My favorite run of Daredevil

Frank Miller defined Daredevil. . .

. . . and with Mazzucchelli broke him down and redefined him. 

Kevin Smith revived him. 

Mark Waid, arguably, did the same. 

Seminal runs, all. 

That stated, my favorite run on Daredevil was by Ann Nocenti, John Romita, Jr., and Al Williamson: issues 250-282. There's a fair bit of nostalgia attached to that run -- this was early in my time as a comic reader/collector and shortly after the point where I started buying Daredevil regularly -- but, for me, this run stands the test of time and is a collection of comics that I can return to and enjoy, without fail. I love this run! 

But what is it about this run that stands out for me? (Especially, as I learned on a recent episode of CGS, when there is an apparent backlash against it from DD fans). 

Plenty! 

First and foremost, the art from JRJr & Williamson really stands out in this run of comics. I am a fan of Romita Jr. -- especially when he's drawing Spider-Man . . . or ol' Hornhead -- and his dynamism is on full display in these comics. Williamson, a classic comic artist in his own right, adds another dimension to Romita Jr.'s art. Williamson's slick linework softens the characters, while also adding more depth to the imagery through his use of blacks. It's a matter of two artists I love collaborating to craft artwork that is beyond what either have done on their own. There's a litheness to the figure of Daredevil that comes from Williamson's inks, while still retaining the physicality epitomized by Romita Jr.'s pencils. 

This art team also innovates: delineating new characters like Number Nine, Bullet, Blackheart, and most notably, Typhoid Mary, while also crafting a Mephisto the likes of which had never seen, before or since. The excess bulk of Mephisto, as drawn by Romita Jr. & Williamson, with a face unrecognizable to what readers were accustomed, and stringy hair(?) cascading from his head and arms, is overwhelming and otherworldly, befitting the demon lord of Hell in the Marvel universe. The grotesqueness of this iteration of Mephisto adds to the unsettled feeling we, as readers, should experience whenever this character enters a story. It's inspired and ugly and wonderful, all at once. 

Equally important to me in this run is the writing of Ann Nocenti. Nocenti followed the classic (and my all-time favorite superhero story) "Born Again," by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli. She smartly opted to take the character in a different direction, getting back to DD's superheroic roots, rather than trying to play in the noir setting that Miller, with the likes of Klaus Janson & Mazzucchelli, so artfully exploited. It was a wise decision on Nocenti's part, which does not mean it's all spandex, purple-and-green clad villains, and biff, bam, pow! Nocenti is anything but a safe, traditional comic creator. 

Nocenti brings a quirky sensibility to everything she writes, and being someone who entered comics from outside the field, she was not hampered by a decades-long reverence to these heroes, like many of the fans turned creators have. Nocenti infused her run on Daredevil with social commentary, tackling gun violence and sexism, while also creating characters like Blackheart and Typhoid Mary. She utilized the Inhumans -- lesser-known ones, Gorgon and Karnak -- as companions for Daredevil, as she took him out of New York, putting even more distance between her run and previous iterations of the character. There are some wonderful stories during DD's road trip, and in the end he finds he must confront Mephisto in the demon's realm, as the lord of Hell and his lackey, Blackheart, have been harassing and haranguing Daredevil throughout much of this run. Daredevil descends to Hell and battles hordes of demons, trying to keep alit the torch he has carried through the snows unleashed by Mephisto. DD laments what his life is, "endless fighting," and wonders if he can change. He asks himself: "What if I just stopped? If I just stopped fighting. If you stop fighting, isn't the fight over?" This sequence emblazoned this Daredevil run on my heart as a favorite, and it has only risen, in my estimation, through the years. 

Oh, and he also gets a helping hand from the Silver Surfer, with Nocenti doing her best Matt Fraction captions years before Fraction was lauded for his quick, sharp descriptive phrases. Just glorious!

This run was unconventional, even while returning DD to his roots as a superhero, with engaging characters, influences from outside of comics, and lovely art that hit me at just the right time in my comic-reading life. And it is a run that I have enjoyed many times since. It's the quirkiness -- grounded in good writing and good character work, along with character defining art from Romita Jr. & Williamson -- that appeals to me most about this collection of issues. 

