Frank Miller's Ronin

I just finished reading Frank Miller's Ronin. I picked it up because 1) it's "ronin" and 2) it's Frank Miller.

Wasn't what I expected though.

The story revolves around a ronin and his arch-nemesis Agat (a demon) who lived, fought and died 800 years prior to the time line of the story which is set to the 21st century New York. New York at this time is extremely degenerating - not just the city, but the people itself. It's become a harsh place to live in, people have segregated themselves, some have turned into cannibals, and overall, it's pretty much a dying place.

Then there's the development of biocircuitry. It's kinda like a living machine that constantly develops itself and is maintained by a sentient program called Virgo. She's being helped by a freak called Billy who neither has arms or legs.

This is where the story of our ronin continues.

Billy has constant dreams (or nightmares) about the life of the ronin - back when he was still a samurai loyally serving his master up to the time when both he and Agat are killed and cursed. All this happened because of the bloodsword that everyone wants to own for their own purposes.

So we find Billy possessed by Agat and he took the form of the ronin, fighting until... SPOILER!!! Agat is killed by Billy's lady-love, Casey.

Art-wise, Ronin is pretty much like most Western comics that I've read. The details of some of the scenes (not the people themselves) are really good though. Minute details are drawn, especially in the biocircuits.

As for the dialogue, it really reflects the different settings, scenes and people of and within the story. I especially found Casey's husband's drug-induced monologue interesting ^^;

Well, personally, I don't think that Frank Miller's Ronin was anything spectacular. Maybe it's because I'm not a big fan of stories with these themes. It's a good read, worth the money I paid for it, but I don't think I'll be re-reading this anytime soon.

Oh, and the ending was...okay...