NEW YORK: For a very special one-night-only screening of "Frank Miller: American Genius" at the Angelika Film Center, audiences got treated to a Question and Answer session with Frank Miller moderated by Neil Gaiman.
It's always good to see Neil Gaiman, but it's also frustrating to have him so close and not be able to say hi. I've been spoiled by his visits here in 2005, 2007 and 2010.
It was good to see Frank Miller because about 10 years or so ago, everyone was worried about his health. I was able to catch Miller in 2023 at a Comic Con International panel but dare I say he looked even better this time around.
Neil asked Frank about how he got started in his lifelong passion. Frank was really a fan of comics since he was a child growing up in Montpelier, Vermont. He would draw everywhere. He knew he wanted to make comics. He eventually sought out (the late) Neal Adams, who he regarded as a "Moses-like figure" in comics "because he straddled the generation that created comics and the generation of the new wave."
So here's what happens between the two: Frank looks up Adams in the phone book and cold-calls him. Adams' son picks up and goes, "Dad, we've got another one!"
Adams tells Frank he's not good enough. But Frank is persistent and insistent. He keeps returning to Adams, who eventually gives him feedback on his work.
By 1979, at the age of 22, Frank had the opportunity to do Marvel's "Daredevil." Frank jokingly told the audience that it's better to start with a title that isn't doing well.
After he turned that title around, Frank jumped over to DC and came up with "Ronin." Then, in 1986, he did "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," which put him on the map globally. This also sparked a fresh new interest in comics and graphic novels everywhere.
"Frank Miller: An American Genius," directed by Silenn Thomas, is pretty much a straightforward documentary with things moving in chronological order: from Miller's early years to his leaving Vermont in his teens to live in New York and make a name for himself in comics, to titles like "Sin City" and "300" getting the Hollywood film treatment.
It very briefly touches on his alcoholism and that string of years where he confessed to being difficult, sick, and slowly killing himself. There's also a short bit on his politics, controversial works, thoughts on Occupy Wall Street, and Trump.
It has lots of interviews with the likes of Neal Adams (a must), Stan Lee, Paul Pope, Robert Rodriguez, Jim Lee, Bill Sienkiewicz and Richard Donner, to name but some. Lynn Varley, the colorist he was married to from 1986 to 2005 was not mentioned at all.
Some of the best parts, though, are when we see Miller take his giant pieces of paper, his pens, and his inks and start drawing. The sound of the paper and the strokes and then seeing the final art, be it dominated by incredible detail, bold silhouettes, or intense imagery, constantly reminds us where that genius lies.
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"Frank Miller: An American Genius" was completed in 2021. Unfortunately, it is not yet available on any streaming platform.
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