They're fantastic!
Or amazing!
Or, possibly, uncanny!
Regardless, I think they're great. 

-chris

A Fistful of Daredevil stories

Conceived and used with the permission of Matthew Constantine and Brad Gullickson, the original dorks.

Everyone has a “Top 5.”  But Brad and Matt, choosing to walk a different path, amended that to “A Fistful…” over at their blog, In the Mouth of Dorkness.  A film-centric blog where they also discuss comics and books and TV, these two regularly share their top 5, ranging from “Heroic Kids” to “Spies” to “Summer Movies” to “Punches” to all things in between.  Always fun, often insightful, and something I hope to regularly pilfer for Warrior27.  As they say:  If you’re going to steal, steal from those you know relatively well, who will not sue you.

And with the new Daredevil series from Netflix hitting soon, I thought it appropriate to look at some of Hornhead's seminal comic stories.  

5.          Daredevil #191 by Frank Miller & Terry Austin



The final issue of Frank Miller’s first run on Daredevil – the run that put Miller on the map and made Daredevil relevant again (if, for argument’s sake, he’d been truly relevant before).  Having finally come to terms with the fact that Elektra, his one true love, is dead, Matt Murdock visits her killer, Bullseye.  Paralyzed, in a hospital bed, unable to defend himself, Bullseye is forced to play a game of Russian Roulette with Daredevil, as DD ruminates on the hell his life has become, each click of an empty chamber moving them closer to a final, fatal end.  It’s a powerful issue – the issue that stands out most, to me, from Miller’s seminal run, even with Elektra’s death in #181 – made all the more significant with Miller returning to full pencils and inked by Terry Austin rather than Klaus Janson, whose work graced the rest of Miller’s run.  Austin’s inks lend a weight and atmosphere to this story that might have been lost in the more graceful brushstrokes of Janson.  It is an intense story that melds art and narrative wonderfully, all happening in a darkened hospital room with a paralyzed villain (and, one could argue, a mentally paralyzed hero), wherein no “action” actually occurs.  Great issue.

4.          Daredevil: Wake Up by Brian Michael Bendis & David Mack



Issues 16-19 of the Marvel Knights reboot, this was the debut of Bendis writing the character that propelled him to the “top of the heap.”  This four-part story follows a young boy, the son of a D-list villain, Leap-Frog, and examines how he deals with the trauma of watching his dad beaten by Daredevil on TV.  It’s a heartbreaking tale, made more poignant by the lush artwork of Mack, whose mixed media art is always beautiful.  With spot work from Joe Quesada – delineating the action fantasies of the young boy – this story has it all:  pathos, superheroes, supervillains, mystery, action, and an ending that will tug at your heartstrings. 

3.          Daredevil goes to Hell (roughly issues 278-282 of the original series) by Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., and Al Williamson



I was introduced to Daredevil through the Nocenti/JRJr/Williamson run, which began a bit before issue 250 of the original series.  Throughout this run, Mephisto and his creation, Blackheart, were ever present on the fringes of Daredevil’s world, occasionally becoming directly involved with ol’ Hornhead.  Eventually, though, Daredevil realizes he must take the fight to Mephisto, and he enters hell to do battle with the dark lord of that realm.  This story is at times deep and thoughtful, and at others quirky and whimsical, a hallmark of Nocenti’s writing style.  She did things, narratively within a comic, a decade or more before other prominent writers would – and it is fantastic.  Battling through hordes of demons, Daredevil is relentless and unforgiving, eventually coming to the end of his rope (a theme that reverberates throughout DD’s history as a character).  But, at the point where all seems lost, Daredevil has a revelation – in order for there to be a fight, or a battle, there must be two sides contending with one another.  If you stop fighting…the fight is over. 
Sure, that’s a hokey idea, and not one that would help you in real life.  But this isn’t real life, this is comics, and Nocenti, et al. understand this very well.  One of my favorite stories ever.

