#IReadsYou Review: RONIN BOOK II #1

RONIN BOOK II #1

FRANK MILLER PRESENTS LLC

STORY: Frank Miller

LAYOUTS: Frank Miller

ART: Philip Tan and Daniel Henriques

LETTERS: John Workman

BOSSES: Frank Miller, Dan DiDio, and Silenn Thomas

COVER: Philip Tan and Daniel Henriques

VARIANT COVER: Frank Miller

56pp, B&W, 7.99 U.S. (November 2022)

Ronin created by Frank Miller

Ronin is a six-issue comic book miniseries published between 1983 and 1984 by DC Comics.  The series was written and drawn by Frank Miller, with Miller's artwork painted by Lynn Varley.  Ronin takes place in a near-future New York City, a dystopia in which an unnamed ronin (in Japan, a samurai without a master) and his mortal enemy, the demon “Agat,” are reincarnated.  The series also features a security officer, Casey McKenna, “The Aquarius Corporation” and its artificial intelligence, “Virgo,” which may hold the true secrets of the ronin and Agat.

Late last year, Frank Miller's new publishing concern, Frank Miller Presents, launched a sequel to Ronin.  Entitled Ronin Book II, the series is written by Miller; drawn by Philip Tan (pencils), Daniel Henriques (inks), and Miller (layouts); and lettered by John Workman.  The new series follows Casey McKenna and her infant son, Billy, as they travel across a ravaged America.

Ronin Book II #1 finds Casey dreaming of her trials and tribulations.  The world is a vampire (so to speak), and the artificial intelligence, Virgo, still haunts Casey's life.  Now, she has a baby boy, and they must traverse the ravaged landscape of America.  However, sinister evils and the old ghosts still abound, one in the form of the infamous Agat.

THE LOWDOWN:  When the launch of Frank Miller Presents was announced to much fanfare in the spring of 2022, I was interested.  After all, Frank Miller was one of the first comic book creators whose name I learned when I started reading comic books in high school.  I found Daredevil #189 (cover dated: December 1982) in one of those comic book three-packs, I fell in love with Miller and his collaborator, Klaus Janson.  Their union would be made rock-solid (solid as a rock!) when the duo collaborated on the 1986 miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

Between Daredevil and Batman, Frank Miller unleashed his landmark six-issue miniseries, Ronin.  It blended the Japanese comics (manga) with the French comics (bande dessinée) that influenced Frank Miller.  I would say that the work of French comic book creator, Jean “Moebius” Giraud, had the biggest influence on Ronin's artwork and narrative style.  Ronin was essentially Miller's Moebius comic book slash graphic novel.

In its press offerings, Frank Miller Presents has stated that Ronin Book II “captures all the energy and excitement of the original series, taking the characters and world into a direction all its own.”  I can accept that, but after reading Ronin Book II #1, I believe that a sequel to Ronin is at least 30 years too late.  Why?

Well, Ronin Book II #1 looks and reads like a comic book drawn by either Todd McFarlane or Jim Lee in the early 1990s.  That would include McFarlane's 1990-launched Spider-Man series and his Image Comics' title, Spawn (1992), and Lee's 1991-launched X-Men series and his Image title, WildC.A.T.S: Cover Action Teams (1992).

Ronin Book II #1 reads like McFarlane's “BOOM BOOM BOOM” script for Spider-Man #1 (cover dated: August 1990), and Philip Tan and Daniel Henriques' art could be a catalog of Jim Lee's pencil art inked by Scott Williams, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio, and just about every art assistant in the former Homage Studios gang.  There is indeed some beautiful panoramic black and white art, especially towards the end of the story, but...

What's it like to read this first issue.  Well, the guy who wrote powerfully in the 1980s is not as powerful now.  I wouldn't call Ronin Book II #1 incomprehensible, but I would say that it is incomprehensible that Miller thinks he can get away with a new series that seems like nothing more than a shoddy riff on the legendary manga, Lone Wolf and Cub.  So Miller may be taking Ronin Book II in “a direction all its own,” but I hope that the rest of the series does not read like old Todd McFarland and Jim Lee comics.

I don't know if I will buy any more issues of this series.  I may be too curious – because its Miller and Ronin – to just ignore Ronin Book II.  Also, I'm being generous with the grade I'm giving it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Frank Miller and of his Ronin comic book will want to at least sample Ronin Book II.

B-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

"Ronin Book II" is now known as "RONIN RISING" and is available is both a hardcover and manga paperback edition via Amazon.

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The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Abrams ComicArts Announces "MEGALOPOLIS: An Original Graphic Novel" for October 2025

Abrams ComicArts to Publish Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis as an Original Graphic Novel

NEW YORK, NY—APRIL 24, 2025—Abrams ComicArts is thrilled to announce the debut graphic novel from legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, Megalopolis: An Original Graphic Novel, hitting shelves this fall. This stunning 160-page graphic novel offers readers an immersive new version of Coppola’s iconic cinematic story, adapted by writer Chris Ryall and Eisner-winning artist Jacob Phillips.

