Saturday, April 9, 2011

Making a Splash: Frank Miller's Daredevil

What it is, Groove-ophiles! How 'bout this for a treat: Frank Miller's dazzling debut and early work Daredevil! We start with "Lanky Frank's" first ish, DD #158 (February 1979) and dig on Miller's unique splashes right through the end of the Groovy Age, ending up with DD #165 (April 1980). As you can see, Miller hit the ground running (thanks, in no small part to the impeccable inks of Kinky Klaus Janson) with his stark, detailed images and his experimentation with layouts and camera angles bringing together the cinematic storytelling sense of greats like Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner, Jim Steranko, and Walter Simonson.





Ere long, Miller would be both drawing and writing Daredevil's adventures, bringing DD to the top of the comicbook heap, all the while carving out his own legend to take his place alongside the aforementioned great writer/artists.
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6 comments:

  1. ChimeradaveApril 9, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    I've yet to read these issues of Daredevil. I've only read the ones from when Frank Miller takes over writing duties too.

    But from what I see, I need to pick them up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike MikulovskyApril 9, 2011 at 3:08 PM

    WWWhhhhaattt?? You have never read these issues!! If you can't afford or don't want to drop the $$ for them. Buy a essentials or borrow them. Their AWESOME!! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mike MikulovskyApril 9, 2011 at 3:18 PM

    Hey Groovster!
    Man, it's hard to believe these issues came out 30 years ago & then some! I was 17 & 18 when these issues hit the stands & my luckly LCB store. My favorite issues was the issue with the Hulk!

    ReplyDelete
  4. skymarkApril 9, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    I think Janson was the best inker to work with Miller. To me his work looked best with someone else inking. I never cared much for his later stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Groovy AgentApril 10, 2011 at 9:09 AM

    Roger McKenzie did a very nice job during his tenure as DD writer, imo. Not as original as what Miller would do on his own, but some very entertaining stories.

    I agree that Janson is Miller's best inker, though I have to say I really dug Joe Rubenstein's inks on that DD/Hulk story.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mike MikulovskyApril 10, 2011 at 11:04 AM

    I have to agree with skymark. However I did love Miller's Ronin mini-series for DC. But wasn't crazy about Return of the Darknight when it came out. I just didn't get why fans loved it. I thought the art looked hideous & story was too dark & depressing.

    I also agree with the Groovster. I think it was a tie between Klaus Janson & Joe Rubenstein. Keep on Groov'in!

    ReplyDelete

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


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