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Frank Miller Loved Halle Berry's Catwoman – The Dark Knight Panel At C2E2

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Greg Baldino writes

Before we get into yesterday's panel with Frank Miller at C2E2, can we just talk about how no one else has gotten to do what he has with Batman? By which I mean that since the 1980s, he's only ever worked on HIS Batman story, asserting that even books like Year One and All-Star Batman are part of the same continuity. Even the current Dark Knight book, the first he hasn't been personally writing and drawing is still done under his creative approval. And DC has never done the Dark Knight version of Batman without Miller's approval if not involvement. That's rare; especially considering that this trust–both from the publisher and the creator–came out of one 4 issue story. That's something, I tell you.

Anyways, the panel.

We're in the main stage room, which is just shy of standing room only. Frank and Brian Azzarello enter to roaring cheers that drowned out the theme to the '66 Batman tv show.

The two writers joke with each other about what to talk about. "How's Jill?" asks Frank, in reference to Azzarello's wife, artist Jill Thompson.

Brian suggests they talk about process, how they went about writing Dark Knight 3 together. One of the secrets of writing comics, says Frank addressing the issue of voice, is to turn yourself into a goofy little kid playing around with fantastic ideas.

"You cannot plot this stuff," says Frank, "unless you have a sense of humor about it."

(Author's aside: Frank is sitting with one leg crossed over the other, showing the sole of his shoe, which is such a recurring visual in his books I can't not seem him as a Frank Miller drawing of himself.)

Speaking about the recent book, the two joke about the various crippling injuries they've dealt out to the DC heroes in the current book.

Someone from the audience asks what characters they've wanted to write but haven't. "Zorro," says Frank with a certainty that tells us he's thought quite seriously about this. The two then launch into speculations about the old pulp characters the Shadow and Doc Savage, joking that the audience hasn't ever heard of them.

"I adore Superman," Frank says in response to a fan's question about whether the writer and artist harbored animosity towards the character based on his portrayal in Dark Knight Returns. "But I was writing a Batman book." Miller then teased he's pitching a Superman book to DC, which will present a very different view of the man of steel from the one shown in the Dark Knight books.

A fan asks why he made Batman so unlikeable and frank cracks a smile. Miller launches off this into how he viewed Batman's emotional condition in his different works, set in many different time periods of the caped crusaders life.

Brian and Frank then get into the Carrie Kelly Robin, and how they both see her as smarter than Batman and having more potential than the other robin–especially more than Dick Grayson, who in Miller's opinion never measured up.

The audience is starting to relax. The questions are becoming looser, more open. "Where did you get the idea for Sin City?" We're past the tension and the urgency of having a really tight and focused question.

"What is your inspiration for writing Batman?"

FRANK: You wanna take that one?

BRIAN: …They pay me?

In all seriousness, Azzarello says it's the opportunity to work with his collaborators. For Miller, it's that Batman can't fly, he's got it so much harder than the other heroes because he has to do all the work.

"Batman's like a big diamond," Miller says. "You can throw him against the wall, onto the floor, up into the ceiling, he doesn't break. My Batman works, Brian's Batman works–even Adam West's Batman worked!"

One fan shows off his shirt, which says "SUPERMAN IS AN IMMIGRANT" to which Miller says "Well, undocumented."

This prompts a round of laughter from the audience, which… I don't quite know how to read. "I guess we shouldn't have a wall between us and Krypton," jokes Miller.

It's interesting to watch fans ask creators of this much tenure questions, because you hear a lot of questions that, in their long careers, they've probably answered more than a few times. But you don't stand up at the microphone to ask someone like Frank Miller "Where do you get your ideas?" to get the answer, you do it to get to ask the question.

"The one character that they never get wrong is Catwoman," says Miller about portrayals of Bat-characters in film. "Going all the way back to the TV show. You know, Michelle Pfeiffer, Halley Berry–"

Azzarello drops his head into his hand. "Next question."

That gets a good laugh.

Is there going to be more Sin City? "As long as I'm around there'll be more Sin City." Replies Miller to applause. He's got two more planned, both set in the past, one mid-twentieth century, one a hundred years or more bac

Which, I'll be honest, Frank Miller riffing on 19th century urban crime is a ride I'd sign up for.

The questions are shifting back to DKIII, and it's interesting to how, for a series of books that are so often taken as Serious Superhero Literature, how much  FUN the both of them are having with this.

What are his feelings on other people's portrayals of Elektra? "I wrote a whole graphic novel to make sure everyone knew she was dead!"

"She'll ALWAYS be dead to me!" deadpans Azzerello.

"Thank you, Brian," says Miller with a nod.

Man, I wish I could transcribe faster, because both of them have some very interesting things to say about how they made their collaboration work, but I can only type so fast.

What about DKIV?

"It comes before DKV," jokes Azzarello.

The last question of the night: what was their best learning experiences to get where they are.

"Getting mugged and getting heartbroken," says Miller.

And, you know, if there's one thing you could say about Miller's characters, which clearly comes out of those aforementioned lessons, is that they don't stay down when life smacks them to the ground and leaves them for dead. Scars and all, they get back up and fight.

Greg Baldino will also always be dead to Brian Azzarello, but he wrote this all for you, Punchmuffin. Wish you could be here.


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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