Customer Reviews

Frank Miller's Robocop

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After hearing so much from the Internet that Frank Miller had written an epic screenplay that was bowdlerized by the studio execs into what became the abysmal Robocop 2, I was eager to read the original treatment presented in this graphic novel. However, the very things people complained about in Robocop 2 are present here. Robocop has no character development. Most of his time in this book is spent shooting stuff. Also, there is the odd scene in this book with the ex-wife talking to him in tears at OCP almost exactly as it is in the movie, with no follow up or mention of how Robo feels about it afterwards. It just gets dropped, like in the movie. Lewis has no character development, like Robo, most of her time in this novel is spent shooting stuff. Throw in a Miller version of Robocop 2, a psycopathic goliath equally as ridiculous as the movie version (that apparently didn't go through any testing phases just like the movie version, damn those future dystopian engineers), add in a lead engineer who dresses up like she's ready to pick up some guys at a nightclub and is extremely well endowed with hip and chest size (which engineering labs were THESE girls hanging out in at my university?????), and finally add in bloody gun battles (LOTS of them) and you've summed up the basic plot of this book. I do give credit though for the artwork. A lot of it is amazing. Unfortunately, this book suffers from "too much of a good thing" and as a result because of the gorgeous amount of detail put into each panel, a lot of the action is hard to follow. In summary, if filmed from Miller's original script, Robocop 2 would not have turned out any better. Miller is no Alan Moore.

I was hyped when I bought "Frank Miller's Robocop". I seemed to be the ideal audience: I thoroughly enjoyed the first movie, thought the second wasn't nearly as bad as it was made out to be, and enjoyed Frank Miller's Sin City. Once I heard there was a graphic novel version of Miller's original Robocop 2 script, I bought it immediately.

Well... It's completely disappointing. Miller's screenplay had been derided as being "unfilmable", which is the kiss of death in the screenwriting world. I had assumed that was merely because it asked for special effects and shots that might not have been technically possible when it was penned in the late 1980s (compare that to today, with the CG-infused film version of Sin City demonstrating that almost anything is possible). While Miller's version does have some difficult-to-film moments, the main problem is that the story itself is shallow, unfocused and basically a mess.

Interestingly enough, the best ideas from this script _did_ find their way into the final movie, but with better development. For example: in this comic, the plot (when it finally coalesces) surrounds a "Robocop 2" that's built to compete with the original but goes haywire; there is a conniving female executive who gets to toy around with Robocop's programming; the cops are on strike; there is mention of Alex Murphy's previous life before becoming Robocop --the problem is they're barely half-baked in this script. Instead the story surrounds the total breakdown of the police force in Detroit and the failing effort of a handful of cops (including Robocop) to keep the city together; and it doesn't tell it very well --we exchange much less Robocop action for paper-thin cop drama. There's a lot of violence and action, but it never feels compelling in any way.

The worst part of this version surrounds the introduction of a paramilitary force by Omni Consumer Products (OCP) to keep control. The characters are obviously a plot device to introduce the candidate for the second Robocop; outside of that their presence is hard to justify. The actual soldier chosen for Robocop 2 is completely ridiculous --a supposedly "insane" soldier who comes off as a incredibly one-dimensional, well-armed buffoon. Meanwhile, OCP, a source of great amusement in the films, is reduced to something completely uninteresting in this version: all of the wit and corporate stupidity is drained away --replaced by other, very generic characters. The ending is a sham, I don't care what opinion you might have of the series --but it doesn't fit in at all with the Robocop character in the films, or even the dull characterization of him made here.

Oddly enough, the movie brought in ideas that might have made this version better: Bringing in a serious narcotic that's affecting the population, using a drug addicted maniac (Kane) as the basis for a second Robocop, playing up the internal corporate politics of OCP, and the infamous sociopath child criminal. The movie was by no means a masterpiece, but it had a better kernel of story elements --more potential-- to work with than what's present here.

What makes this version worth reading? There is an aspect of Robocop still in here, and there are some of the absurdly funny commercials breaking up the action (again, the best made it into the film to sit alongside some other funny segments not present here). However, because the Robocop character is developed so thinly it doesn't do justice to the name. At best, it would be interesting to read this version in conjunction with watching the film to see how a movie can change on its way to the screen. Just don't expect this to be better than the film.

