Mike S Miller? Isn’t this guy associated with ComicsGate? Does this mean I’ve converted to the cult of a bunch of angry man-children? Absolutely not! For Miller’s case he willingly left that campaign after burning bridges with Ethan Van Sciver. Also this post is not about Miller’s perception or why he left ComicsGate (on purpose anyway). This is about what I took from his work where I could find it. Because in those stories and some personal time on the internet, I found something to relate to. In this case it’s how mistakes and/or bad days can affect people in the worst of ways; as well as fundamental Christian values that still matter.
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It’s unknown when Miller took up Christianity but it’s something he keeps close. Even some of his work in the 90s with the X-Men show these symbols, often to the publisher’s detriment. Given Christianity’s conservative reputation to the point of well… Flanderization people try to censor these. Miller himself seems to revel in this humorous depiction complete with book/page burnings. Or at least as far as Bleeding Cool News in concerned.
In some of his creator-owned work Miller also uses blatant Christian tropes like rosaries, bibles, or priests. The roles of these items are more or less a sign of faith for the characters. Many of them are in dark places or falling on hard times. For example, Deal With the Devil has FBI investigator Anthony Goodwin who prays for clarity as a ritual to help him with cases. But when a miscalculation costs Tony his leg, he loses faith in himself and stops going to church. Because if God couldn’t help him then; how could he help Tony now? Which brings us to the main topic of this post.
The Subtle
Even when Miller acts as just the artist of some series there are themes in relation to Christian values. In fantasy stories like George R.R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight, the reader sees a story of abstinence. Not so much sexual as it is trying to stick to chivalry. Which is odd for a Martin piece because his most notable work, A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones‘ basis is deconstructing themes like that. But it’s an example of the values of service. Something that becomes a debate in Miller’s most notable artwork with Injustice.
In a world where gods walk among men, a character like Superman is manipulated by evil into killing what he loves. Miller illustrates the ultimate downfall of great heroes by showing how their service to the world becomes a means of tyranny. Many of DC’s heroes have all but given up on a better world until they take action. This becomes less of a battle between good and evil and more like a war that scars people for life. Even when the fight is over, Injustice 2 shows those scars still affect everyone. Once great heroes are now shells of their former selves; most of the time, they spend their efforts fighting each other instead of actually helping people. But this in turn leads into the idea of probably the most treasured value of Christianity, redemption.
The Unforgiven’s Redemption
In real life Miller has done some very questionable things on social media. However on those same social media websites he makes posts in contradiction to the others. But since both of these posts get deleted, the only place to find them are in web archives. For a while Miller even leaves social media after ComicsGate creatives cyberbully him over his wife’s occupation as a dancer and creative differences. Some would say this serves Miller right and that he’s unforgivable. But then again Miller’s not the only creative with controversies.
Some legends in the industry like Frank Miller and several others have expressed controversial opinions. Frank’s work was impacted after suffering 9/11 PTSD; his at-the-time atrocious views of Muslims in Holy Terror is something that turned people including his partner away from him. Even Stan Lee tried to save face by claiming Gerry Conway did “Death of Gwen Stacy” without his permission. Despite the fact Stan allowed Conway to do whatever he wanted. But they all remind people something about comic creators, they’re still flawed humans. Some of them make strides to better themselves, Mike included. Despite this, audiences will never quite see them past these acts.
Mike S Miller: Making Mistakes Is Okay
A number of Mike’s series regardless of writing or art share the theme of making mistakes. Most of them have the main characters make mistakes that they or others are not willing to overlook. Even when they try their best to help, some things are just beyond their control. This is certainly the case in The Meg where situations only grow more dire. But that doesn’t stop them from trying to do good again. Because stopping when things get bad can keep people in a dark place. Which makes it all the more worse when those people/characters still have people to love.
Mike in particular finds an audience despite two roadblocks for his crowdfunded franchise, Lonestar. The first roadblock being when Kickstarter rejects the first project simply because the title character fought against the criminal Salvadoran American gang MS-13. The gang has a divisive reputation; as the above link and this tweet displays, Left leaning groups views the gang as marginalized minorities per Donald Trump’s labeling them as “animals” and how some gang members are deported for illegal immigration. All despite the fact that this interstate gang is involved in homicides who at best need institutionalizing. Ultimately this difficulty of adjusting to a frustratingly divisive world serves as the series plot.
The Blacklist
Lone Star is a Captain America pastiche who like Steve Rogers is a man out of time. He is driven by a sense of duty and justice for all, going out at night to help whoever he can. Which he does in addition to his day job as a private military operative taking on supernatural threats. Almost going for the horror angle of (Not) Cap’s Timely Comics of the 50s. Unfortunately unlike the 40s, times are at their most divisive with people struggling to co-exist. But Lone Star’s learning to adjust to times and help out the community. Lone Star represents an ideal for Mike; he doesn’t live up to some Christian values, but any good believer should try to be better.
The other roadblock however was time and getting into heated arguments with former collaborators. Mike wanted to be part of a group dedicated to collaborating for good comic stories. All of which is exemplified with Monster Hunt a crossover with Richard C. Meyer’s Jawbreakers. Unfortunately like the publishers these creatives burned bridges with, the same problems arose between them. From creative differences to judgmental perceptions, and most of that comes from Ethan Van Sciver. So Mike decided to leave the ComicsGate campaign behind and take matters into his own hands.
My Closing Views on Mike S Miller
I cannot and will not overlook the controversies surrounding Mike S Miller. At times he can seem like a stereotypical religious conservative with attitude problems. But if anyone who follows my work will know, I try to look at subjects with a little empathy. Or at least as much as I can muster. After reading some of Mike’s work I can appreciate what he tries to put in. The themes are actually rather similar to Frank Miller’s Daredevil. I can even say that as an agnostic/atheist whose beliefs lean towards Buddhism that those themes are extremely relevant today.
Not to mention I can safely separate Mike’s worse traits from his art as I find no agendas. In them I find the human emotions of passion and faith and how they interact with the world without the extremes. I don’t always get things right because they’re still my opinions, but it’s my head. If I ever want to share them, I’ll be as objective as possible. But even then I won’t always succeed on that front, and that’s fine.
Oh and if the ComicsGate mob thinks I’ve been too harsh on them, I only have this to say:
Meanwhile if anybody makes a comment or a reaction with the mantra of “If you’re not with me, you’re against me” (especially where I get my sources), I say: