The Divisive Icon Returns! Frank Miller: O.W.S and more.

Good day everyone - a special edition news update for you here, brought about by none other than ever-controversial super-star comic creator Frank Miller.

Now many folks may not know who he is, but if you've been even a passing comic fan the past decade or so then you know precisely who I'm talking about - for anyone else all I can do is say he's the guy who wrote the comics that became the blockbuster movies 300 and Sin City. If that isn't enough for you then you need to read more comics.

Miller has pretty much ALWAYS been a divisive and talked about creator, bringing out not just those two landmark and iconic series but also was the man behind Ronin, Hard Boiled (with the incomparable Geof Darrow) and Martha Washington, apart from his very popular runs on Daredevil (he created Elektra for starters) and of course his most legendary work: The Dark Knight Returns.

But somehow since his earth-shakingly gritty and awesome comics from back then, it seems like Miller has gotten a little off-the-rails. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed some of the stuff he's done since then but the key word there is 'some', because a lot of it has been the same-old-same-old and riddled with cliches and cheesy moments that actually make you want to wince. It's almost as if he's lost his marbles a little and become this weird, bitter old man who just likes to shout from his porch at all the things that make him mad, regardless of whether he's making sense anymore. And his comics themselves have devolved into utter tripe as would be known by anyone who has read his work in recent years - especially that epic failure (in my humble view) that was Holy Terror! which was supposed to be originally a Batman story. I thank the graphic gods daily that for whatever reason this did not come to pass and Bat's was spared this disaster.

Actual spread from the comic...

I'm not even getting at the story here, just read any review and you get the gist - but even the art which is something Miller has always had a touch for is horrid. There are a few pages here and there where you see glimpses of what it could have been and of the raw-Miller-ness that was hoped for, but in the end it was just a mess in every way possible and was a hate-filled waste of paper.

And of course the man cannot leave well enough alone. Like all grumpy old men who sit on their rocking chairs and rant and mock and shout at the younger people walking by regardless of how foolish they look, Miller just can't go quietly into that gentle night. No. He needs to be heard whether we want to or not - and honestly I'm all for free speech and anyone having their say, but Frank is heading the direction of the known nut-jobs who are regarded with a tinge pity and indifference and eventually the WBC's of the world who are just seen as bat-s*** insane!

Case in point, his most recent ranting about the Occupy Wall Street movement:

Everybody’s been too damn polite about this nonsense:

The “Occupy” movement, whether displaying itself on Wall Street or in the streets of Oakland (which has, with unspeakable cowardice, embraced it) is anything but an exercise of our blessed First Amendment. “Occupy” is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness. These clowns can do nothing but harm America.

“Occupy” is nothing short of a clumsy, poorly-expressed attempt at anarchy, to the extent that the “movement” – HAH! Some “movement”, except if the word “bowel” is attached - is anything more than an ugly fashion statement by a bunch of iPhone, iPad wielding spoiled brats who should stop getting in the way of working people and find jobs for themselves.

This is no popular uprising. This is garbage. And goodness knows they’re spewing their garbage – both politically and physically – every which way they can find.

Wake up, pond scum. America is at war against a ruthless enemy.

Maybe, between bouts of self-pity and all the other tasty tidbits of narcissism you’ve been served up in your sheltered, comfy little worlds, you’ve heard terms like al-Qaeda and Islamicism.

And this enemy of mine — not of yours, apparently - must be getting a dark chuckle, if not an outright horselaugh - out of your vain, childish, self-destructive spectacle.

In the name of decency, go home to your parents, you losers. Go back to your mommas’ basements and play with your Lords Of Warcraft.

Or better yet, enlist for the real thing. Maybe our military could whip some of you into shape.

They might not let you babies keep your iPhones, though. Try to soldier on.

I could not think of how to respond to such a thing and then I read Dane Ingham over at ComicBookMovie and want to share excerpts from his response:

Dear Frank:

I am writing in regards to your recent comments on the Occupy Movement, but first want to express my great gratitude for your legendary contributions to the comic book world. Batman Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are currently the most influential takes on my favorite comics character, and have influenced such tremendous films as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Sin City stands as arguably the best non-superhero movie in comics history. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Miller.

Now let's get current.

…

Anonymous protesters at OWS

Here's a quote written by J. Michael Straczynski, written for Captain America: “Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — "No, you move.”

That quote serves two purposes here. The first purpose is to show you that you don't have to take radical approaches to beloved characters to make them interesting. You simply need to redefine and reinterpret based on the central themes and relevancy of them; the colors are there for you to use if you are talented enough to find them and paint. The second, more direct point, is that no matter what you or anyone say, these people believe what they are doing is right and they have the freedom to express that. You certainly have the right to voice your opinion as well, but at least be responsible enough to be factual. Yes, there have been rapes, and drugs. This, unfortunately, is pure mathematics and human behavior. Enough people in one place, and these things statistically happen in any nearly any given scenario. For every rapist, there are 10,000 hard-working Americans who have had their chance at the American Dream shat upon by rising unemployment, unscrupulous corporations, via sub-prime loans and tax loopholes that ensure their(your) riches while the fortune of most Americans falls. I am not saying socialism or wealth distribution are the answer, but it is obvious when one views facts and statistics that the current system is breaking down. And since you were so baseless and without mercy in your calling out of OWS, it is only fair I return the favor.

…

I hope that the following excerpt from your Wiki is true, because if so it really appears as if you're trying to alienate the majority of your readers: "Miller is currently working on a new five-issue miniseries, tentatively titled "RoboCop and the Pond Scum". Some reports indicate it may involve the Occupy Movement, and features RoboCop beating the protesters until they are willing to get jobs. When most of them return to the camp, complaining that because of the recession, few jobs are available, RoboCop then beats them again, telling them this time to try their luck at being multi-millionaire comic book writers. He also confiscates all of their iPhones."

…

Apparently fear-mongering and the omnipresent and unkillable "threat" of terrorism and Islamacism have done what they seem to do to most out-of-touch old folks: Scared the living piss out of you and corrupted your mind to the point at which you can no longer see other, possibly more immediate, threats to our country. Your remarks are those of a man who lives inside his comfort bubble and occasionally casts detached glances down at the very peasants who have spent their hard-earned money to lift you up to your throne.

Now I don't about you but I don't know what is up with him but it really seems like he needs to be ignored more and with any luck he'll decide to go away. And if we're really lucky, maybe people will stop giving him jobs in comics.
Then again this is the same bunch of people who are still giving jobs to Rob Liefeld so I guess I can't expect too much on that last part!

Allow me to share with you this little laugh inducer that actually makes the point I'm going for much more simply about how he's become a cliched joke in recent years:

And in closing I'd like to point out something that I think will be something most of us will have thought of when reading Frank's statements and all.
Frank, you talk about 'bowel movements'? Well here's two words for you too: Holy Terror!. Not enough? Here's two more: The Spirit. 

Worst movie ever? Might just be so...

Now please be kind and just go, retire, do something, anything - just so long as we don't need to waste more publishing space and money on your trashy writing. You can speak all you want and rant away, thats your right, but we don't really have to listen now do we?

Till next post folks, have a good one. 
Cheers...