I’ve been on a Daredevil kick for the last few weeks, so having read 3 six issue arcs, I’d figured I’d review them here, from worst to best. What’s weird is that in some way, all of these stories have to do with Daredevil’s origin and his father, Jack Murdock.
Daredevil: Father
Writer and Artist: Joe Quesada
Ever remember people saying that Joe Quesada had forgotten how to draw at one point? After reading this abysmal story, I now believe them. Joe Quesada’s Daredevil here is a bulky, grimacing beast, unlike the one he had drawn with Kevin Smith 10 years back, and every other interpretation of the character. The story here is that there is a serial killer going out and cutting out people’s eyes, while Daredevil does nothing, and in the end, it’s all his fault. Well, partially anyway. Quesada introduces some new super-team called the Santerias who do nothing but fight with Daredevil in the two issues they appear in, and their inclusion in the story has nothing to do with the ongoing plot. There are some asides to a young, media-mogul, who has daddy-issues too, and he funds the Santerias and asks Daredevil to look into this serial killer. Daredevil refuses because the killer is not striking inside Hell’s Kitchen, so it’s not his problem, that is until he finds out that all of the victims are his former clients, and that the killer is someone he knows. All of these plots converge in issues 5 and 6 of this mini, showing me that issues 1-4 were pretty unnecessary and that you could’ve picked up issue 5, read the recap page and finished the mini. That’s not good for a story. Quesada seems like he’s reaching out in every direction here, which leads to a sloppy plot, and an even sloppier finish, leaving me to close the last issue with disgust. I went into this thinking it was going to be a story that hearkened back to Matt’s Father, Quesada tried to do this, but got so wrapped up with everyone else’s daddy-issues that he forgot that Jack Murdock was supposed to be the centerpiece of the story. It’s because of this that the story gets lost. If Quesada had kept everything in check, this might have been a mediocre story, instead of an abysmal one. Quesada is trying to do too much here, and it all gets lost in the shuffle. As for the art, People weren’t kidding that his “One More Day” stuff was his best in awhile, because the stuff here looks more cartoony and less detailed than any of his previous work or his new stuff, and that’s bad for an artist who is known for a dynamic, detailed style. I don’t know if Quesada was so loose to try and get a nostalgic feel in the art, or because his Editor-In-Chief job at Marvel got in the way of the quality. Richard Isanove does the colors here, with his digital painting style, and I almost wish he didn’t. Every panel has some wierd color filter. Flashbacks are all yellowed, like on old paper, Daredevil scenes are bathed in red, and the Matt Murdock scenes have a blue hue. This doesn’t work well across the board, because it makes the book look monotone. There is nothing to keep me looking at the page, since, because of the coloring, it all looks the same. I want the coloring to make me stop and smell the roses, this stuff didn’t. All in all, don’t spend your money on this book because you’re wondering what the hassle was all about with the delays way back when, grab it in a bookstore, take 20 minutes and skim through it. You won’t be thoroughly impressed to buy it after that. D
Daredevil: Yellow
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
One of many “Color” books by Loeb and Sale, this one focuses on Dardevil and his time at the beginning of his career, in his Yellow costume. A majority of the book focuses on his origin, slightly altering it more than I’ve ever seen. In this book, Jack Murdock is killed while Matt Murdock is studying in Law School. Everywhere else, Jack Murdock is killed while Matt is a young boy. It doesn’t do much to serve the story, other than place it within the first year of Daredevil’s first appearance. Anyway, Matt fights some gangsters, it’s all pretty standard stuff. The real star of the book is Tim Sale, who’s work is phenomenal in whatever form it appears, whether for DC, Marvel, or on the Heroes TV show. If you’re looking for a book that cover’s Dardevil’s origin without feeling dated or tying into any continuity, this is the book for you. If you’re looking to introduce someone to Daredevil, this might be the book to do it. A solid comic story with some fantastic art. C
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: John Romita JR
Out of all the Dardevil stories I’ve read, which really is limited to these three, plus Kevin Smith and Brubaker’s first arc, this was the best. Like Daredevil: Yellow, this is an origin story, though it ties in the origin everything Loeb left out, mainly Stick and Elektra. Elektra has been trained by the Hand and is addicted to killing people, but must start confrontations to with thugs to do so. Stick, here is a mysterious janitor who trains Matt in his dad’s gym at night. It’s not clear why he trains Matt, what is clear is that he’s disappointed in Matt when he uses his skills to fight crime, though his black-silhouetted boss is not. This is like Batman: Year One, but for Daredevil. I think it might not be as revered as that, because, essentially, Miller is applying his Year One formula to Batman. It introduces a young boy, his dad dies, he trains, meets a female villain, and fights crime. The Kingpin also makes his first appearance here, and his rise to power is quickly established in a few, pages, and that’s all we need to know, we can fill in the blanks ourselves. That might be what makes this story so great, is that we’re able to fill in the blanks ourselves, with whatever we want the blanks to be, or whatever continuity we know and love. This is pre-Goddamn Batman Miller, so it must be good, right? Fear not, it is. John Romita JR, does a formidable job on art here. I’m not quite sure whether it’s because of his love for the character, or because the acrobatic Daredevil is slightly similar to the lanky and acrobatic Spider-Man, which he so greatly draws. And, it’s not heavily inked by Klaus Janson, so there is no muddiness to the art, like on that last issue of World War Hulk. This is good quality Miller and Romita JR, and should not be missed for any comic fan, even if the Daredevil costume never appears in the actual story. A
