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Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, Vol. 3

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The death of Elektra in issue #181 of DAREDEVIL was a shocking, groundbreaking moment in mainstream superhero comics... but it was far from the end of Miller's transformative work on the book.

Over the course of his run on D.D., Frank Miller had utterly transformed an uninspiring, second-tier book into one of the most dynamic and fascinating reads on the monthly comics racks. He'd infused Daredevil with the grit of film noir and the occult mood of esoteric ninja sagas. Month after month, his writing improved and his art became tighter, more expressive and more experimental.

As his experience deepened, Miller seemed to discover more about his technique -- and more about his characters and the world they inhabited. The previously shallow characterization of D.D.'s "alter ego" Matt Murdock became richer and more complex each month, as Miller explored the character's history and paradoxes. The growing sophistication of the book meant that even though his run had seemingly hit its apex with the tragic conclusion of the Elektra thread, Miller mined the aftermath of the tale for some of his run's most memorable and haunting stories. Characteristically, Miller found ways to enrich Elektra's saga even after her death.

The stories in this book are haunted by her memory -- as Matt Murdock seeks solace from other lovers, and as he grapples with his own anger and rage, sometimes in ways that are hurtful and damaging to the other characters. The storyline threatens to bring Elektra back as a dark, grotesque shadow of her former self. Murdock already failed to save his lover's life -- now he has one last opportunity to save her soul.

Appended to the book are some stories from WHAT IF? and BIZARRE ADVENTURES. One of the WHAT IF stories is an utter waste -- a slight and pointless piece reimagining DD as a superspy for the agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. But the other WHAT IF tale is a haunting, troubling tale, with Daredevil standing at Elektra's grave, wondering what would have happened if she had not died. It's the perfect coda to the Elektra storyline, with Miller's most emotionally evocative writing. Inked by Terry Austin, Miller also lays out some of his most impressive artwork of this period.

Finally, the Bizarre Adventure tale follows an early adventure in Elektra's career as a hitwoman-for-hire. It's black-and-white, crudely simple in plot, but with simply gorgeous art prefiguring Miller's later experiments with noir storytelling in the SIN CITY line. (Unfortunately, the publisher jumbled the un-numbered pages, so you may have trouble following the plot.)

This volume is not without its awkward moments and flaws, but it's still an astonishing feat. You can literally watch Miller honing the artistic and storytelling skills he'd display in his later, more powerful works. The esoteric themes of RONIN have their roots here, as do the technically brilliant artistic flourishes of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Miller may have perfected his fusion of superheroics and noir in BATMAN: YEAR ONE, but this is where he developed every tool in that bag of tricks.

In terms of sheer formal inventiveness and skill, ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN and ELEKTRA LIVES AGAIN may be two of the most stunning works in Miller's bibliography. But to truly appreciate them, you have to know the history of the character and how far Miller had journeyed with his femme fatale. Some of the most crucial moments in that journey lie between the covers of this volume.

After building steadily to a peak with the death of Elektra in #181, Frank Miller had done pretty much everything he needed to with Daredevil. Volume 3 of the DAREDEVIL VISIONARIES: FRANK MILLER series proves this with a run of subsequent stories that basically mark time: they're okay, but they don't amaze like the previous issues. This book collects Daredevil #183-191, What If? #28 & 35, and Bizarre Adventures #28. The real stinker for me was the "final breakup" of Matt and Heather, done in such a awkward and trite fashion... I figure Miller wrote himself into a corner with this plotline and took the easy (albeit inexplicable) way out. The last 3 stories (What Ifs and Bizarre Adventures) don't do much. Where a WHAT IF story will ususally make me go "whoa", these made me shrug. I guess the BA story would have been okay if Marvel could have printed the pages in the correct order. Once again, fans pay the price for the laziness of proofreaders.

In summary, Volumes 1 and 2 are defintely worth it. Volume 3 is not.

The third collected volume of Frank Miller's initial run on Daredevil doesn't have the overall impact and shock value of the second volume, but is instead a haunting and harrowing end note to Miller's first run on the title that saw the writer/artist transform Daredevil from a third-rate superhero to one of the top figures of Marvel's lineup. Daredevil Visionaries - Frank Miller Vol. 3 picks up with Matt Murdock still mourning the loss of Elektra, and soon enough he's going head to head with Frank Castle, AKA the Punisher, whose differing methods in crime fighting come to a head as the two clash. Soon enough though, Matt's old mentor Stick makes a return, as it is revealed that Elektra's fate may not be death after all, that is, if the mysterious organization known as the Hand has anything to say about it. Quick moving throughout, this third volume doesn't feature the defining moments that Miller had presented before, but the overall story is so compelling that it would take quite some time for another author to make Daredevil this harrowing, and that other author ended up being Miller again with his Born Again storyline. All in all, if you picked up the first two Frank Miller collections of Daredevil, this third collected volume is a worthwhile pick up as well.

This third volume of Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, contains Daredevil 183-191, What If? 28 and 35, and an Elektra story from Bizarre Adventures 28. Warning: Daredevil comes off badly in these issues, whether it is his holier-than-thou interactions with the Punisher or his chauvinistic and manipulative relationship with his girlfriend Heather. The end of issue 186 is a particularly nasty example of DD emotionally abusing Heather. If this storyline gets resolved, it is not within these pages (unless issue 189 does contain the resolution, in which case that was so unbelievable that it was completely unsatisfactory).

