A review by kierano
Daredevil : Black Armor by D. G. Chichester

adventurous medium-paced

2.5

 ‘Daredevil: Black Armor’ Carves Out A Niche Space For Daredevil Fans – Comic Collection Review

  

The 90’s were a weird time for comics. The domino effect of Frank Miller’s work on Batman and Alan Moore’s Watchmen resulted in an industry-wide rush to make comics ‘mature’. Apparently, the medium wasn’t for kids anymore, which meant revamping every popular comic book character or superhero team to fit a singular tone and aesthetic that, for the most part, really didn’t suit the source material.

Many superheroes started to be depicted as grotesquely buff. There was lots of brooding. It was the era that spawned Deadpool (and Spawn). Superman died. Peter Parker got a dark and angsty clone. Even my favourite superhero, Daredevil, wasn’t immune to the industry’s changes.

Gone was his timeless red costume, replaced by a black suit with armoured shoulder pads and spikes on his elbows. Putting my thoughts on the ugliness of this costume aside, I find many of the storylines of this era to be borderline unreadable. I know it has its fans, but the ‘Fall From Grace’ story arc that dropped this new costume on us (and brought Elektra back into the fold after a decade-long absence), is an overwritten slog.

I personally have no nostalgia for this time in comics, but there’s obviously a market for it, because Marvel brought writer D.G. Chichester out of seeming retirement in 2023 for a four-issue run set during Daredevil’s ‘Black Armor’ era, which Chichester himself helmed. The graphic novel collecting these comics is out now, and even though I’m not a fan of the Black Armor era, I couldn’t deny that I was curious about how it would be depicted now that we’ve left that style in the past.

Full Review: https://www.kieran-obrien.com/post/daredevil-black-armor-carves-out-a-niche-space-for-daredevil-fans-comic-collection-review