Set in the futuristic city of New Rome, Megalopolis originally captivated audiences with its masterful filmmaking, becoming one of Francis Ford Coppola's most widely discussed films. Now, in graphic novel form, it explores the gripping narrative of idealism versus corruption. Architect and dreamer Cesar Catilina seeks a utopian future, while Mayor Franklyn Cicero fights to preserve the status quo—rife with greed and political warfare. Caught between these powerful forces is Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose romance with Cesar tests her loyalty and compels her to redefine her beliefs about what humanity truly deserves. The film, which features an all-star cast including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, and Aubrey Plaza, made its world premiere last year to a 10-minute standing ovation at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and was released theatrically and in IMAX globally on September 27, 2024.

“I was pleased to put the idea of a graphic novel in the competent hands of Chris Ryall with the idea that, although it was inspired by my film Megalopolis, it didn’t necessarily have to be limited by it,” said Francis Ford Coppola. “I hoped the graphic novel would take its own flight, with its own artists and writer so that it would be a sibling of the film, rather than just an echo. That’s what I feel Chris, Jacob Phillips and the team at Abrams ComicArts have accomplished. It confirms my feeling that art can never be constrained, but rather always a parallel expression, and part of the bounty we can make available to our patrons, audiences and readers.”

Chris Ryall, known for adapting groundbreaking graphic novels from legends such as Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Harlan Ellison, brings expert craftsmanship to this ambitious project. Jacob Phillips, acclaimed artist behind hits like That Texas Blood and Newburn, infuses the story with visually stunning illustrations that heighten the novel's emotional and cinematic intensity.

“Adapting Francis Ford Coppola's visionary Megalopolis has been an incredible creative thrill,” says writer Chris Ryall. “Coppola's storytelling challenged and inspired me at every turn, and collaborating withJacob Phillips brought new depth to the narrative. With Abrams ComicArts, we've created something that both honors and expands the world of the original film.”

“Megalopolis is a giant, awe-inspiring tale which insisted I pushed my artwork to new levels to meet the challenge,” explains artist Jacob Phillips. “A Roman epic in modern day America.”

Joseph Montagne, Publisher of Abrams ComicArts, expressed his excitement: "Bringing Francis Ford Coppola’s extraordinary vision to the graphic novel format is an immense honor for Abrams ComicArts. Coppola’s storytelling genius, paired with Ryall’s writing and Phillips’ dynamic artistry, makes Megalopolis a true landmark in the graphic novel literary canon."

Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis: An Original Graphic Novel promises readers a thrilling journey, proving once again that Coppola remains one of the most innovative storytellers of our time.

Available October 2025 from Abrams ComicArts.

About the Book:

Francis FordCoppola's Megalopolis: An Original Graphic Novel

By Francis Ford Coppola, Adapted by Chris Ryall

Art by Jacob Phillips

Abrams ComicArts | October2025

U.S. $25.99 | CAN $32.99| U.K. £18.99

Hardcover | 160 Pages6.625 x 10.18 Inches | Full-color illustrations throughout

Hardcover ISBN: 9781419787126 | eBook ISBN: 9798896840091

ABOUT ABRAMS: 

Founded in 1949, ABRAMS was the first company in the United States to specialize in publishing art and illustrated books. The company continues to publish critically acclaimed and bestselling works in the areas of art, photography, cooking, craft, comics, interior and garden design, entertainment, fashion, and popular culture as well as narrative non-fiction and new works of fiction for adults; children’s books ranging from middle grade to young adult fiction to picture books to board books. ABRAMS creates and distributes brilliantly designed books with the highest production values under the following imprints: Abrams; Abrams ComicArts; Megascope; Surely Books; AbramsImage; Abrams Press; The Overlook Press; Cernunnos; Cameron + Company; AbramsBooks for Young Readers; Amulet Books; Abrams Appleseed; and Magic Cat. ABRAMS also distributes books for Booth-Clibborn Editions, Alain Ducasse Édition,Èditions de La Martiniére, Editions BPI, Global Golf Group, Lucky Spool, Milky Way Picture Books, The Museum of Modern Art, SelfMadeHero, Tate Publishing, V&A Publishing, and The Vendome Press.

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#IReadsYou Review: FANTASTIC FOUR: Full Circle

FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE
ABRAMS COMICARTS

STORY: Alex Ross
ART: Alex Ross
COLORS: Alex Ross and Josh Johnson
LETTERS: Ariana Maher
EDITORS: Charles Kochman and Tom Brevoort
COVER: Alex Ross and Josh Johnson
ISBN: 978-1-4197-6167-6; hardcover with dust jacket (also an eBook); 8 1/2 x 11 (September 6, 2022)
64pp, Color, $24.95 U.S., $31.99 CAN, £17.99 U.K.

