Frank Miller's Robocop - Dark Publications

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Product Description
Robocop was one of the truly great bits of movie and pop culture magic from the 1980s, and Frank Miller wanted to deliver a masterpiece with his original movie script, but Hollywood massively edited his work. In full-on action, the Robocop story is told as Frank Miller always intended, composed straight from the master's original writings and scripts! The vast majority of Miller's insane ideas, vicious black humor and robotic mayhem never made it to the screen, but every last bit is finally unleashed in this series! With sequential adaptation from Steven Grant and art by superstar Juan Jose Ryp, this sci-fi epic is not to be missed!

Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

Awful, worse than the movie January 9, 2008
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

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.

2 out of 5 stars

Sadly underwhelmed August 22, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

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.

2 out of 5 stars

Much Better than Robocop 2, But Still Just as Pointless March 4, 2007
4 out of 9 found this review helpful

I was pretty excited to finally read Frank Miller's original, legendary script for the the infamous Robocop sequel.

Sadly, this TPB suffers from the same defect that Robocop 2, itself, suffered from: it has no real point.

The original Robocop had satire, but it was also the story of the man inside the machine. Frank Miller's original script really offers no further depth into Murphy's character or development. What little there is gets lost in the numerous sub-plots and aforementioned satire.

Also, some of the subplots don't make sense. A large portion of the book concerns an OCP plot to discredit Robocop when it would have been just as easy to kill him (they even have the opportunity to do this at one point, but repair him anyway).

I wouldn't recommend this unless you're absolutely dying to read Miller's infamous script. Even then, I advise you to be careful. This is the darkest and most adult version of anything related to Robocop. Don't read it if you are offended or upset by violence, extremely black humor, or twisted innuendos.

4 out of 5 stars

Frank Miller's original vision of Robocop 2 May 2, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

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.

5 out of 5 stars

THE REAL ROBOCOP 2 April 24, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The story of Frank Miller's Robocop turns out to be more of an interesting story than Robocop 2 itself. Coming soon after Miller's enormous success with Daredevil and The Dark Knight Returns, Miller was hired to pen the script to Robocop 2. Miller enthusiastically took on the assignment, but his excitement was short-lived. Miller would soon fall victim, as so many had before him, to the Hollywood studio suits who basically tore his script to shreds, leaving only the smallest tatters of his original story in place. Enter Avatar Press who acquired the Robocop rights. It was Avatar's vision to finally let Miller's original screenplay be adapted for the comics the way it was meant to have been on the big screen.

Miller's Robocop is far darker, grittier, and bloodier than the film version. You'll know this within the first few pages...Robocop has now come under the control of Dr. Margaret Love, whose ego and attitude are even are bigger than her chest! She sees Robocop as limited in directives and programming. She thinks Robocop should provide good PR as well as good police work. Meanwhile, OCP scientists are busy at work designing Robocop 2, yet continue to have failure after failure, all do to having the wrong type of human personality for the unit.

Robocop is reprogrammed and his three prime directives are replaced with 1881 directives that include things such as the "role-model" mode which causes Robocop to promote social values...such as turning off the fire hydrant keeping the city kids cool on a sweltering Summer Day. As you can guess, Miller is able to let his sardonic wit run wild with mock newscasts and TV commercials, similar to what he did with Dark Knight Returns. It all leads to a final climactic battle between Robocop and Robocop 2 in an extreme conflagration of violence perhaps unparalleled in comics.

While the film kept some elements of Miller's story such as the Murphy's recollection of his former life and family, and his reprogramming of his prime directives, the film lacks the dark humor and intensity of Miller's story, all on display for the world to finally see thanks to Avatar Press. I must also mention the incredibly detailed artwork of Juan Jose Ryp whose somewhat frenzied style is perfectly suited to the story. Magnificent!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

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