This is a comic that very few creators have ever managed to get a grip on.Oh, a few have done well with it. Stan Lee, Wally Wood, Gene Colan, Frank Miller, Brian Bendis and Ed Brubaker have done outstanding work on Daredevil's adventures. But so many others never seem to know what to do with the character.
Perhaps it's because he doesn't have any real powers, other than his radar sense, which is more a gimmick than a power. Maybe it's because he's an attorney in the real world - not an occupation many have warm feelings about, although they've been careful to paint him as a "good" lawyer. Whatever the reason, Daredevil has been everything from a wise-cracking, de-powered Spider-Man to a grim avenger of the night.
The best and worst moments in DD's career usually happen when a creative team decides to make a drastic change. Examples include: Wood's creation of a new red-and-black costume (good); sending Matt Murdock off to the West Coast (bad); Miller and McKenzie introducing new supporting characters and turning to darker storylines (good); giving DD a new bio-costume (bad); focusing on strong writing and street-level stories under Bendis (good); and exposing DD's identity to the world (bad).
Let me explain that last point. It's always a good shock to have the hero's secret identity exposed, and Bendis did it as well as it has ever been done - but it also cuts the hero off from his history and supporting characters and leaves him out in the cold - something they realized too late on Spider-Man. And it's something you can't "un-do" without jumping through some major hoops or cooking up a ridiculous explanation (again, see Spidey).
Anyway... with this issue, Brubaker wraps up his run on the title, which has been quite good, largely a continuation of what Bendis had done, with a continued focus on crime and street-level action.
But the stories just keep getting darker and darker, and the result is that members of the supporting cast are put through all kinds of hell so DD can be tormented about his part in their fate. Am I the only getting tired of the ever-tortured hero?
To be honest, I miss the wise-cracking good guy who battled against the odds and found a way to win through his courage and wits. But I suspect it'll be a long time before he shows up again (if ever).
None of this is to take away from the good work done in this issue by Brubaker and artists Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano. They turn in a tight final chapter on the conflict between Daredevil, the Kingpin and the Hand, touching on DD's origins and adventures since. They also manage to launch the series off in yet another direction (which may or may not be to your liking. Me, not so much).
The issue is filled out with a preview of new writer Andy Diggle's work (not enough here to get a sense about it), a new and delightful short story written by Ann Nocenti (who had a long respectable run on the title years ago) with art by David Aja; a darned impressive pinup gallery; a reprint of a classic Frank Miller issue; and a gallery of all the covers in DD's history.
Of all Marvel's heroes, Daredevil has to have the most peaks and valleys in his publishing history. He started out strong, waned, became the most popular comic in the stable under Miller, slowly declined and faced cancellation, only to be revived by Bendis and Brubaker to be one of the best-written comics in Marvel's line.
It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for "The Man Without Fear." Given past ups-and-downs, I'd be a little worried if I were him.
Grade: B+
2 comments:
I'll probably pick this up because it's an anniversary and DD's one of my favorite characters (and the extra features look interesting too), but I too am worn down by the darkness of his stories.
It's funny that the Frank Miller run, which is most associated with DD's turning to the dark side, is so full of humor. Plus, in it very few of Matt's associates suffer because of Daredevil. Elektra dies, but she's hardly an innocent bystander. Heather Glenn has personal problems, but nothing brutally violent. Ben Urich goes through the ringer, but he emerges stronger. And Foggy's troubles lend themselves to that afformentioned humor (I'm thinking of the "Guts" Nelson story).
I like Andy Diggle, and I hope he remembers to bring some fun to the title (like he did in Losers, which was intense but was still a good romp).
Anon, I haven't read much of Andy Diggle's work, but I agree with your comments - more humor would be much appreciated, and it doesn't have to be the "wisecracks and puns" type of humor. Miller's run (and most of his work) demonstrates how action-based humor can work well.
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