2.          Daredevil: Love & War by Frank Miller & Bill Sienkiewicz



Daredevil versus the Kingpin, with Vanessa Fisk, the Kingpin’s wife, stuck in the middle.  With some of the most beautiful art to grace a comic, this short story also includes one of the most heartbreaking scenes I’ve read in a comic, and it relates to the dashed hopes of the Kingpin – no simple feat.  Sienkiewicz brings his signature style to bear, veering into the impressionistic at times, particularly with the Kingpin, in a way that better defines characters rather than muddling the narrative.  Published in 1986, arguably Miller’s peak, this is one that has stuck with me for a long time.

1.          Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller & David Mazzucchellli



My favorite superhero story of all time, bar none.  In his first run, Miller helped pull Daredevil out of the camp of previous decades into a grittier, if still whimsical, present of 1979.  With Born Again, Miller, along with Mazzucchelli, dragged DD into the gutters of Hell’s Kitchen and left the whimsy behind.  A classic story of a hero brought low by those who love him and left for dead, only to extricate himself and return to rediscover his purpose.  At its core, this certainly is an old story.  But in its telling, Miller & Mazzucchelli transcend the comic medium with a tour-de-force collaboration nearly unmatched in “cape comics,” while providing a narrative that could rest its spine next to Chandler and Hammett.  Sure, I’m biased, but it’s just that good.  And the art by Mazzucchelli is some of the most beautiful, traditional linework to be found in a comic, ever.  His art is uncluttered, elegant in a way that lends itself well to Daredevil’s martial arts training, while infused with a cartoonish approach that enhances the story in subtle ways.  I love this book and re-read it on a regular basis.  If you need one Daredevil story to familiarize yourself with the character, this is the one.

-chris

30 in 30: Someplace Strange

#12: Someplace Strange
Storytellers: Ann Nocenti & John Bolton
Publisher: Epic Comics
Year Of Publication: 1988
Page Count (can be approximate or in # of issues format): 64 pages

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT WRITING / STORYTELLING:

I really liked the use of thought balloons and captions in this.  In the opening of the story, the older brother chases his younger one to – we assume – beat him up for messing with his experiment, and the younger brother narrates the chase as if it were an adventure serial. It works to not only add characterization, but it also adds whimsy to the story. And toward the end, Nocenti utilizes the caption boxes to infuse a cinematic aspect to the story – one time directing readers to “start at the feet then raise your eyes slowly, stopping at the head…just like they do in movies,” when the hero is created in the dream world, and a few pages later a caption instructs readers to “quick, run to your stereo and put on ‘the charge of the light brigade,’ stand at attention, send shivers down your spine…and swell with emotion.”  It’s fun and appropriate for the type of story being told here.

 
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT ART / STORYTELLING:

One – with an artist as talented as Bolton, having him switch styles depending upon the tenor of a scene works very well in a story that is mainly told in a dreamland.  He not only utilizes his photorealistic painting style, but also incorporates psychedelia, black and white parts, a less detailed “crayon” style, and others to great effect.

Two- utilize the whole page.  On many of the pages, Bolton would anthropomorphize the numbers at the bottom of the page to mirror actions within the main narrative, providing subtle emphasis for the main thrust of the narrative scenes.  It was fun and appropriate for this story.  

and a detail of the flying page number at the bottom:

 
RECOMMENDATION:  B

NOTES / REVIEW / SYNOPSIS

I don’t know how many years I’ve had this, probably since the 1990s.  Ever since Nocenti’s run on Daredevil with JRJr, I’ve been a fan of hers and picked this up because of that – having Bolton doing the art is just a nice extra.  And now that I’ve read it, I wonder why it took me so long.  This was really entertaining, and I expect I’ll re-read it someday.

What I'm Reading: Strange Science Fantasy, Captain Swing, Daredevil: Black & White

Due to a number of circumstances - including being out of work for a number of months and winding down my current job, which is only temporary - I have cut way back on my comic buying, which was slim to begin with. Combined with my fiscal reality, I was also feeling burnt out on comics, reading many things that were not staying with me. Nothing seemed to resonate, drowning under the weight of my pile.

