Customer Reviews

Daredevil: Born Again

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had heard a lot about Daredevil: Born Again and how amazing it was, and I didn't doubt it. I'm a huge fan of Frank Miller's run on Daredevil, but I always put off buying this book because I'm really cheap like that. So when I finally got the nerve to pony up and buy it, I was little worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. I'm here to tell you, believe the hype.

It BLOWS AWAY Frank Miller's previous work on Daredevil, and in my opinion even tops Batman: Year One or Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. I've read hundreds of Marvel comics, from the 60's to the present day, but none come close to being as epic as Daredevil: Born Again. It is really that good. Miller's writes drama and tension as good as the best Hollywood films. and Miller summarizes David Mazzucchelli's art in a blurb at the end of the story quite nicely:

"It's almost criminal how easy David makes it to write a script. He makes a three-dimensional stage of the individual panel, complete in authentic detail, nonetheless uncluttered and utterly readable. He creates actors whose dramatic range is startling, whose best and most compelling moments are wordless. He's talked of writing his own comics. Keep your eye out for them. I will. - Frank Miller, 1987"

(Incidentally, Mazzucchelli did in fact write and draw his own graphic novel, Asterios Polyp, which was released in 2009 to stellar reviews. Although I wouldn't know since I haven't read it yet... again, I'm very cheap.)

The hardcover is of good quality too. The only problem I have is how Marvel collected the issues. This book contains Daredevil #226-233, which were all done by Miller and Mazzucchelli. But since Born Again starts in issue #227, Marvel decided to stick issue #226 all the way at the end of the book, which doesn't make sense to me. Although not officially part of the story, #226 works as a prelude to Born Again, introducing some characters and elements that play a pretty big role. So I highly recommend going to the back of the book and reading that issue first. Be careful not to spoil yourself by coming across the last few pages of the main story. This is the only problem I have with an otherwise amazing collection.

My final advice: if and when you buy this book, read it all at once. You can thank me later.

While Frank Miller's name is attached to some genuine comics classics (the Sin City series, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, to name a few), his work on Daredevil: Born Again is, in my estimation, his finest ever. The narrative is flawlessly tight, with not a single page wasted. The characters live and breathe, and the intensity of their emotions is palpable. This being a superhero comic book (albeit one much more grounded in reality than most), there are the requisite action scenes, and they're explosive as can be, but there are quiet triumphs as well, with characters overcoming inner obstacles as well as external foes. Miller's characterization of his villain, the Kingpin, sets a standard for the character which has never been equalled; even a supporting character like J. Jonah Jameson (a two-dimensional blowhard who has plagued Spider-Man for decades) is given a voice at once familiar and revelatory. The unique alchemical mixture of Miller's words and Mazzuchelli's art is the absolute pinnacle of comics storytelling, and serves to remind the reader just how good comics can be when the right creators work on the right project. While many would cite The Dark Knight Returns as Miller's best, Born Again captures the title: DKR is a stellar piece of work, but part of its power stems from the reader's familiarity with the legendary Batman. Born Again, on the other hand, is so brilliant that one need not even know who Daredevil is to enjoy it. It's that good.

I liked it very much. I have no words to decribe the way I feel every time I take a look at this story. I consider "Born Again" the biggest creative moment of Frank Miller. No doubt you will like it too. The book is well-made, the paper is very good and there are some sketchbooks. Buy it, don`t be crazy of losing it.

I have been eagerly awaiting this reprint. Sadly someone didn't do a press check. Pages 65-80 are duplicates of 33-48. Wait for confirmation that Marvel has addressed the error.

Here we go: Miller and Muzzucchelli tell arguably the best DD story. Everything involving the character after this almost seems redundant. What's new is that we finally get it in a hardcover edition with some great bonus material, including original layouts, scripts, and covers. As always with Marvel, the book design is uninspired and the thick glossy paper seems out of place. This classic story should be a treated as a companion piece to the recent "Batman: Year One" deluxe edition designed by Chip Kidd, not the standardized design Marvel uses for so many of their hardcover collections. C'mon, its BORN AGAIN. It deserves better!

