Underrated Manga, Part 6: Ronin

Angelcake · Post by **Angelcake** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 10:51 -0700

OK, so Frank Miller's Ronin isn't EXACTLY manga, but it's pretty darn close.....

OK, so pretty much everyone of you knows who FM is. He is, of course, the creator of Sin City.

But even though Sin City is cool, Ronin is KILLER!

Ronin's story is somewhat simplistic, but the execution is fantastic.

Ronin is basically a time-travel, science fiction story about a Ronin who, after dying in disgrace, gets a seacond chance in life. He is reborn in a futuristic 21st century NY dystopia. Now, he has to find the reincarnated form of his master's murderer, the ancient demon Agat.

What follows is an ingenious piece of satirical science fiction that is worthy of not only a movie but a master SF novel.

Of course, Frank Miller's use of manga and samurai is no coincidence. He's also responsible for having Lone Wolf and Cub come to us over here in the states.

Do yourself a favor and give Ronin a shot!

Post by **Todd Shogun** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:45 -0700

Ronin is an awesome epic. And for all you TMNT fans out there -- if it wasn't for FM's Ronin, you may not have had the TMNT. TMNT started off as a parody of Ronin and then branched out on it's own (and we all know the TMNT made it possible for works like Usagi Yojimbo, Cerebus, and other independent black-and-whites to gain the recognition they deserved). Both Eastman and Laird were die-hard Miller fans, and it's no wonder why. Frank has also dabbled a bit in the UY universe, offering a cover piece that was reprinted (I believe) in the Art of UY.

Colin Solan · Post by **Colin Solan** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 15:15 -0700

Yeah, they also lifted from Daredevil. Miller's ninja were the "Hand" so Eastman & Laird's became the "Foot," DD's teacher was Stick, so the turtles' teacher was Splinter, a little stick.

Post by **Todd Shogun** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 7:38 -0700

Oh yeah, that's right. And we all know Frank Miller also breathed new life into Daredevil (and Batman) as well. The origin story of the TMNT was also pulled from Daredevil. Instead of hitting the guy over his eyes and breaking, it ended up bouncing off him and hitting the bowl of turtles the kid was holding instead. Ingenious.

Leonardo-san · Post by **Leonardo-san** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 19:39 -0700

Frank Miller has done a lot of amazing things over the years.
I also enjoyed the spin he put on Wolverine years back. Again, he brought samurai/ninja elements into the mix, with Frank's characteristic style.

Post by **Todd Shogun** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 15:50 -0700

Check on the Wolverine Limited Series... seems everything FM touches turns to gold

Colin Solan · Post by **Colin Solan** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 18:14 -0700

My personal favorite Frank Miller book is 300 which tells the historical story of 300 Spartan warriors who held back the enormous Persian army at Thermopolyae.

I've met him twice and he was very cool both times.