Ronin
Publisher:
DC Comics
Date: 1983 original miniseries, reprinted in 1995 in book format
Writer:
Frank Miller
Artist:
Lynn Varley
Why Ronin?
Frank Miller is perhaps most known for his
Sin City series and
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - this gem gets frequently overlooked. As I was aware of Frank Miller but simply could not get into Sin City (something I seek to remedy shortly) and had no interest in the world of Batman, I was glad to find Ronin, a story completely separate from either the Sin City world or
Gotham. The vaguely
anachronistic and downbeat front cover of a dispirited
samurai dripping filth and sporting strange
chrome armour (not to mention what appear to be
grafted arms) on the cover intrigued me as well, and I ended up with a very enjoyable read.
The Story (spoiler-free)
The story of Ronin revolves around childlike, gentle
Billy, a natural
telepath/
telekinetic mutant working for
Aquarius, a
megalithic corporate entity, in a world set somewhere in the dark future. Outside the sterile, nanotech-driven company (and others like it around the world), the cities are taken over by
gangs of all sorts, organized by race, creed, gender, racial bias - you name it, there's a gang for it; barter and force has replaced civilised transactions; and in the dark parts of lower cities lair sun-sensitive, flesh-eating
Morloks.
Billy, in addition to his mental powers, was born physically deficient - he possesses no arms or legs. He also has a simple mind, or at least so it seems. His best friend and mother-figure is
Virgo, the
AI for Aquarius, who not only runs the air filtration systems, elevators and security protocols, but also helps design and create Aquarius' products - which happen to be self-repairing, remotely controlled weapons. Aquarius seeks an edge on the market, a faster way to make human thoughts into the weeapons' actions...
Meanwhile in ancient
Japan (no, really), a loyal
samurai defends his
lord from
minions of a shapeshifting demon, who seeks to procure the lord's blade. It is rumoured that the sword is the only weapon able to destroy demonkind. After a
brief flurry of bloody action the warrior succeeds and his master is saved...for now.
Finding out how these two stories intertwine (and they do, as the book hops viewpoints from
Dark Future™ to
Age of the Samurai™ repeatedly) I will leave up to the reader. But it will involve
memory implantation,
demonic possession, a confused
love affair,
cannibalism,
swordfighting and
utter chaos and destruction. In the end, nothing is what it appears to be, and the ending seems only a beginning.
The Art
The book's art is characterized by artwork that fluctuates from stylistic, sparse and powerful - combining
bold strokes with panels accenting a single color blend (for example one panel may consist solely of shades of purple, the next one pure red, the next one pastel and washed out with one strong accent on it) - to busy, inelegant and cramped. It is no coincidence that the former style is used to illustrate images of
strength,
tradition and
individualism and the latter
claustrophobia,
pollution, weakness and (often)
despair. Or if you like, think of a juxtaposition of a traditional
tori with the squirming, glistening
Machine of the Matrix. Ronin does it flawlessly with technique, color, and other effects I don't even know names of but which undoubtedly have to do with perceived color warmth and saturation.
Concluding Thoughts
Ronin is a wistful tale of honor, love, bravery and revenge. The subtle humor and wry touches compound the characters' motives and behaviour, so that they really seem alive, with actual agendas and personalities. Nobody seems particularly larger than life, but as the protagonists strive to overcome what's thrown up against them they approach closer to the ideal. A good read to be sure, either for Miller fans or for curious readers who want to start with a standalone book rather than a series (Sin City).
liveforever has pointed out that the show Samurai Jack borrows rather heavily from Ronin's setup. After reading the w/u's at that node this appears to be quite correct.
belgand points out that Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is perhaps more 'well-known' than Sin City; not having any DC Comics background myself, I am not sure this is true. At any rate, I have amended the first paragraph. As an aside, I am now reading the aforementioned book, and I recommend it even if you only have a vague idea of the Batman mythos.