Writer Blocks - Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Volume 1

Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Volume 1 reprints the opening salvo in Frank Miller’s groundbreaking run on this book, issues #158 – 167.  When reading this, and comparing it to the later volumes, it’s important to note that Miller was the penciller and sometime co-plotter of these issues.  He wouldn’t begin his writing duties until issue #168 and the introduction of his most lasting character, Elektra.



Even though he is not writing each issue, one has to wonder how much input Miller had into Roger McKenzie’s scripts. The groundwork is clearly being laid for what Miller would do when taking over all story telling duties.  We meet Ben Urich, who uncovers Daredevil’s secret identity of Matt Murdock, setting up their relationship that Miller would use throughout not only this run but the Born Again arc years later; we are introduced to the informant, Turk, and the crowd at Josie’s Bar; Bullseye is elevated to the role of arch nemesis; and the Black Widow is sent away, a jilted lover opening room for what lies ahead.

What comes across the most in this first volume is the evolution of Miller’s pacing. These comics were clearly done in the “Marvel Method”, where the writer would give the artist the plot, the artist would then illustrate the book, and the writer would add dialogue and captions based on the pencils, but as the volume progresses we can see Miller finding his artistic voice.  Suddenly there are fewer panels per page and the pages are more dynamic.  The angles Miller chooses have a noir quality that Miller would bring with him throughout his storied career, and the action and fight sequences have a fluidity of motion, a film-like quality, that would become Miller’s trademark.



Then there is issue #164, and Miller’s retelling of Daredevil’s origin.



This was most likely a filler issue, but there is a scene that has always stuck with me. On the final page, after Daredevil has finished telling Ben Urich the story of his father’s murder and how he became Daredevil, the reporter decides to burn the front-page article that would surely make his career.  Through seven silent panels, Miller uses imagery to evoke emotion that is just as good, if not better, than any film work being done at that time.



Go watch Taxi Driver or The Godfather, then read Miller’s Daredevil run, and you will get a sense of what creators in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s were encapsulating – a dirty realism grounded in malaise. Every time I read a novel set in that time period, what I see in my mind’s eye if a Frank Miller cityscape, a smoke filled room, and a vigilante lurking on the rooftops, protecting his city.

Next Week – Miller takes full creative control in Daredevil Visionaries Volume 2 and we meet Elektra!