One of the saddest things about last year as far as comics and the comic book culture were concerned was the complete fall from grace of Frank Miller a man once seen as the epitome of what comic books could and should be. Between his disgusting bastardization of Batman in All Star Batman And Robin and his complete failure in bringing The Spirit to the big screen, 2008 saw Frank Miller become a shell of what he once was.

I’ve spent most of the last few years stewing in my own juices over what’s happened to Miller and raging against his sins. A few weeks ago I found a batch of my old Daredevil comics featuring Miller’s creative hand and within minutes I was drawn back into that world.

Thirsty for more I re-read The Dark Knight Returns, Ronin, Batman Year One, Hard Boiled, Sin City, 300, everything I could get my hands on. When I was done I realized that screaming about what Miller had done wasn’t the way, instead I wanted to offer a constructive idea on Miller’s redemption.

Outside of Alan Moore I can’t think of another recent comic book artist and writer who has done more to legitimize the medium. Both of these men saw comic books as not just art but also literature managing to make those points with equal parts style, talent and passion.

I was also a fan of the fact that while working outside the box neither men aligned themselves with the “indie” art scene preferring instead to straddle both mainstream and underground worlds garnering fans in both camps. However unlike Alan Moore Frank Miller decided to embrace the plastic and false world of Hollywood riding the current wave of “Geek Love” in the mainstream media to a point that he has become a caricature of himself. I believe in my heart that there are a few steps Frank Miller can take to save his soul and rediscover his place in the world of comic books as a hero and a legend.

The first is for Miller to accept his defeat and to honestly look back at the last few years and understand what he’s done to make everybody so irate. Change and forgiveness never come without a true understanding of what you’ve done that has affected the world’s perception of you.

I know that in Miller’s heart he has to see why All Star Batman And Robin was an insult to the character. How turning a man whose entire life is dedicated to helping the weak and avenging injustice into some kind of Dirty Harry wet dream is just wrong. Having Batman say “I’m the goddamn Batman” or Wonder Woman calling men “sperm bank” or Batman slapping Robin around like an abusive father is not the character at all. Worse it’s a real insult to Batman’s creator Bob Kane.

To make matters worse Miller is currently writing a graphic novel titled “Holy Terror Batman” where the Dark Knight actually battle Al-Qaeda. I’m not a flag waver, nor do I agree with the war in Iraq but I think having Batman defend Gotham against Al-Qaeda seems insulting to the people actually dying in this war. It also seems unsettling that Frank Miller would be so irresponsible as to give this graphic novel a jokey title as well as describe it as a “Piece of propaganda where Batman kicks Al-Qaeda’s ass”.

I’m not alone here, writer Grant Morrison even criticized Miller saying, “Cheering on a fictional character battling fictionalized terrorists seems like a decadent indulgence" and suggested that Miller “join the army and actually fight”. I know the man who wrote Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One understands the character of Batman but clearly Miller has lost his way.

The same can be said for The Spirit. Turning Will Eisner’s mix of noir crime and comic humor into this slick looking god-awful movie was a real insult to Eisner a man who looked at Miller as the one who would carry his torch. Miller didn’t just revamp The Spirit he dissected it. From giving The Octopus (The Spirit’s arch nemesis) a face in Samuel Jackson to turning The Spirit into some kind of slap-stick excuse to parade around hot girls, everything about it was an insult to the memory of Will Eisner.

Miller’s work has always carried a gleam of Sadism in it that was fun to read and made what he did edgy and exciting. Somehow that light sadistic gleam has turned really hateful in recent years for reasons only Miller knows. I believe once he admits these wrong doings to himself he can move on to another step that I feel should be a public apology.

An apology can go a long way to mending fences especially with a public eager to forgive. If Miller stands up and openly apologizes for both The Spirit and All Star Batman I think everybody would allow him some grace. People make mistakes, their egos get away from them or Yes Men impair their judgment. Understanding that notion all of us who have enjoyed years of Miller’s work would be quick to forgive a man truly sorry for his transgressions.

Next it would time for Miller to admit he is not a filmmaker. This isn’t just from The Spirit but also everything Miller has touched involving movies. Miller’s Robocop 2 script was deemed unfilmable and I think we all remember how awful the Miller penned Robocop 3 was. Based on the sub-par script and direction of The Spirit we can also safely assume that Miller’s co-director Robert Rodriguez handled any watchable parts of Sin City.

There’s no shame in admitting you can’t do everything. Miller is an incredible comic writer and artist and when he’s in top form there are few who can create better comic books. So he can’t make movies, so what? Miller should be big enough and confident enough to understand his limitations in film and just walk away. Rodriguez can handle Sin City 2 and I think we can all agree the idea of Miller writing and directing a Buck Rogers re-boot is a bad one.

Hand in hand with leaving film would be Miller’s need to distance himself from the Hollywood scene. All of these supposed “geeks” in Hollywood are largely people unfamiliar with comic books looking to cash in on the current cinema trend. These people have been hero-worshipping Miller blindly to the point that he believes his own hype. You simply can’t stay around Yes Men for that long and expect to have any concept of reality.

Miller needs to take off the black fedora and red tie and wave goodbye to his Hollywood pals. Go back to New York and arrange a poker game or go get a few beers with his current comic book peers. Get back to the reality where artists praise, pan, critique and help each other flesh out ideas and stay focused on the characters.

From there Miller should hire himself out as just an artist. Find either an upstart writer like Robert Kirkman or Ed Brubaker or an established great like Mark Waid or Geoff Johns and agree to illustrate one of their comic scripts. I think it would be great for Miller to drop his writer’s guard and just flow with art again. Let somebody else set the pace, tone, and parameters of the book so Miller can just draw.

Miller would have to focus on not second-guessing the writer, not adding his two cents but just drawing the script. Rediscover the simple and beautiful joy of illustrating without having to write anything. It might open up some new creative paths for Miller.

After drawing something somebody else has written it would be time for Miller to take a known character and write within the story arc going on. In my opinion there would be no Ed Brubaker without Frank Miller so why not have some real symmetry and let Miller take over Daredevil. It would be full circle as Miller’s career really skyrocketed after his early work with the Man Without Fear.

Forcing Miller to confine his writing and tone to a storyline already in progress might curtail his bad habits. He would have to control the over-the-top sadism he adds to his scripts now plus he’d need to be familiar with what the character is truly about in order to stay within the story arc. In short we might avoid reading “I’m the goddamn Daredevil”.

Finally it would be time for Miller to do his own thing. Let this newly refreshed Frank Miller take a crack at doing a phenomenal Batman graphic novel or even better let him come up with his own creation. Imagine a wonderful monthly comic from the Frank Miller we all grew up idolizing. That would be something pretty special.

Frank Miller is an unquestionable talent and his contributions to the world of comic books are above reproach. He has given us so much greatness that we owe him the chance to redeem himself as an artist and an icon. We need Frank Miller because when he’s at his best he can be the conscience and soul of the comic book world.

Right now Miller is at a precipice of commercialism that if he tips over into it he’ll be lost forever. If he can be brought back then we as comic book fans would have an experienced guard at the gates who might be able to protect the comic universe from the bean counters and hack editors who are currently gutting comic books in order to make more movies and sell more issues.

I’m sure there will be those quick to attack this idea (maybe Angel Of Death will go off his meds so we can get more hysterical rants from him) but seriously I’m not mocking the man anymore, it’s no longer about chastising him for me. I want Frank Miller back, the real Frank Miller but his return to greatness is all up to him.