Frank Miller's Ronin (DC Black Label Edition)

So far I have read all the 'Sin City' books and '300' by Frank Miller, and while I enjoyed them I still found faults. Yes the art is incredible and definitely stylish, but for me there seemed to be more effort in the style and the art than story, and both seemed a little ruined by the over-the-top masculinity present in the misogyny of 'Sin City' and the heroics of '300'. Both were original yes, but also somehow cliched. 'Ronin' was the book that finally proved to me that a genius was at work.I couldn't help noticing that there were strong similarities between 'Ronin' and the TV cartoon 'Samurai Jack' which was an enjoyable and original show but didn't run as deep or dark as 'Ronin' did. Yes I felt at times the artwork of 'Ronin' could be improved, particularly the ancient Japanese scenes at the beginning, and some of the characters could have been designed better, particularly the demonic villain Agat, whose appearance I feel could have been even darker. There are also still some Miller cliches present, such as romance. Apart from these minor faults, however, I was blown away. The almost poetic story of a masterless but honourable samurai being sent to a nightmarish future to battle a demonic enemy went to depths and complexities I never imagined or expected, helped by a shocking twist and characters who keep surprising you and forcing you to change your perceptions of them. Featuring themes of dreams, technology, science, horror, psychology and violence, this is sci-fi of the highest order. I read that Miller was influenced by manga during his period of making this comic, and I definitely felt undertones of Akira. The plot also reminded me of 2001, Carrie and Mad Max to name a few sci-fi/horror favourites. The futuristic world is genuinely imaginative, scary (thanks to your usual host of unpleasant degenerates which you find in any dystopia)and impressively drawn, especially the scenes featuring an all-powerful 'living' computer which takes centre stage of the story and physically grows to engulf the future city. Miller's drawing of future technology is almost poetic. I'm glad he drew this story rather than some other bland, cliched sci-fi/comic artist, who wouldn't have had the original, quirky, and charmingly imperfect style of Miller. Nevertheless, the artwork thankfully does nothing to downplay the impact of this dark, powerful and truly imaginative masterpiece. Possibly one of the best comics I've ever read. I highly recommend if you want your senses and mind blown by this kinetic tale, successfully blending complex themes with action. I am now seriously considering reading the Dark Knight!

Oh my days!!! Such great art and an amazing story with some very interesting themes covered throughout. If you like Sci-Fi & Samurai, then I highly recommend you read this. I was captivated from the very start and finished reading it quicker than I thought I would because I did not want to put it down. An absolute classic indeed.

Frank miller's greatest comic book art, Frank Miller's greatest story (yes, close too or better than his Daredevil run). The colouring is superb. I highly recommend.

As the title states it wasn't what I expected, but the themes and how all of the stories mini arcs came together nicely at the end, making a satisfying end to a good story

Loved this a helluva lot.

If you're a fan of Frank Miller than you'll really enjoy this book

Now let me start by saying that I'm a huge Frank Miller fan. I love nearly all of his works. Both art wise and as a writer and story teller. Hell I even managed to enjoy Holy Terror.The story in this is great but its let down by a aged art style that looks ugly in modern times, thus making it hard to read. I love how Frank Miller is paying homage to Japanese Manga here but you'd only find that out if you researched it. The art work here is scruffy and untidy and brings the story down.tl;dr Great premise and story, weak art lets it down.

Perfect

I honestly don’t care what hypocritical critics of Frank Miller think of him nowadays, he is a legend in the comics industry, especially when it comes to Daredevil and Batman (ok, maybe with the exception of All-Star Batman & Robin). And his story about an ancient Japanese ronin facing off against his arch nemesis in a dystopian cyberpunk New York City is no exception. While I’m not big on Miller’s art, it’s very well-done for its time. And the writing is good. Highly recommended for fans of Frank Miller or even Japanese samurai-type of literature.Now would somebody with actual talent make a movie out of this already?

The comic itself is a great piece of art and it's a must-have for every reader.probably I would like to get it in a bigger edition, this one is ok and practical to have on the go, but for this quality bigger pages would contribute to the magic that miller brought to us

Damn!

Edizione in inglese con copertina flessibile, pagine molto sottili ma buona qualità della stampa, una bella prefazione e qualche materiale sul "making of" (poca roba in realtà) in postfazione, acquistato al prezzo "folle" di 7 euro credo sia uno dei migliori affari che io abbia mai fatto (considerando anche la lunghezza di oltre 300 pagine).Su questo fumetto probabilmente è stato già scritto molto, da amante dei comics (e di Frank Miller) non posso non constatare che quest'opera sia almeno a livello "mainstream" piuttosto sottovalutata, o quanto meno ingiustificatamente meno nota e citata rispetto ad altri capolavori dell'autore (Sin City o le storie di Devil e Batman per le quali è diventato giustamente famoso).Anche considerando la giovanissima età dell'autore all'epoca della pubblicazione (1983), stiamo parlando sicuramente di uno dei comics americani più importanti di sempre, se non altro per la commistione, a vari livelli, della materia grezza del fumetto di marca Marvel/DC statunitense con influenze orientali ed europee.Innanzitutto, devo dire che a fine lettura mi sono trovato ad aver fatto un'esperienza molto diversa da quello che mi aspettavo. Il segno della cultura (e del fumetto) giapponese è qui a mio parere poco più che una sfumatura, inoltre narrativamente parlando è un'opera molto "corale" e tutt'altro che incentrata solo sulle peripezie del protagonista. Evidente e probabilmente voluto e cercato invece il contatto con gli stilemi del fumetto autoriale di stampo europeo, non mi sarei mai aspettato ad esempio di trovare in Miller dei richiami tanto evidenti ad autori quali Moebius.Anche la trama, mi ha piacevolmente sorpreso, caratterizzata da una certa e crescente complessità, i temi trattati sono tutt'altro che banali, la narrazione è molto efficace con momenti caratterizzati da fitti dialoghi ad alternarsi a pagine quasi prive di testo dove tutta la narrazione è affidata alle immagini. Anche se in inglese ho trovato piuttosto scorrevole e piacevole la lettura, molto comprensibile tranne alcuni passaggi in cui alcuni personaggi utilizzano uno slang un po' più complicato.Sui tanto criticati disegni, che dire? Miller non è mai stato un mostro di tecnica nè particolarmente interessato all'inserimento di dettagli, e qui la sua propensione per l'effetto del segno, per la cura nella predisposizione della tavola, per l'immagine come supporto alla narrazione raggiungono livelli davvero alti. Personalmente non trovo piacevole in sè il suo modo di disegnare, però non posso negare che graficamente l'opera è non solo riuscita ma anche molto, molto potente. Guardata in quest'ottica, il fumetto è sicuramente un capolavoro che non è invecchiato affatto male anzi, conserva tutt'oggi molto elementi di curiosità.

A melhor fase das HQs não poderia deixara de ter Ronin de Frank Miller na lista. It's a must to read!