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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I'm not sure how long it's been since I last read through modern Daredevil, but I've always started with the Smith/Quesada run (yes, I've also done the Miller/Nocenti/other writers in the 80s run, but that's a separate project). The Mack and Bendis run is actually where both the story and the art get more interesting, but this is just a solid starting point.
If you've got a basic knowledge of Daredevil, then it's kind of cool starting with a long-winded prose letter from Karen before you get into the story proper. All the back story you need is there, everything else unfolds during the course of the story.
When the story begins, it's too ridiculous. Too over the top. Too religiously overtones. Too unbelievable. And when you eventually discover what the ruse is, and how the too ridiculous, too over the top, too unbelievable is deliberate, it seems forgivable. You can forgive the incredulity because it was designed to be that way. But. But you find out through what seems like a fifty page villain monologue that would exhaust even the most devoted comic fan. And while you can forgive the ridiculousness of the story, you still can't embrace it because the logic is way off, and the story becomes stupid in a completely different direction.
There are plenty of spoilery reviews that can tell you the precise problems, just know that I am giving this book four stars, knowing full well that it's hugely flawed. Smith's writing is verbose. You could cut half the dialog in this book and it would make just as much sense. There are entire scenes that are pretty much just Marvel continuity porn that barely helps move the story forward, but none of them hurt the story. There are a lot of little things that you could nitpick and I would agree with you. But the moments that land, land really well. Black Widow and Spider-Man are both used sparingly, and well. Foggy's story is necessary to move the story from Scott Lobdell's hacky fingers to Dave Mack and Brian Michael Bendis's.
I recommend this to anyone who loves Daredevil, just know that it's a bumpy ride that has a satisfactory ending.
If you've got a basic knowledge of Daredevil, then it's kind of cool starting with a long-winded prose letter from Karen before you get into the story proper. All the back story you need is there, everything else unfolds during the course of the story.
When the story begins, it's too ridiculous. Too over the top. Too religiously overtones. Too unbelievable. And when you eventually discover what the ruse is, and how the too ridiculous, too over the top, too unbelievable is deliberate, it seems forgivable. You can forgive the incredulity because it was designed to be that way. But. But you find out through what seems like a fifty page villain monologue that would exhaust even the most devoted comic fan. And while you can forgive the ridiculousness of the story, you still can't embrace it because the logic is way off, and the story becomes stupid in a completely different direction.
There are plenty of spoilery reviews that can tell you the precise problems, just know that I am giving this book four stars, knowing full well that it's hugely flawed. Smith's writing is verbose. You could cut half the dialog in this book and it would make just as much sense. There are entire scenes that are pretty much just Marvel continuity porn that barely helps move the story forward, but none of them hurt the story. There are a lot of little things that you could nitpick and I would agree with you. But the moments that land, land really well. Black Widow and Spider-Man are both used sparingly, and well. Foggy's story is necessary to move the story from Scott Lobdell's hacky fingers to Dave Mack and Brian Michael Bendis's.
I recommend this to anyone who loves Daredevil, just know that it's a bumpy ride that has a satisfactory ending.
“The conclusion I’ve come to after years spent doing this is that there are no innocents. Everyone’s guilty. Even us. Especially us… no Peter — there are no innocents. Even in the strictest of definitions, people like the loved one you mentioned and Karen are still guilty. They are guilty of dying and leaving us alone in this mire of solitude and misery.”
Excuse me while I get a hold of my emotions.
Regardless of whether or not you are a Daredevil fan, regardless of whether you hate the “Women in Refrigerators” trope, this is just a really good story. And really, what makes it great is not the plot itself, which can be generic at times, but the writing, and the way the story is handled. It’s not just that things happen in this story, but those things are followed through in the plot and you get the closure you need.
It’s not a spoiler to say that this is the infamous story in which Karen Page, arguably Daredevil’s greatest love interest is killed by Bullseye with Daredevil’s own billy club. I mean, that right there is just brutal. What makes it more brutal is that Karen didn’t have the greatest life either — an ex drug addict who was tricked by Mysterio into thinking she was dying of AIDS, and believed that Matt no longer loved her, only to sacrifice what she thought remained of her life in order to save Matt.
Yes, brutal treatment of Karen; she really didn’t deserve it. However, if we were bound to get this story, I’m really glad that it was one that was so well written. I keep saying this, but really, I enjoyed the way it was written. Karen’t death was heartbreaking and different kinds of horrible with terrible repercussions on Matt, but ultimately, on an emotional level, I got the closure and justice I wanted from it.
It also helped that it was tied with the overall story arc of the “demon baby” because in the end that just helped bring the story together in the closing pages. But, really this story was all about Karen. My favourite scene has to be when, after her funeral, Peter (Parker) asks to meet Matt and it turns out they go to the Brooklyn Bridge where Peter basically tells Matt “look, I know what you are going through, I lost someone I greatly loved right here on this spot,” and then we get a sort of mirage image of the night Gwen Stacy died. I mean, just… look…
As if I wasn’t already teary eyed by this point in the story! GWEN!!! (I will always weep for Gwen whenever her death is mentioned). I mean, this! This right here is one of the things that made this story so good. And there are other little instances like this scene where the emotions, and the dialogue and the paneling are just perfect.
