Canongate publisher-at-large Francis Bickmore acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to Frank Miller’s Push the Wall: My Life, Writing, Drawing and the Art of Storytelling from Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown on behalf of Albert Lee at UTA.
“In Push the Wall, Frank Miller chronicles the creation of his most iconic works such as Sin City, 300, Ronin, Daredevil, Wolverine and notably, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which, alongside Batman: Year One served as the foundation for all Batman film and animated adaptations for the past 40 years,” Canongate said.
“Miller reveals how he got his first breaks, how he poured his own life into his darkly realistic characters, how he fought against comic book censorship of the early 1980s, and how he introduced manga-style storytelling to US readers decades before popular anime and manga began appearing in Western pop culture. Miller transformed the way comics are told and this is how he did it.”
Canongate added: “Push the Wall is a masterclass in the art of storytelling and an intimate look inside the mind and life of a creative genius. With over a dozen illustrations, chosen from seminal moments from Miller’s art, and organised by the 16 lessons that meant most to Miller, this reveals the man behind some of the most exciting stories of our age.”
Bickmore said: “Miller is a comics legend and we are thrilled to publish this wise and joyous celebration of the comics form and how it sits within the history of art and literature over the past two millennia. Comics have given us some of the most memorable heroes and villains of our age, and the form seems increasingly prophetic as we look for ways to resist corrupt politicians and interfering billionaires.
“Like George Lucas, Miller’s work over five decades has explored our hero’s journeys and our darkest shadow sides, and now he shares his own journey to inspire and inform the storytellers of tomorrow.”
Miller is an award-winning comic book writer, artist novelist, inker, screenwriter, film director and producer. He also co-authored the YA novel, Cursed with Tom Wheeler, which was adapted as a Netflix show.
His projects have been nominated for the Palme d’Or and have won the Harvey and Eisner Awards, including those for Best Writer/Artist, Best Graphic Novel Reprint, Best Cartoonist, Best Cover Artist, Best Limited Series, and Best Short Story. In 2015, Miller was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame for his lifetime contribution to the industry. He lives in New York City.
Push the Wall will be published in hardback in July 2026 alongside Saga Press of Simon & Schuster in the US.