Frank Miller Receives First-ever Comic-Con Icon Award on National TV

Spike TV spotlights comics, movies, television, and pop culture in major awards broadcast

Photo credit: Albert Ortega

Excerpts from Frank Miller's Acceptance Speech

"I'm not going to thank anybody. The list is too long, I owe too many people way too much so I'm going to skip the thank you parts and all I really want to do is pass along a lesson I learned from three mentors in my life.

And that is: drama is drama, character is character, death is death, sex is sex and blood is blood. And I think that having comic books in these awards is a really big step, because we comic book folks really want to stand shoulder to shoulder with all the other media that just a few decades ago completely disdained us.

And we offer the other media our best. And we hope to learn a lot from you. So ... take me to school."

On an otherwise quiet night in early October in Hollywood, something extraordinary was happening at the Pantages Theater. The worlds of horror, sci- fi, fantasy and comic books were colliding on stage for the first ever Spike TV Scream Awards ceremony. The live taping on October 7 included A-list stars from all walks of pop culture (even Ozzy Osbourne was present, picking up his “Scream Rock Immortal” award), including movies, TV, music, and for the first time ever, comic books. Finally, the one thing every comic book fan already knew-that the comics medium was an important art form and a major part of pop culture-was acknowledged as Spike TV gave out several prominent awards to comics creators.

Comic-Con International was involved early in the production process of this brand new event. David Glanzer, Comic-Con’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, said, “Comic-Con's mission statement is, in part, to create awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms. We do this with each convention and with a variety of awards we present. But the Scream Awards on Spike TV gave us an opportunity to present one of our awards in front of a national audience.” Scream Awards Executive Producer Michael Levitt, had this to say about Comic-Con’s involvement: “We created this show for the fans and therefore, credibility was our biggest priority. It was hugely important for us to respect the genres, be pure, and do it right. For us, having a tie-in with Comic-Con was not only a great way to be connected to the fans, but also a huge honor and a really cool way to kick off our show.”

When it came to who would receive the Comic-Con Icon Award, the selection was an easy one. “Frank Miller was the perfect choice for our first Icon Award, because he has been so instrumental in bringing comics to a wider audience,” said Glanzer. Miller’s 25 years as a major force in comics, on such high profile projects as Daredevil, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and 300, which debuts as a major motion picture from Warner Brothers in theaters March 9, made him the obvious choice. He’s also one of the few comics creators to cross over into directing, with the big screen adaptation of Sin City, along with co-director Robert Rodriguez, also a Scream Award recipient. (See the sidebar article for Miller’s acceptance remarks.)

Levitt, who was executive producer of the Billboard Music Awards, World Music Awards, TV Land Awards, and the Producers Guild Awards, talked about how different the new Spike TV event was. “The Scream Awards was unlike any other award shows I have previously produced. Because the genres of horror, sci-fi and fantasy are inherently exciting, visual, and creative, it gave us unlimited opportunities to really break the award show mold. The show found it's groove in year one and I loved the anti-award show vibe that was created in the room by the talent and the audience.”

Glanzer was at the show’s taping and had these observations. “When Ben Affleck and Jessica Alba (they presented the Comic-Con Icon Award to Miller) stepped on stage the audience went crazy, and I couldn’t help but feel proud when they began to talk about the San Diego Comic-Con and what a mega event it has become. I was proud for everyone who has ever worked on the convention, for everyone who has ever walked through the doors as a fan, and for everyone who gave and continues to give so generously of their time and talent to serve as program participants.”

Glanzer also pointed out how the world’s attitude is changing about comics. “I give a great deal of credit to Michael Levitt who saw comic books as an integral component of the Scream Awards. It wasn't too long ago that we were commonly referred to as “geeks.” It's nice to see that attitude changing. Everyone who has ever been to Comic-Con played a part in making our participation in Spike TV Scream Awards possible.”