I agree with the other raves about the quality of this work--it's an all-time favorite--which is why I feel it deserves a better production. They use glossy paper which is never good but particularly bad for a dark gritty story like this one. The coloring, originally intended for newsprint comics, is not updated for this edition and so the colors look garish.
Marvel should look to the Batman Year One collection to see how it should have been done and hopefully will be at some point. I wish they had just sought help from Mazzucchelli (the artist of this story). His own books are done beautifully so I'm pretty sure he was not consulted on this one...

Frank Miller had a great run on Daredevil writing issues 165-191 (he co-wrote 165-167). He not only wrote those issues but drew most of them too (he actually starting drawing Daredevil with issue 158). His first solo issue was Daredevil #168 which is a great one, introducing us to Elektra and changing the tone of the book. Miller made the Kingpin into Daredevil's nemesis, while also making Ben Urich a more important character. This run on Daredevil has been very influential since, with Urich, Kingpin and even Turk being important side characters in recent comics. Miller wrote fantastic stories and ended on a high note with a very powerful self-examining last issue.

With all that great work behind on Daredevil, one would be surprised to find that he wrote a much better story for Daredevil a little later when he teamed up with Mazzucchelli with whom he would team up again the following year to write another classic, Batman: Year One.

Daredevil: Born Again is arguably the best comic book story I have ever read. It has a hero defeated and then reborn. It has a great villain who manages to control everything from his tower, a villain that doesn't need to get his hands dirty to hurt you. It has a sad story involving a junkie. It has a love story in the making, with Foggy and Glori. It has moments of great tension, that build up in a way only comics can do. There is a scene where Ben Urich witnesses a murder through a telephone, the art and the story work together perfectly. There are so many things this comic does that make one think about.

I like how the early pages of the first issues always have Murdock sleeping. It is as if we can see that he is on his way down. From a nice bed, to a horrible bed in a cheap hotel, to the streets, to a basement in a church. The destruction of Murdock happens steadily throughout the first issues, not only exemplified in the story itself, but even through a subset of images throughout the story.

I highly recommend this book. It is because of comics like this that I read comics.

This incredible series was the first time I read anything by Frank Miller. This was pre-Dark Knight and showed me what exactly you could do with comics. While comics in the 70s began to make more realistic stories with arcs like the Harry Osbourne's drug issues and Tony Stark's alcoholism. But the story was when Frank started with Marvel, he asked to be put on the lowest selling comic and so they gave him Daredevil. With this, he created great, gritty urban dramas that took Daredevil from the clean comics world into the sordid underbelly of New York's Hell's Kitchen. Matt Murdoch became a champion for the downtrodden of the neighborhood, and it culminated in this awesome storyline where the Kingpin finds out his secret identity from his junky, porn whore ex-girlfriend looking for her next fix. The Kingpin then systematically destroys Matt's life and livelihood until he hits rock bottom. As alcoholics say, when you hit rock bottom, you find out who you really are, and in this story, Matt does just that. It is a story of almost biblical proportions of falling and redemption. For most people who are unfamiliar with Miller's lesser known works, as they are overshadowed by The Dark Knight, Year One and Sin City, this is a great addition to your comic library. Don't deprive yourself.

I had heard a lot about Daredevil: Born Again and how amazing it was, and I didn't doubt it. I love the book i love all of mr millers work.

As long as I have known, I have been a DD fan. So when I read this, it was interesting to see the barebones of who Matt Murdock is. Frank Miller is in his prime on Born Again as he does what he does best, destroy heroes, take them to there limits, and then find a way for them to be "born again". One this about the book though, the first issue, 226, has nothing to do with the actual story, but it does help the reader understand what Matt's problem is. 226 is also in the back of the book. Born Again is of the same caliber as Batman: Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns. Anyone who has even the slightest interest in Daredevil needs to read Born Again.