Fantastic Four created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee

The Fantastic Four #1 (cover dated: November 1961) is the comic book that basically started what we know of today as Marvel Comics and the “Marvel Universe” of superheroes.  The Fantastic Four was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, with Lee writing the story for the first issue and Jack Kirby drawing that first issue.

Returning to the Lee-Kirby era, Fantastic Four: Full Circle is a new original graphic novel from writer-artist Alex Ross.  Published in an oversize format, 8½ x 11, Full Circle features the Fantastic Four (FF):  Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm Richards), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and the Thing (Ben Grimm).  In a story that is a sequel of sorts to a classic issue of the Fantastic Four, the members of the team find themselves fighting for survival in the Negative Zone, an alien universe composed entirely of anti-matter.  The rest of Full Circle's creative team is comprised of Josh Johnson, who colors this comic book with Ross, and letterer Ariana Maher.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle opens on a rainy night in the Baxter Building, the Manhattan home of the FF.  Ben is making himself a sandwich when an intruder suddenly appears in the team's living quarters.  Upon investigation, they discover that the intruder is a man who once masqueraded as Ben Grimm.  They soon discover that the man is a human host, used to deliver a swarm of invading parasites – carrion creatures composed of “Negative Energy.”

What is the purpose behind this invasion, and who is behind it?  Now, the Fantastic Four have no choice but to journey into the heart of the Negative Zone, an alien universe that is parallel to Earth's universe and is composed entirely of anti-matter.  They not only risk their own lives, but also the fate of the cosmos?  Is there any hope for this journey, or will they discover hope?

THE LOWDOWN:  I like that Fantastic Four: Full Circle has a direct connection to the Fantastic Four's vintage era (as I call it) when it was produced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.  Full Circle directly connects to and is a resolution of Fantastic Four #51 (cover dated: June 1966).  Entitled “This Man... This Monster!,” the story pit Reed Richards against an unnamed scientist who gives himself the powers and appearance of The Thing.  The scientist's plan is to kill Richards, but those plans ultimately force him to save Reed's life while condemning himself to a sorry fate.

Full Circle returns to “This Man... This Monster!” in a deeply intimate way, or, at least, that is the way it comes across to me.  In terms of graphics, illustrations, and colors, Full Circle is a direct descendant of the Lee-Kirby Fantastic Four.  If Fantastic Four #51 is the parent, then, Full Circle is the child.  Jack Kirby's dynamic, cosmic infused compositions are newly infused with the modern flourishes of the techno-marvels of software graphics and colors.  Alex Ross even gives Stan Lee's chatterbox expositions new life simply by multiplying them in Full Circle, and Ross' take feels authentic.  When one of the Fantastic Four speaks, their dialogue reads as if it were written by Stan the Man himself.

Alex Ross’s art in Full Circle is a combination of impressive line work and layers of brushwork that seems to sway like drapery.  Ross and Josh Johnson color Full Circle in fluorescent shades: blues, greens, oranges, and purples.  Their color choices also recalls the visuals and graphics of the “Pop Art” comic book movement (or moment) of the 1960s, somewhat similar to writer-artist Jim Steranko's work for Marvel, such as Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., in the late 1960s.

For a long time, I have described the comic books published in the 1960s by DC Comics and Marvel Comics, especially Marvel, as having a sense of wonder and mystery, of science/magic and hope, and of discovery and exploration.  The modern comic book series that best exemplifies that is the late Darwyn Cooke's 2004 comic book miniseries, DC: The New Frontier.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle is both an homage and a return to a time when Marvel's comic book titles were about discovering the new.  [Now, they are about IP maintenance and continuity, which is mostly fractured.]  I love Ariana Maher vintage-styled lettering and the throbbing coloring that Josh Johnson commits with Alex Ross.  All of it connects past and present.

I love that Alex Ross has presented Fantastic Four in this larger than usual format.  Here, Ross' big, almost widescreen art both captures and replicates the big spirit and cosmic yearnings of Jack Kirby's best work on the Fantastic Four.  I want to avoid spoilers, but I love Full Circle's ending, with its emphasis on hope, reconciliation, and peace.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle is published as the launch of “MarvelArts,” a new collaborative line of books between Marvel Comics and Abrams ComicArts.  Abrams tells us that in MarvelArts “nothing is impossible and anything can happen.”  I hope that this means that Abrams ComicArts will not just publish anything.  Future publications should be as ambitious and as classically Marvel as this debut.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the Fantastic Four and of Silver Age Marvel Comics will want Fantastic Four: Full Circle.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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