I really enjoyed this, and I would recommended it to general comic book fans. I will now go and cry for Karen Page.
Excuse me while I get a hold of my emotions.
Regardless of whether or not you are a Daredevil fan, regardless of whether you hate the “Women in Refrigerators” trope, this is just a really good story. And really, what makes it great is not the plot itself, which can be generic at times, but the writing, and the way the story is handled. It’s not just that things happen in this story, but those things are followed through in the plot and you get the closure you need.
It’s not a spoiler to say that this is the infamous story in which Karen Page, arguably Daredevil’s greatest love interest is killed by Bullseye with Daredevil’s own billy club. I mean, that right there is just brutal. What makes it more brutal is that Karen didn’t have the greatest life either — an ex drug addict who was tricked by Mysterio into thinking she was dying of AIDS, and believed that Matt no longer loved her, only to sacrifice what she thought remained of her life in order to save Matt.
Yes, brutal treatment of Karen; she really didn’t deserve it. However, if we were bound to get this story, I’m really glad that it was one that was so well written. I keep saying this, but really, I enjoyed the way it was written. Karen’t death was heartbreaking and different kinds of horrible with terrible repercussions on Matt, but ultimately, on an emotional level, I got the closure and justice I wanted from it.
It also helped that it was tied with the overall story arc of the “demon baby” because in the end that just helped bring the story together in the closing pages. But, really this story was all about Karen. My favourite scene has to be when, after her funeral, Peter (Parker) asks to meet Matt and it turns out they go to the Brooklyn Bridge where Peter basically tells Matt “look, I know what you are going through, I lost someone I greatly loved right here on this spot,” and then we get a sort of mirage image of the night Gwen Stacy died. I mean, just… look…
As if I wasn’t already teary eyed by this point in the story! GWEN!!! (I will always weep for Gwen whenever her death is mentioned). I mean, this! This right here is one of the things that made this story so good. And there are other little instances like this scene where the emotions, and the dialogue and the paneling are just perfect.
I really enjoyed this, and I would recommended it to general comic book fans. I will now go and cry for Karen Page.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Daredevil has always been on my 'I'll get round to him one day' list. The Bendis and Maleev run interested me (though is harder to find these days) but I've never quite found the time. Too many other comics.
The "Kevin Smith Comics Debut" is pretty famous (and there are a lot of intros and post-scripts praising it collected within) and I was a big Kevin Smith fan (weren't we all at Uni?). Given my primary superhero love, I'm familiar with the story, mainly for the big reveal of the orchestrator of the whole shebang. I have to say - at the time, it was either really ballsy or really stupid. Bizarre either way and the explanation of why is both hilarious and deeply sad.
The story works well for the most part. Cue Kevin Smith: Catholic guilt, lots and lots of text, adult material/themes etc. And, you can just about feel how fresh it would have been, even if this style of story is now commonplace. Ultimately, it goes on a little too long and gets a bit swamped in the machinations. The penultimate issue with the big reveal is exposition the whole way and feels too much.
The art is a mixed bunch - I've never been a big fan of Quesada's art and the characters are pretty poor at times. Matt spends most the time looking pretty goofy and Black Widow is just wrong. Palmiotti is a strong inker though and the colour work is often quite nice if not a bit too bright and primary.
Plus, it doesn't matter how hard you throw a blunt ended billy club at someone, it's not going to magically penetrate their clothing and kill them. I really dislike this common comic book cop out. Like Ultimate Hawkeye killing people with his fingernails - doesn't matter how accurate or hard you throw them, they're not going to do anything. Rant over.
There's a lot to like and it works well as a (sort of) stand alone story, even if you're not familiar with the history or characters. It's not quite enough to make me want to pick up more of the character. Ultimately, I just don't find Murdock that compelling.
The "Kevin Smith Comics Debut" is pretty famous (and there are a lot of intros and post-scripts praising it collected within) and I was a big Kevin Smith fan (weren't we all at Uni?). Given my primary superhero love, I'm familiar with the story, mainly for the big reveal of the orchestrator of the whole shebang. I have to say - at the time, it was either really ballsy or really stupid. Bizarre either way and the explanation of why is both hilarious and deeply sad.
The story works well for the most part. Cue Kevin Smith: Catholic guilt, lots and lots of text, adult material/themes etc. And, you can just about feel how fresh it would have been, even if this style of story is now commonplace. Ultimately, it goes on a little too long and gets a bit swamped in the machinations. The penultimate issue with the big reveal is exposition the whole way and feels too much.
The art is a mixed bunch - I've never been a big fan of Quesada's art and the characters are pretty poor at times. Matt spends most the time looking pretty goofy and Black Widow is just wrong. Palmiotti is a strong inker though and the colour work is often quite nice if not a bit too bright and primary.
