Daredevil, Vol. 1

"It has been a miserable last few years and every time I thought I'd finally hit bottom, God somehow found me a bigger shovel. All this pain and all this loss and...and I just can't bear the weight of it anymore and stay sane. I know that. So this is the way I've decided to be."Matt Murdock's speech to Foggy is perhaps Mark Waid's statement of intent with his run on Daredevil. Acknowledge the grimdark past of the comic, while offering a dramatic change of pace and tone. It's perhaps a soft reboot more than anything, with past events staying in continuity, even while there's a change of focus away from that type of storytelling.Waid's fresh approach to the title is in some ways a return to its silver age roots. Forgoing many trends of contemporary comics, Waid's Daredevil is a swashbuckling hero. His concerns are at a more human level, protecting the poor and disenfranchised, than with slugging it out with supervillains. The stories are shorter, punchier, and more self-contained. A reader doesn't need to know 50 years of Marvel continuity to understand the storyline. It feels fresh exciting and fun.The art duties are split between Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin. Their simple clean lines reflect this reversion to silver age aesthetics visually. The colorists, Javier Rodriguez and Muntsa Vicente, only add to the throwback effect. Bold color choices, often themed in red and yellow (DD's colors, don't ya know). The overall effect is evocative of the pop art of the 1960s, the era of Daredevil's birth.I couldn't be more impressed with a contemporary comic. It has both the fun and energy of a silver age comics, but with the stylistic sophistication of a 21st century piece. Highly recommended for all ages.

For years now, Daredevil has been a dark character. I remember when Frank Miller took over the writing chores of the monthly book way back in the day. We’d never seen cinematic art like that, and we’d never seen Daredevil portrayed so … mean. I liked the change. Daredevil became a must-read book and he was hitting everyone’s radar (yep, that’s a joke!) almost overnight.I enjoyed the run for a while. I enjoyed Brian Michael Bendis’s time on the character, and Ed Brubaker’s run was a natural follow-up. Both Bendis and Brubaker went on to write other quality noir stuff, and Brubaker has pretty much made that flavor his standard.But I was, quite frankly, ready for a change. I didn’t go through the Shadowland premise, but I heard about it. I was kind of happy to hear Mark Waid picked up the title, but I just hadn’t gotten around to seeing what was going on till lately.If the first graphic novel is any indication, and I’m certain that it is, Daredevil is about to go through a whole new renovation that will leave the character drastically changed, yet true to his roots.Waid is one of those writers that I usually read and enjoy. I liked what he did on the Hulk and the Fantastic Four and Brave and the Bold, and there have been several other titles he’s written that I loved (Potter’s Field, Ruse, Unknown)! His run on Indestructible Hulk is a blast.One of the first things you notice immediately is the colorful brightness of the pages. Visually, the book is a lot different from what Alex Maleev did while working with Bendis. There’s a lot of WHITE on the pages, lots of open space that let the art breathe and allows the reader to relax and enjoy. I love the artwork and the visual feel of the pages. Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin do an outstanding job of moving the story along and giving dynamic perspectives to Daredevil’s action sequences. The battle with Captain America was delineated well.I like the fresh take on the series, that Matt Murdock is so high profile that he can’t practice law and ends up counseling clients on how to handle their own court cases. However, that’s unbelievable, especially when these cases involve such high stakes. On the other hand, that’s probably more believable than a blind man flipping across rooftops and zip-lining high above the city. So – okay, I’m all in with it.I wasn’t too happy with Klaw (or a facsimile thereof) being the first villain up in the roster. Likewise, I wasn’t overly fond of the confrontation between Daredevil and Captain America, but that was true to Marvel roots too. I remember when Daredevil took on Sub-Mariner way back in issue #7 or the original series (back when DD first broke out the red suit). That was how Marvel heroes got to know each other back in the day.I did like the way Daredevil took on the Spot at the opening of the first issue. The battle was pretty cool, filled with action and humor. The idea of Daredevil kissing the bride was a bit much, in my opinion. It was a great visual, but when you think about the act, you realize that Matt would know such a thing would be assault and actionable. Still, the art really makes that pop, so I excuse it.The Klaw arc plays out and leads into a case closer to Matt’s heart: a young blind man is wrongfully fired from a company where he’s been working. Of course, that initial incident leads to many others, and a showdown that ends up being both physical and cerebral, showing that Waid understands Matt is both hero and lawyer.I also quite enjoyed the Matt/Foggy sidebar story (see? Lawyer term! Bonus). The health food kick Matt is putting Foggy through is dynamite. I like it because it shows Matt cares about Foggy, and the two argue and fight like brothers. Or like two law school students who shared a residence back in the day.There are other plot strings out there, like the assistant district attorney who’s interested in Matt/Daredevil, the fact that Captain America is keeping an eye on Matt, and the potential of all the world’s criminal organizations targeting Daredevil after the events in the graphic novel. I can’t wait to see what Waid does with them.And I just started reading this series in time for the location to be switched from New York to San Francisco. That’s an interesting curveball, and like Matt Murdock, I didn’t see it coming!