Bottom line: the story in "Frank Miller's Robocop" is disorganized, not very interesting, and ultimately insulting to soul of the first movie it was supposed to follow.

I am a huge fan of the Robocop and Robocop 2 movies. I could see many elements in Frank Miller's Robocop similar to the movie. Many have mentioned the material in the comic being much more dark than the movie, and I must disagree. Overall, Robocop 2 the Movie was much, much, much better than the comic. I am relieved that the Movie was not based more on Frank Miller's Robocop.

I've always felt that Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers all existed in the same universe. The Verhoeven-verse where every shot was a headshot, the TV spewed jingoist propaganda, and starkly black humor boiled forth in a smash-mouth whirlwind of kinetic science fiction action cinema. As a huge fan of both Frank Miller and Verhoeven, when I learned Miller would be scripting the sequel, I was giddy...until I saw incomprehensible wreckage that was Robocop 2.

It had its moments, but for the most part was not a movie for fans of the original. Well, it turns out that the script that Miller wrote was butchered in production. THAT script has actually made it into my brain though via the awesome adaption by Avatar Press.

It's got a sarcastic and media weary tone of the original (the fake-OCP ads are straight-Verhoeven), the over the top carnage of a dozen ED-209s, and even introduces true to Robocop form villains in the shape of shell-shocked special forces covering for the striking cops.

It's an interesting read after eye-rolling my way through the actual movie. You can see little peeks of Miller's vision in the film, but having rewatched it after the comic, it's a roadmap of missed opportunity and misunderstanding what Robocop was all about.

Available in a trade paperback, I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Frank Miller completists will want to pick this book up not just for the screenplay that it's based on (adapted here by Steven Grant and not Frank Miller), but also for the original Frank Miller cover and pin-ups. The screenplay, penned in 1987 after "The Dark Knight Returns," was watered down by the director and film company. It's here in all of its glory--and it's good, bad, and ugly. It's a violent satire that succeeds on some levels (action! humor!) and fails on others (cohesive plot? characterization?). Is it better than the movie that was eventually made (Robocop 2)? Yes, but it's far from the "lost masterpiece" that many Miller fans were hoping for.

Juan Jose Ryp does a great job with the artwork--think Geoff Darrow (Miller's collaborator on Hard Boiled). The colorists do an even better job, as the artwork is sometimes too detailed to really understand what's going on. The final two issues here (8 and 9) are colored by a different colorist than the first 7 issues, and it really shows: The climactic battle between Robocop and "Robocop 2" is difficult to follow thanks to the dark coloring.

Hollywood took notice of the success Frank Miller was having in the comics world after crafting smash hits with his re-invention of Daredevil for Marvel, and his landmark Dark Knight Returns for DC. The folks over at Orion (who owned the Robocop property at the time before the film distributer went under) decided it would be a good idea to tap Miller to pen the sequel to the 1987 smash hit Robocop, and Miller was up to the task. However, the suits didn't share Miller's ultraviolent and ultra satiric vision of a Robocop sequel, and there were drastic changes taken to Miller's script that resulted in the final product looking barely like anything Miller had put to paper. Now, thanks to Avatar, Miller's original, uncompromising vision is finally here in comic form, and it certainly blows everything that was seen in the Robocop 2 movie away. The book begins with the Detroit police force still on strike, and evil corporation OCP demolishing people's homes and creating their own sadistic police force. In the meantime, Dr. Margaret Love has big plans for Robocop, even though OCP is suffering failure after failure in developing a new Robocop cyborg. The biting and scathing satiric elements of the book are reason enough to give this a look, as Miller pulls no punches in his delivery, and the art of Juan Jose Ryp is pulpy and extremely bloody all the way. Fan of Frank Miller or Robocop or both, this TPB is worth checking out alone to see what might have been.

