20251219 Who is Frank Miller and why is there a Ronin sequel?

 During my Teens, when I was into Comics, there were a few Artists which I loved. Names such as Cam Kennedy (2000Ad: Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper), the late Carlos Ezquerra (2000AD: Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog & The Stainless Steel Rat), Arthur Adams (Longshot), Todd McFarlane (SPider-Man & SPawn), Matsumune Shirow (Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell & Intron Depot), Don Martin (MAD), Al Jafee (MAD), Sergio Aragones (MAD & Groo the Wanderer), Peter Kuper (MAD's Spy vs SPY), Barry Windsor-Smith (Alpha FLight #38 Uncanny X-Men - Wounded Wolf) and Marc Hempel (Gregory)

Frank Miller? At that time, I had no ideo who he was. It was not until I came across a simple bookshop that was selling some very old comics. Ronin was one of the better ones because of its exciting and sometimes in your face black border designs. This got me going and searching for more of the Ronin series but to no avail. I mean, for a kid living in the 80's, the concept of specialised Comics Shop or information on a particular Artist was unthinkable. So, reading and getting the incopmlete Ronin series meant that I have no understanding of the story. Plus, the art was... unique. At that point in time, I felt like as if I was holding the Mona Lisa in my hands but I have no idea about its significance.

Decades later, the Ronin chapters turned into a Collection. I was saving up for it but due to work and other stuff in Life (like The Dark Knight, Hard Boiled), that goal was quickly forgotten. The 90's Internet allowed me to access more of his work, namely The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Returns, Hard-Boiled, Robocop vs Terminator and Sin City. Although I did not digest the latter, the Movie was still... weird. The only time I got interested with a Comic was due to its art but for Frank Miller, it was different. His art style was... unique. It was just enough to convey the Story and it was his very Stories that got me hooked. Confused yet hungry for more, but hooked. So for Ronin, I had to refer to the Wikipedia to understand what it was all about, and then I realised, Sci-Fi with D&D or Fantasy just does not work for me.

And, ComplexAd7272 summed it best.

Anyway, Frank Miller is now 'sober' and since October 2024 has produced the sequel to Ronin, called Ronin Rising and another title called, Pandora.