Daredevil: Guardian Devil 10th Anniversary Edition (Daredevil (Unnumbered)) [Hardcover]

Kevin Smith (Author), Joe Quesada (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Daredevil (Unnumbered) | Publication Date: September 24, 2008

A tragic accident took his sight - but in return, enhanced Matt Murdock's remaining senses far beyond human limits. An accomplished attorney by day, by night Murdock seeks justice outside the law as Daredevil, the Man Without Fear! When Marvel Knights took hold of this classic Marvel Comics character 10 years ago, the fledgling imprint redefined Daredevil for a new generation. In famed filmmaker Kevin Smith's series debut, a scared teenager on the run places her baby in Matt Murdock's hands. She claims her infant is humanity's newborn savior, a true miracle child. Yet an elderly stranger soon confronts Murdock with some shockingly different news about this infant. While Daredevil attempts to separate fact from fiction, the deadly assassin Bullseye enters the fray, determined to capture the baby and leave the hero dead in the process! Collecting Daredevil #1-8.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Marvel; Anv edition (September 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785134387
• ISBN-13: 978-0785134381
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,003,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kevin Smith revamps Daredevil., December 6, 2008

By 

Sean Curley (Charlottetown, PE, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Daredevil: Guardian Devil 10th Anniversary Edition (Daredevil (Unnumbered)) (Hardcover)

Kevin Smith is a famous and popular filmmaker, and also a tremendous fan of superhero comics, periodically entering the comics world for an arc or so on a property. This was his first gig, relaunching the longtime superhero Daredevil after a string of runs in the 1990s that hadn't done a whole lot for him in terms of sales.

The basics of the story: Matt Murdock is entrusted with the care of a baby who may be either the savior or the Anti-Christ, and all of a sudden chaos erupts all around him: his partner, Foggy Nelson, is accused of murder, his ex-girlfriend Karen Page suddenly returns to his life having been diagnosed with AIDS, and a shadowy stranger appears, claiming to represent an agency dedicated to stopping the Anti-Christ, demanding he turn over the child. All the while, Daredevil finds himself acting more and more irrationally.

People who have read Smith's first arc on "Green Arrow" ('Quiver', which I highly recommend) will recognize a huge number of similarities here: an underlying mystery story, which brings in a wide range of characters from the superhero's career (in this case, we get appearances by Spider-Man, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, and references to most of the major stories told with the character), and ends with an elaborate explanation from the villain of the piece that details how everything actually went down. More broadly, as with Green Arrow, Smith is aiming to reshape the status quo to harken back to his preferred version of the character; in the case of GA, that meant literally bringing him back to life and moving more towards the 70s iteration overlooking the Grell era; in the case of Daredevil, that means going back to the setup from around the time of Frank Miller, sweeping away some of the detritus of the 90s (by story's end, for example, Matt and Foggy have quit the big firm they belong to to restart their old Nelson & Murdock brownstone).

Thematically, Smith brings a very high Catholic quotient to the story, which for the most part works very well, though a huge part of it hangs on the Book of Revelations, which tends to assume much more prominence in Protestant Dispensationalism than in Catholicism. Smith also conducts an extensive examination of what Matt's Catholicism means to him, handling the subject with a great deal of finesse; via Black Widow, Smith also voices his views on Matt's romantic history and his need to centre himself.

The biggest lasting development here is, of course, the death of a longtime supporting castmember, and the latest in a long line of Daredevil's to be killed by his enemies. This pattern has become quite controversial in the "Women in Refridgerators" school of thought, and it may indeed be as part of a larger pattern; on it's own, it is very well-written, though it could also be said to be a bit unnecessary.

All in all, I would not rank this as highly as "Quiver", but it is a very strong piece of work, worth reading for any fan of Daredevil.

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Daredevil Darkness, August 13, 2010

By 

G. YEO "gyeo" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daredevil: Guardian Devil 10th Anniversary Edition (Daredevil (Unnumbered)) (Hardcover)

In his film noir world, Daredevil has always been the hero with the darkest secrets and darkest villains - not to mention a host of skeletons in the closet. Darker than Batman certainly, and always on the slippery side of maintaining the fragile balance between good and evil; light and darkness; normalcy and chaos. Guardian Devil brings these issues to the fore in dramatic, cinematic, novelistic fashion.

Kevin Smith proves here, as with Green Arrow, that he's a far better comic book writer than a film director. And Joe Quesada's visual storytelling talent shows why he became Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. Smith's debut ranks as one of the all time great Daredevil tales - between Frank Miller and Brian Michael Bendis.

The plot's already been mentioned in other reviews, so I'll skip that. At risk of providing a spoiler, I would say that one revelation could've been better near the end but I can't fault Smith and Quesada for impeccable structuring. The power of the story is that it sears Daredevil's core - something that reminds us how all too human he is. Smith hit up the series with a big bang. Daredevil's life is irrevocably changed, but like a true hero, he soldiers on. The realistic relationship dialogues of the comic elevate it beyond the normal superhero schtick.

This edition includes intros and short essays by Quesada, Smith and Ben Affleck.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Plot I've Discovered in Years, May 9, 2010

By 

Tyler S. "Super-Review" (Brentwood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daredevil: Guardian Devil 10th Anniversary Edition (Daredevil (Unnumbered)) (Hardcover)

Oh man! This is a good one. I didn't expect Kevin Smith to kill it like he did. Turns out he writes comics just as well as he writes movies, maybe even better. The huge change for me, was seeing him do something dark and serious. Smith is outstanding at writing non-comedic material and I wish he would do more of it. "Guardian Devil" is a pageturning mystery that places Daredevil in charge of a newborn child. Matt Murdock then begins panicking as he receives messages that the child is either the son of the devil or the son of God. Smith came up with a truly worst case scenerio, but he led a very entertaining story that could have been a melancholy mess.

Best part about this story is the humongous twist that I won't spoil. I thought I could predict every movie and comic out there in these times, but man I did not see the developments come in this graphic novel. With Kevin Smith to impress you and Joe Quesada to enchant you, how could you not enjoy "Guardian Devil." I really can't fathom why people can disagree with the majority's clamor for this book, because I think it appeals to anyone instantly. There's a lot of things I like. There's fewer things I love. And there's seldom things I rave about. I'm raving about "Guardian Devil." Get it.