Plus, it doesn't matter how hard you throw a blunt ended billy club at someone, it's not going to magically penetrate their clothing and kill them. I really dislike this common comic book cop out. Like Ultimate Hawkeye killing people with his fingernails - doesn't matter how accurate or hard you throw them, they're not going to do anything. Rant over.
There's a lot to like and it works well as a (sort of) stand alone story, even if you're not familiar with the history or characters. It's not quite enough to make me want to pick up more of the character. Ultimately, I just don't find Murdock that compelling.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely a decent step down from the Frank Miller run, the ending did make it a little redeeming.
A little weird for my liking at first and too wordy throughout, but by the end it was pretty decent Daredevil story.
Both the art and the writing were terrific. There were times it got a bit wordy, but the story never left me behind. Absolutely worth the read.
Poněkud krkolomný děj, poněkud ukecané. A hlavně to není napínavé, ani vtipné. Overly ambitious.
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
The hell did I just read? I only went through this book because I need to read the next volume and decided to get some context. Bad idea. This was so terrible. I get that the intent was to make the book a little more adult, and edgy, and perhaps attempt to write a commentary on blind faith, but it’s a mess. Everything is in here and it all gets neatly wrapped up with no emotional weight.
Matt Murdock got dumped and then gets dumped with a random kid, who could be an angel or the devil. So, his first port of call is to summon his ex, Black Widow, and dump the child on her—he doesn’t even clean after the child, he expects Widow to do it because he was too scared to check. Instead of her kicking him out of her life, she takes care of the kid? Also, Matt makes chutney out of Widow in a fight and mocks her pain threshold? Isn’t she a deadly spy-assassin who holds her own in the Avengers? How is she down after one twist of the ankle? She’s way too forgiving of him as well, which only happens because a dude wrote this book, and won’t hold Matt accountable for anything.
Then there’s Matt’s girlfriend Karen Page, who reappears with shocking news about herself. She has AIDS, oh no wait, she’s HIV positive? Which is it? The writer conflates the two.
There are lots of dead people, death, people getting hurt, affairs, betrayals, drugs, and a teenaged pregnancy. This book is so weird. And Matt is a grade-A dick for most of it, and despite an explanation for his behaviour, a lot of it is too cruel and personal to be blamed on external factors.
Someone gets fridged, but it’s ok, because Matt has been saved, and Matt comes into money, and Matt has always had the worst women in his life, so the fridged woman allows him to have perspective. Yeah, this book was very obviously written by a dude. I don’t think I’ve read any other Kevin Smith comics, but this was not a great introduction.
Everything’s connected to a villain who, I felt, was a clever twist. Unfortunately, reading this after the MCU has arrived, makes it less whoa, but I thought it worked as a good explanation.
The art is weird. The men look to have smooshed or gaunt faces, but the women have these vivid, exaggerated, supposedly sexy faces. So annoying.
Given just how much religious stuff was in this book, I tapped out. I only continued reading to get to the next volume.
I wish I hadn’t bothered reading this book. That’s a lot of hours I’ll not get back.
Matt Murdock got dumped and then gets dumped with a random kid, who could be an angel or the devil. So, his first port of call is to summon his ex, Black Widow, and dump the child on her—he doesn’t even clean after the child, he expects Widow to do it because he was too scared to check. Instead of her kicking him out of her life, she takes care of the kid? Also, Matt makes chutney out of Widow in a fight and mocks her pain threshold? Isn’t she a deadly spy-assassin who holds her own in the Avengers? How is she down after one twist of the ankle? She’s way too forgiving of him as well, which only happens because a dude wrote this book, and won’t hold Matt accountable for anything.
Then there’s Matt’s girlfriend Karen Page, who reappears with shocking news about herself. She has AIDS, oh no wait, she’s HIV positive? Which is it? The writer conflates the two.
There are lots of dead people, death, people getting hurt, affairs, betrayals, drugs, and a teenaged pregnancy. This book is so weird. And Matt is a grade-A dick for most of it, and despite an explanation for his behaviour, a lot of it is too cruel and personal to be blamed on external factors.
Someone gets fridged, but it’s ok, because Matt has been saved, and Matt comes into money, and Matt has always had the worst women in his life, so the fridged woman allows him to have perspective. Yeah, this book was very obviously written by a dude. I don’t think I’ve read any other Kevin Smith comics, but this was not a great introduction.
Everything’s connected to a villain who, I felt, was a clever twist. Unfortunately, reading this after the MCU has arrived, makes it less whoa, but I thought it worked as a good explanation.
The art is weird. The men look to have smooshed or gaunt faces, but the women have these vivid, exaggerated, supposedly sexy faces. So annoying.
Given just how much religious stuff was in this book, I tapped out. I only continued reading to get to the next volume.
I wish I hadn’t bothered reading this book. That’s a lot of hours I’ll not get back.