Prior to reading this book, I didn't know much about Daredevil, nor did I care all that much about him. Let me tell you why I even bothered giving this one a try.Apparently, it's the best comic ever.OK, so I'm exaggerating. But seriously, review sites like IGN repeatedly lauded this book as the best new thing since the Snuggie, and its even got the Eisner award to prove it. So finally, I caved and made it my mission to see what all the fuss is about. Let me be clear though, having never read a Daredevil comic, I've got nothing with which to compare Mark Waid's book.When I first realized that the art in this book was done by Marcos Martin and Paolo Rivera, I'll admit that I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, their art is not bad; in fact, it's actually rather good. It's just a matter of taste. For me, the pencils of both Martin and Rivera are too old-school and simplistic to fully enjoy any book they illustrate. At least, that's what I thought when I first started Daredevil. By the end of the book, the art hadn't changed, but it HAD grown on me, and I wasn't bothered in the least.There's not much I can say that hasn't already been covered. This is definitely a five-star story, and I enjoyed it immensely. I loved how the cases Matt Murdock was working on were connected to the adversaries he had to face as Daredevil. Each arc was almost like a cross between a superhero story and an episode of Law and Order. Also, props to Mark Waid for being so generous to new readers with the background info.With all the hype its gotten, I expected Daredevil to be the best thing I've ever read, and to be honest, it wasn't. But it was certainly a high-quality comic, and I look forward to reading more.

Received as expected. Well packaged. No damage

Nachdem Daredevil nun eine lange Talfahrt schlimmer Schicksalsschläge erfahren hat, mehr als jeder andere Comicheld, beruft sich Waid nun auf die leichteren tage der alten Zeiten. Der Erzähltonfall ist immer noch eher erwachsen aber Daredevil zigt sich wieder von der Seite des waghalsigen Swashbucklers, der seine zweite Identität genießt und nicht nur unter ihr leidet. Es git wieder eine Prise Humor, weniger zum Lachen als zum ab und an mal lächeln.Ich habe die düsteren Geschichten wegen ihrer EInmaligkeit genossen, aber nun gönne ich Matt diese besseren Zeiten. Vor allem, weil man einem Char auch nur eine begrenzte menge Drama zumuten kann und Daredevil wirklich kaum mehr düsterer ging, ohne sich selbst ganz zu verlieren.Eine willkommene Abwechslung.Wenn ich in anderen Rezensionen lese, dies sei nicht Daredevil, dann ist das ein wenig so, als sage man, Elvis ohne Umhang und Kung Fu sei nicht wirklich Elvis.

After years of bleakness, noir, depression, alienation, and lots of other negatives, Mark Waid (noted for taking different tacks when chronicling well known heroes) has taken a different tack with Daredevil. It's probably the only one he could take if he wanted to make it different from everything else that's happened to the character in the last few years. He's made DD fun again.Matt Murdock, who contrary to popular opinion insists that he isn't Daredevil, has decided to lighten up. No more angst and gloom and depression. He wants to have fun again and proves it by showing he has a sense of humour. He also has a slightly different way of showing how DD 'sees' the world though it isn't overdone if only stop the artist having a nervous breakdown. It's a nice fresh likable approach. Waid also throws in some new characters including an interesting potential girlfriend for Matt. I do think it's been overpraised by critics but it's still one of Marvel's better titles and I've already pre-ordered the next in the series.

2011年より始まったDAREDEVIL第3期の第1巻です。約10年間続いた第2期は、SHADOWLANDという大型クロスオーバーで締め括られ、その後DAREDEVIL:REBORNというミニシリーズを経て、この第3期に至ります。落ち着いた雰囲気が持ち味の第2期と比べて、Mark Waidがライターを務める第3期は非常にユーモラス。思わず笑ってしまうやりとりが満載です。加えて、マット・マードック/デアデビルという人物が素晴らしく格好いい。弱き人々を助ける弁護士としても、悪を成敗するヒーローとしても。Mark WaidのシナリオにPaolo RiveraやMarcos Martinのハイセンスなアートがぴったりとハマって、読み応え抜群な1冊です。先述のREBORNによって、ややこしいことは大体リセットされているので、アメコミ初心者やデアデビルをあまりよく知らない方にもおすすめですよ。

This was the beginning of Waid's run on Daredevil.Honestly wasn't expecting to love it, but it had pretty good reviews and Eisner awards back in the day.I enjoyed it more than I anticipated. Fun read.