hard time seeing anybody else's interpretation. I get very possessive. But when I went out to see this thing, I said, 'This is a pretty cool Batman.' I wasn't sitting there going, 'This is a merchandising tool.' I felt like it really had heart and substance, and Christian Bale with no doubt performed the best Batman I have ever seen".