...it's not that bad. I'm very aware of the whole little history behind this book and if you ask me: both the movie's good in its own right but it's definitely the comic in my opinion that stands out as the true, worthy sequel to RoboCop!. I figured it was very nice to see how Frank Miller completely envisioned what RoboCop 2 was meant to be, so yeah like most other customers who bought this I got it out of strong curiosity. Steven Grant (I'm sure) does a good job adapting Frank's material and may I say Juan Jose Ryp is a really dedicated and hardworking illustrator who always pays close attention to detail and it's very..well...colorful color thanks to colorist Greg Waller. Anyways, the moment I got it I sat down ready to embrace it for what it is, and let me just say it's a pretty good way to kill off an hour and a half. People can complain how it can be pretty hard to follow sometimes but, in my opinion, I can follow it just fine. To point out SOME comparisons to the movie's flaws... people: don't get your hopes up here, Murphy/RoboCop has slightly more character development but that's where it stops. As for Anne Lewis his partner -- just like in the movie she has no development whatsoever, but at the very least she's much more involved more of the time where in the 'hollywood' film she's like she's only simply included in the scenes. I can now sympathize with Frank Miller on his outrage over how much they changed his work, the film and comic are very different but don't worry, the comic (unlike the film) seems to be much easier to follow.So yes I recommend it: if, once again, out of the strong curiosity.

I honestly don't know what all the negative fuss is with this comic. I came in with an eager mind ready to read this, and after doing so I can still say it was quite an enjoyable experience.

First off I'll get the big elephant-in-the-room out of the way with regards to the art. Yes it is hard to interpret the art sometimes, mainly because artist Juan Jose Ryp is trying just to freaking hard on the detail. I love detail inside of a comic, (it's what made Todd McFarlane a big star early in the 90's) it's just that there has to be some discerning lines within each panel that put focus on either the forefront or the background. Juan fails to do that, and instead keeps everything within the same visual reference, making the background just as focused as the foreground. This adds to a lot of confusion in his art, especially when say Robocop 2 is hurling Robocop through a brick wall and there's millions of pieces of debris in the way. If only Juan had put in that minor aspect in his art, he would've absolutely nailed the art in this comic as he definitely knows how to draw people and action.

Next comes the writing. Taken from the a story by Frank Miller, it finally fleshes out what would've been Frank's idea for Robocop 2 had it gone straight from the page to the big screen. And I have to say that it was still good imo; different from the movie in a lot of ways but still retaining the general idea. I liked how the Old Man is never a central character in this story, and instead has his cronies like Dr. Love do all of his handiwork. I like how Dr. Love's role is expanded upon where throughout the comic she is interpreted as somebody who is really thinking that she is doing good for the city, especially during her last few moments. This adds a whole new level of complexity to her. (Yes she is highly sexualized by her clothing, but who's complaining you know). I also like how the man who would be Robocop 2 is introduced, this time through the personification of an insane OCP security personnel named Kong. Kong only has the briefest of roles right before he becomes Robocop 2, and I liked how he was introduced more as a force of nature rather than over-analyzing why he does what he does.

Speaking of Robopcop 2, the visual design of this robot is amazing. It's rare to say this but both the Robocop 2 designs from the movie and comic work brilliantly in their own ways. The Robocop 2 from the movie looks sickingly technological, as if you'll get a cut just looking at him. The Robocop 2 from the comic looks much more humanlike, with accented parts looking like bulging muscles, with his most haunting feature by far being his face plates that move up to reveal an assortment of computer screens all jumbling one image together. His cables behind his head look like slicked back dreadlocks, adding even more menace.

In any case I recommend any fan of the movie Robocop 2 to pick this up if you'd like an alternate universe kind of take on the story and its characters. I liked what was inside, and I'm sure you will too.

Btw, on a side note people have complained about Juan's artwork, but compared to the sporadic cover-type images that Frank Miller has within this TPB, Juan is leagues ahead compared to Frank. I don't get the big hoopla that Frank's artwork keeps getting, because it looks like a 13-year old has drawn them. Just take a look at the front cover of this TPB and you'll see what I mean. Disproportionate figures and ridiculous looking faces everywhere.

Too bad Frank Miller's schedule was full so he couldn't do the artwork except some covers in his Robocop graphic novel inspired from his greatly altered movie sequel scripts. Juan Rose Jyp's artwork is also good, don't get me wrong, but the occasional covers Miller has drawn in the book sorta steal the attention right away when you see them. Leaves you wanting more and hoping this book would have been published later so Miller could have contributed more.
Still, a great story with decent realistic artwork. The hardcover is kinda expensive but okay.

an over the top what looks to be a script submision for the last two movies. its hard sometimes to differentiate the flames from the blood on some pages however a fun exciting read as you would expect from frank miller