Daredevil Visionaries - Frank Miller, Vol. 2

Story and art by: Frank Miller
Additional artwork: Klaus Janson

Miller's Elektra story arc in the pages of Daredevil has often been romanticized by comic enthusiasts for years. There was an uproar when--comics being what they are--another writer resurrected the Elektra character.


The cover for the second volume of Miller's Visionaries collection.

Miller's work on these issues of Daredevil is most certainly the product of the era in which they were written. The artwork gives the impression of posed action figures rather than beings and objects caught in a state of motion. Despite the stiffness in Miller's art, however, he does have an eye for good frame composition. The influence of cinematic composition on Miller's style is obvious.

The story, however, is just simply not as good as its hype. Not even nearly. This is not the Frank Miller who wrote The Dark Knight Returns. This is campy Miller. Characters speak their thoughts aloud...even when they're alone. Plots are based around very simplified notions of good and evil. Relationships between characters have no depth or gravity. Even the Elektra storyline is all surface and camp. If we learn nothing about a character, why should we care if something bad happens to her?

The second volume of Miller's Daredevil Visionaries remains rooted in the kind of hokey fifties "golly gee" mode of storytelling. It's the kind of storytelling acceptable for a young audience, which was certainly the kind audience that superhero comics have always attracted. From Frank Miller, however, we have come to expect a certain level of maturity and sophistication of storytelling even from his superhero work. Sadly, the camp and simplicity of Miller's Daredevil really just makes it Superman with more spandex.

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