Frank Miller, writer and penciler of the groundbreaking Batman tale The Dark Knight Returns, elaborated on the differences between emotion in comics and in movies.
Miller spoke with CBR at San Diego ComicCon 2022, discussing his thoughts on the strengths of the artistic forms. "Comics are a very good medium for expressing intense emotion," Miller said. "They’re really best at expressing more intense and melodramatic emotion. They’re better at that than they are at the more subtle emotions. In that arena, prose fiction is so much better. And cinema is so much better. There’s nothing like a real actor’s face to break your heart or draw you in and so on."
He quoted cartoonist Robert Crumb of Zap Comix, saying "It’s only lines on paper, folks," to illustrate the approach to detail that the medium allows. "You have to strike with your brush and evoke and know what you’re doing is laying down clues with each brushstroke that the reader, without thinking about it, pieces together, a mosaic that makes them feel something. The comic book happens in the reader’s hand much more than it does on the page. The reader does most of the work.”
The writer has previously spoken before about his works being adapted to the screen, reflecting on The Dark Knight Returns, noting the relationship between the two mediums as mutualistic. "I mean, I came in and I came up with my idea for The Dark Knight Returns, and that basically was the big splash I made, which started my whole career going," Miller said. "And since then I've seen the two fields collaborate back and forth." The acclaimed scribe went on to say that both he and DC Comics still manage to benefit from The Dark Knight Returns, noting the dynamic as "healthy."
Many comic book enthusiasts see Miller's work on Batman as revolutionary, making waves in the superhero genre and demonstrating some of the potential the medium offered. Jenette Khan, the former president and editor-in-chief of DC addressed how it changed the industry, noting that "unlike magazines and other supposedly disposable ephemera, Dark Knight and the comics it made possible could take their place on the library shelf."
His new production company Frank Miller Presents has announced four upcoming titles: Sin City 1858, Ronin Book Two, Pandora, and Ancient Enemies.
Source: CBR