Daredevil 183-184: These issues guest star the Punisher, who kills people. Daredevil does not kill people. Punisher bad. Daredevil good?

Issue 185, "Guts," stands out as a fun story as we get to see Foggy Nelson in action (and in narration), with DD working behind the scenes to help his friend along. It also sets up a plot line in which DD's senses are overwhelming him; this is later cured in an unsatisfying manner.

187-189: Stick, The Hand, The Black Widow... you can't go wrong with ninjas and blind senseis. The pages-long fight scene in 189 is especially fun.

Issue 190 is entitled "Resurrection" and has to do with Elektra. 'Nuff said.

Issue 191, instead of following up on the events of issue 190, is a reflective issue, allowing DD to realize he is imperfect, but is not evil.

And thus ends the volume (well, there are two throwaway What If? stories and a cool Elektra tale--not sure where it fits in the continuity) and Miller's run on Daredevil (for a while). Unfortunately, according to Wikipedia ([...]), there is no collected graphic novel that contains the next issues, so it is either collecting back issues or nothing if you want to find out what happens next.

Perhaps ending with "Resurrection" is better than finding out what happens next anyway. These are comic books after all. Heroes (and villains) are resurrected, they die again, they come back. The stories go on and on in cycles. The impact of truly epic story lines and the fresh energy of new creators become diluted with reuse. Part of enjoying Marvel's Visionaries series is to put yourself in the mindset of when these comics were new. Volume 3 ends with a lot of possibilities, plot lines in the midst of being juggled, friends dead, the dead returned, and the future unknown. Not a bad place to be.

Frank Miller's run on Daredevil is essential comics history etc. etc. While the stories in this book aren't quite as exciting or innovative as the issues collected in the previous volume of the series, they are certainly worth reading. HOWEVER, this book has been awfully recolored- the art, which was originally created with a certain kind of coloring in mind, has been transformed into ugly pseudo-3D trash- it looks like somebody colored it with a basic paint program on their computer. The recoloring of the previous volumes in the series was okay- not as good as the original issues, but mostly fine. This one, however, just looks terrible. The colors create shading and shapes that are not part of the original art! The original colorists of the series were Klaus Jansen (the inker and, in this book, penciler!) and Lynn Varley (who went on to revolutionize colors with Ronin and the Dark Knight Returns); the original colors are a vital part of the history that makes this work famous- and it has been slaughtered here. The worst part is that in the new Daredevil OMNIBUS collection, this horrible error has not been corrected- they retained the disgusting hack job. No one could possibly be pleased with the way this looks- don't buy it until Marvel releases it the way it should be. In fact, demand it of them.

This third and final collection of Frank Miller's Daredevil run pales in comparison to volume 2, but it's still better than what a lot of creators could do! Besides, it's kind of hard to top yourself after a very impressive run like the one found in the previous volume. Frank Miller visionaries volume 3 includes Daredevil #183-191, What If? #'s 28 and 35, plus Bizarre Adventures #28. This volume opens up with Daredevil and the Punisher both trying to take down a scum-bag who's peddling drugs to kids. I really liked this two-parter because I love seeing the war of morals between both vigilantes. There's only a fine line separating Daredevil from becoming the Punisher, and it's always interesting to see these two in a war of ideals. We also get the return of Stick and the Black Widow, who needs Daredevil's help in discovering who poisoned her. This of course leads to a ninja battle with The Hand (gotta loves those!). After that, horn-head tries to stop The Hand from resurrecting Elektra! Finally, rounding out the series is a powerful tale about a young boy and his father's gun that finds Daredevil in Bullseye's hospital room with a revolver, debating on whether to end the villain's life. This marked the end of Frank Miller's run on the series, but he would return twice to the character in later years, with two more gripping stories.

I was never enamoured of Miller's first run on DD. It was the artwork that really put me off. In vol 3, the artwork has considerably improved with better use of facial expressions and more interesting layouts.

However, I think that the storylines have gone downhill a little. It depends on your preference. Miller has really introduced ninja-mojo into DD's story plots, with ninjas, senseis, the whole schtick (pun). Coincidentally, Elektra was trained by Stick, the same sensei for DD in later years. This type of coincidence is just too pat and suggests to me a narrowing of vision here. If truth be told, the wordless fight sequence between DD, Black Widow and all the ninjas was quite boring.

There were two truly great stories here. The Russian roulette story with the laid-up Bullseye was good as well as the second story when Matt could not accept that Elektra was dead and went on to exhume her body. The grief expressed then was perfect. Naturally, Miller couldn't leave well enough alone and then went on to revive Elektra in the next issue.

The final What If issues tacked on at the end are a complete waste of time.

Volume 3 of Miller's Daredevil saga is not as great as the first two, but it's still better than most comic books. Both the stories and the artwork are pretty good, and if you are into ninjas, then you're in for a treat. Good solid action which contains a nice mix of drama, suspense, superheroics and the occult. Not bad, not bad at all.