Talk about a buzzworthy team-up: comics legend Frank Miller is launching his own publishing company, Frank Miller Presents, and former DC co-pubilsher Dan DiDio will be joining him as Publisher of the new venture.
Miller will serve as president and editor in chief, with Silenn Thomas, currently the CEO of Frank Miller Ink, acting as as COO.
The news was announced in an exclusive at THR.
The line’s goal is to present new work by Miller, as well as other talents, both new and established. The launch titles include follow ups to two Miller classics: Sin City 1858 which is a return to the gory pulp esthetic of Sin City but set in Western days; and Ronin Book Two, a sequel to Miller’s early 80s story which launched both “prestige format” comics and the parody Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
With a stated goal of publishing two to four titles a year, there are also two original titles, Pandora and Ancient Enemies, with no further information given. Which titles Miller will write or draw or the identity of other collaborators was not revealed.
DiDio was formerly co-publisher of DC comics from 2010 to 2020 – this is his first new venture since leaving DC a few weeks before the pandemic landed.
“Investing in artists and the future of comics has always been my one true passion and creative calling,” Miller said in a statement. “Dan, Silenn and I couldn’t be more proud to be launching Frank Miller Presents, which will serve as fertile ground for storytellers and new creations. Our focus for this publishing company is to cultivate a fellowship of artists and writers to mentor, collaborate and push forward not only each other but the art form as well.”
“Frank has an incredible vision for this publishing company, which further expands on his commitment to storytelling and characters that connect people around the world,” stated Thomas.
Miller is among the most revered living comics creators, since his legendary run on Daredevil in the early 80s. Although Ronin was his first foray into “long form comics”, it was his second attempt, The Dark Knight Returns, which essentially rewrote the book on Batman and has influenced countless creators ever since.
Moving to a creator owned model at Dark Horse, Miller produced such titles as Sin City and 300, which in turn put the spotlight on comics as IP when they were turned into visually stunning films back in the 00s. Miller found more controversy with Holy Terror, a book based on Miller’s reaction to the 9/11 attacks, which has been widely condemned as promoting Islamaphobic attitudes, although Miller has partially walked back his attitude about the project.
In recent years, Miller has returned to the world of Batman with Dark Knight III, and moving back into media Cursed, a Netflix adaptation of a story he co-created with Thomas Wheeler, which Miller and Thomas exec produced. He’s also been dabbling with NFTs, with one selling for $840,000.
Love him or hate him, Miller is one of the key figures of the last 50 years of comics history, and Frank Miller Presents is going to get a lot of attention. And as this tweet shows, DiDio and Miller couldn’t be happier to be teaming up.
ME DAN FRANCO: Frank Miller se asocia con Dan Didio para lanzar su propia editorial de #comics, Frank Miller Presents.
(+)#crimen #noir #cienciaficcion pic.twitter.com/FVCKhOTiRX
— Perdidos En El Éter (@perdidoseter) April 28, 2022
A few thoughts:
Has Miller ever edited anything? Or even just mentored anyone? I know that’s not a requirement to be the Editor in Chief, but honestly curious.
We’re going to promote new voices! Also, we’re not naming anyone because we probably haven’t bothered to recruit anyone yet, but it’s on our to do list!
Nothing says new and exciting like…a sequel to Ronin? I like Ronin, have owned a copy since I was a teen, but talk about something no one was clamoring for
How many books will Didio be writing or co-writing? (Again, something no one is clamoring for)
Will the comics be creator owned? Creator participation? Will Miller and Didio own them? Or are they backed by some VC or whoever?
He may a racist Islamophobic asshole, but I’m glad that Miller stopped drinking and taking drugs and cleaned himself up. Cause he looked like he was on the verge of killing himself a few years back.
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