I did keep with a very few series - having ordered up to issue #49 of Ex Machina, it would have been foolish to forego the final issue that wrapped up the entire series (though that one felt rushed and unfinished). And there are some creators whose work I won't pass up barring the most dire of economic realities (Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Los Bros Hernandez, and Scott Morse are my Mt. Rushmore of creators).

Which brings me to three of the best comics I have read in a long, long time. These books all came out recently and have made me more excited about reading comics than I've been for a while. These are books I will most definitely re-read at some point down the line (most likely many times, they are that good).



First, I picked up the initial issue of Warren Ellis's latest (or one of his latest) mini series from Avatar. I enjoy Ellis as a creator and his Avatar books have been particularly enjoyable. William Christensen, the publisher, gives his creators free reign to write and draw the books they want to do that the mainstream publishers won't do, and Avatar pays a comparable rate to that of the big guns. Which means we get undistilled Ellis, Ennis, Moore, et al. and it's more often than not brilliant. Though, Ignition City - one of Ellis's recently finished Avatar books - left me wanting more, a lot more. The art was serviceable and the story didn't excite me like his initial notes for the project as they were put forth on his now-defunct e-mailing, Bad Signal. So, I stopped pre-ordering his series and figured I would just stay away.

But I was in my LCS the other day and saw the first couple issues on the rack. The cover is gorgeous, and I decided to pick up the first one to see if it caught my imagination. And it did. Set in 1830s England, the old stable of constabulary and the new one are at odds with one another as a new villain wreaks havoc in London. Coined "Spring-Heeled Jack" this criminal utilizes electricity to propel himself over the rooftops in order to escape his adversaries while sailing off in an electrical pirate ship to his lair - all before the births of Tesla or Marconi. This series promises to tell the secret history of London as shown in the periodic journal pages from Captain Swing's (Spring-Heeled Jack's) journal. It's an interesting concept that involves a number of favorite tropes of mine including historical references and a science fiction feel that is as new as it is "retro," and I am looking forward to the eventual trade of this series.

I need also note that Raulo Caceres, who collaborated with Ellis on Crecy, is an artist whose work is worth seeking out. His attention to detail and flair for comic storytelling is fantastic and is perfect for this story. Lots of fun, good "Ellis-ian" ideas, and a mystery hanging at the edges that I look forward to seeing resolved.



The second book I picked up this past week was something I noticed in Previews when I was on CGS a couple months back - Daredevil: Black and White. 32, ad-free pages of b&w goodness. This is a Daredevil book you can sink your teeth into. Ann Nocenti returns (her run in the eighties with JRJr is a high point for me and one of the treasures in my personal collection) with a short prose story with spot illustrations by David Aja (from DD #500). It's perfectly moody and brooding as Matt toils with the realities of his life as a super-sensitive costumed hero. With wonderfully lucid prose that really get into the psyche of Matt Murdock and moody artwork reminiscent of David Mazzucchelli, perhaps the best DD artist in the book's history, this is worth the price of the book alone.

But there are two other stories hidden within. The second one I have yet to read, but the opening salvo from Peter Milligan and artist Michele Bertilorenzi is another brilliant feature. In it, Milligan asks, what would Matt Murdock do if offered the ability to regain his sight, and how would that affect him as Daredevil? It's a poignant tale that gets to the heart of who Matt Murdock is, and is one I want to re-read soon. It's that good, and the art complements the story nicely. Again, this one's worth admission price alone.



The final book is one I've been looking forward to since Scott Morse first mentioned it on his blog last year. Strange Science Fantasy. Morse is taking the 1950s science fiction tropes found in films and Marvel comics of the time (before they were Marvel, I know) and playing with them in his own distinct manner. Morse is a creators who always brings a sense of fun to his stories while also being able to tell stories that are meaningful as well. He jumps from genre to genre with ease, and I'll follow his work anywhere.

This series is from IDW and the first 2 of 6 issues are already available. Each book is 32 pages with no ads and a 1-page back up from Paul Pope. Getting these two artists into the same book is a joy for any comic fan. If you like campy sci-fi and fun comics, then you should check out this beauty. Guaranteed, you will not be disappointed.

chris