Book Review: Frank Miller's Ronin Rising

A cursed Ronin. Psychological manipulation by a sentient AI. A security commander turned savior. And a postapocalyptic biotech war in the demon-teeming pits of a twenty-first century New York inadvertently started by the once benevolent Aquarius Corporation.

Eisner Hall of Famer Frank Miller’s Ronin is cited as the inspiration for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Samurai Jack. Now—40 years later—Miller, with the team Philip Tan and Daniel Henriques, returns to the world of Ronin, continuing his story for a new generation in Frank Miller’s Ronin Rising.

Miller and his team continue the story of Ronin deftly and intentionally, drawing the reader into his postapocalyptic world as completely as he did in the original series run, published in 1983–84 by DC Comics, which is widely considered to be one of his most influential original works.

Frank Miller's Ronin Rising will be published October 8, 2024. Abrams ComicArts and Kana provided an early galley for review.

I remember well when the first Ronin series was published, but I did not pick it up or read it. I knew of Miller's work though, mostly from The Dark Knight Returns and some of his work over at Marvel Comics. Going into this I read a summary of that first mini-series.

This is very much a sequel to that first story with very little effort to do much recap for new readers. It dives right into the action, very violent action which is rendered well in the art. The page layouts take advantage of two-page spreads to convey the immense threats and the action against them. I think the art will be very impactful in the printed final product as long as it does not suffer from gutter loss down the center (where the book is bound). This story was laid out very much for a print experience rather than a digital one.

That same art layout also guides the reading experience. In some ways, it is a faster read if one is only focusing on the words (mostly via dialogue bubbles). However, if one takes the time to pour over the art, it can be a slower read. I suspect the latter is something readers might do on subsequent re-readings.

Miller himself did the artwork on chapters 4 and 6, while Tan and Henriques did the rest. The differences are a bit jarring and, admittedly, I preferred the latter's work to Miller's. Theirs is much more detailed and textured; Miller's comes across less so. However, I did appreciate that Miller's dialogue bubbles were larger and easier for these old eyes to read.

In the end, what readers take away from the experience, I think, will greatly depend on their view of the original tale and its presentation.