Craig Zablo

It’s Day 7 of Frank Miller Week.  So, how do we bring the week to a close?  Which character should we use?  Daredevil, the hero that shot Miller to fame?  Ronin?  Miller’s first creator-owned project that helped to change the look and perception of American comics?  Dark Knight?  Miller’s masterpiece?  Maybe we should jump ahead to Sin City and show a piece of from the series that is Miller’s most personal creation?

Believe me, I gave it a lot of thought.  I think that Miller’s cover to Amazing Heroes #69 [April 15, 1985] is perfect.  It showcases both a Marvel and DC character.  One character [Batman], Miller re-shaped into his own creation.  The other [Electra], was his own creation.  This cover was a fan boy’s dream team up.  And nearly 25 years later, I’m still diggin’ it.

CBR.com has posted that Dynamite Entertainment is going to publish “Green Hornet: Year One” and Matt Wagner is on board to write it and provide covers.  Here’s what publisher, Nick Barrucci had to say about Wagner’s involvement:

“He loves the Green Hornet, loves the original Britt Reid, and once we got into the conversation, he was really hyped about doing the origin story. It’s just a perfect marriage. You’ve got one of the most respected creators in comics writing one of the most classic characters in comics. It’s fantastic, and it’s a ‘Year One’ story like you’ve never seen before. Matt has been really incredible at nailing the essence of the character while still making it accessible to a modern audience. He’s fantastic.”

You can read the full piece by clicking here.

Frank Miller Week: Day 6.  That’s Miller’s cover to Peter Parker #60.  It was cover dated November 1981.  At the time, Miller was still going strong with his amazing run as writer and penciller on Daredevil [Klaus Janson was inking each issue and more than equal to the task]. 

I saw Peter Parker #60 and despite knowing little about the interior art or story, felt that the cover was worth the price of admission.  I loved everything about it… the pose, the bold inks, the colors, the lighting, the backgrounds.  Although generic enough to be the cover for ANY Spider-Man book, I felt that Miller had knocked this one out of the park.

Tomorrow we’ll wrap up Frank Miller Week with a look at a piece that is a fanboy’s dream.

Frank Miller Week: Day 5.  Today we have Miller’s cover to Comics Interview #2 promoting “Ronin”, his new creator-owned series for DC Comics.   “Ronin” was a six issue series [later collected into a graphic novel] published in 1983/1984 about a Ronin whose tale began in feudal Japan and ended in a post-apocalyptic New York City.  It was unlike any comic I’d ever read before.  Miller was breaking away from traditional American comics in both content and art style.  And I was loving every step of the way.

Tomorrow, we’ll jump back in time to 1981 and check out a cover that Frank Miller created for Marvel Comics that provides a taste of where his art was heading with Ronin.

Day 4 of Frank Miller Week and we have a Batman piece that Miller pencilled and Dan Adkins inked back in 1979.  It appeared on the inside back cover of a fanzine circa 1981/1982.  Frank was still seven years away from his groundbreaking “The Dark Knight Returns” and it shows.  At this point in his career, Miller was drawing a more traditional version of Batman than he would later bring to the table.

For Day 3 of Frank Miller Week we have the third and final post card used by Marvel back in the early 80’s. This one was generic enough in it’s message that it could go to anyone that wrote in.  Don’t believe me?  Well then click right here and see for yourself!  Oh, and Joe Rubinstein provided the inks on this card.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at a Batman piece that Frank drew about seven years before starting on his classic The Dark Knight Returns.

Today we have the art that appeared on post cards sent to artists who submitted samples to Marvel.  You can see what the post card looked like by clicking here.  I always liked Miller’s take on Captain America.   Joe Rubinstein provided the amazing inks on this piece.  Although Miller only did a small amount of work with Cap, he always wrote him like a respected soldier and a natural leader.  The drawings weren’t bad either.  ; )

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the third and final Marvel Miller post card. [Say that three times fast.]

One of my all time favorite comic book creators is Frank Miller. Miller is a writer and an artist. He is the creative genius behind “Sin City”, “The Dark Knight Returns”, “Batman: Year One”, “Ronin”, an amazing run on “Daredevil” and so many other comics.   So as you’ve probably already guessed [especially if you read the title of this post], it’s FRANK MILLER WEEK: DAY 1 @ the ZONE.

The piece we have today appeared on a post card that Marvel sent to fans who had sent in potential scripts.  You can see what the post card looked like by clicking here.  Joe Rubinstein provided the beautiful inks on this piece.   Tomorrow we’ll see more rare Frank Miller art when we take a look at the card that Marvel sent to artists submitting work.

MARSHALL ROGERS WEEK at the ZONE concludes, as it had to, with Marshall’s take on Batman. Over the years there have been a hundreds of artists who’ve worked on the Dark Knight.  Few have had the lasting impact that Marshall Rogers did as a young buck breaking in to the business. While credit must also be given to the stories that Steve Englehart wrote and the inks that Terry Austin provided, no one can argue that Marshall Rogers work on the character was pure joy.

Sadly, Marshall Rogers passed away in 2007. He was only 57 and should have had many more years to amaze us with his talents. But instead of mourning over what could have been, we should celebrate what was. To that end, I hope you’ve enjoyed MARSHALL ROGERS WEEK @ the ZONE.