Customer Reviews

Daredevil, Vol. 1 (v. 1)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most of the reviews listed for this title aren't accurate at all, since they're for a completely different edition, so I thought I'd chime in.

This hardback is part of Marvel's new oversized line. And as I've come to expect, it's of fantastic quality. From the glossy attractive cover to the vibrant coloring of the pages, Daredevil Vol. 1 screams for a spot on anyone's bookshelf or coffee table.

As a special treat, the inspiring introduction is written by Tom Sullivan. If the name isn't familiar to you, he's a blind man that has managed to lead a very productive life despite his disability. From skiing to bungie-jumping, Mr. Sullivan has happily experienced what life has to offer, blind or not. He was also a consultant on the Daredevil movie.

Included in this hardback are the issues of Daredevil #1-11, and #13-15, the Guardian Devil (Smith/Quesada) and Parts of a Hole (Mack/Quesada) storylines. Nothing will probably ever compare to Miller's sagas (Elektra, Born Again, Man Without Fear), but these are wonderful reads, with a huge impact on recent continuity. Also, while Smith's Guardian Devil storyline seems like a rehash of the Elektra saga, there's still an incredible emotional impact, that's still being discussed today (see Daredevil: Yellow for more).

Many cameos are present, including a touching appearance by Spider-man, who is one of the few people that can truly understand what Matt has gone through at the end of Guardian Devil.

The "special features" featured after the collected issues are lacking, though that's hardly something to dock the book for. And the few sketches and artwork included are great to see. Still, comments from the writers/artists would have been wonderful.

Pick this edition up soon, or risk not being able to find it later. Besides, sales for this and Vol 2 could inspire Marvel to release the Miller sagas as oversized hardcovers. ;)

I am not going to comment on the quality of this edition. Just on the actual content. This hardcover features Daredevil's two first story arcs under the Marvel Knights line of comics. The first one, written by Kevin Smith, generated a lot of expectation when it first came out. Being Joe Quesada (the artist) one of my favourite comic book illustrators, I bought the books without blinking. And the art was great indeed or, at least, as good as Joe Q has ever accomplished. Clean and beautiful depictions of the Man Without Fear, shot from every possible angle, doing every possible thing, great eye candy. The writing, however, wasn't up to par. Kevin smith is famous for his movies where people talk like there's no tomorrow, and he has translated precisely that notion to this comic book. So many words! Not that it's something bad per se, but the way it's done, it prevents the storyline from flowing nicely. It doesn't go with the graphics, but on a separate route. And then, there's the argument. I won't give any spoiler but my advice is, don't think that this is going anywhere: of course there's more or less, and explanation for everything, but it's completely pointless and absurd. After all the hassle, you are left wondering WHAT? WHY? Not because the answers are not given, but because the answers are not a comic book! The story ended up being a lacklustre, and to top it off, they went and did something really cheap to try and give it some transcendence.
Then there's David Mack story. Much better! The artwork mutates to accommodate to this simpler, yet much better executed plot, and becomes something almost unique. You'd think that Joe Q's art wouldn't fit with aquarelles like paintings, but it does fit, and you will discover how in these pages. The storyline, as I said, is simpler and less ambitious, but at least it doesn't have a ridiculous ending and makes quite a few points in describing the characters. All in all, a really good volume for the artwork (if you like Joe Q's style),but with very uneven stories, so you'd better skip it if you just want to read a good comic book.

First off, Amazon has the listing for the Daredevil Volume 1 hardcover linked to the listings for the Guardian Devil and Parts of a Hole paperbacks. I am reviewing the hardcover, which collects both stories.

For all it's greatness in the 1980's, by the 90's Daredevil was one of Marvel's least popular and least impressive titles. Granted, Marvel's attempts to make the book relevant, which consisted of getting a Frank Miller knock-off artist and giving Daredevil a suit of armor (really), were pretty pathetic. Still, it was a sad state of affairs for those of us who loved the character. Then fate stepped in. Filmmaker Kevin Smith (of Clerks and Mallrats fame) was a self-confessed comics fan, and he wanted to try his hand at Daredevil. Oh, and Joe Quesada, a minor superstar in the comics world, was attached to illustrate Smith's story. For Daredevil fans this was a gift from above. More importantly, it brought a lot of attention, and a lot of readers, to the Man Without Fear.

Story
Guardian Devil - Smith took a page from Frank Miller's classic Born Again story, with a mysterious villain - who has knowledge of Daredevil's alter-ego - setting out to destroy every aspect of Daredevil's life, including his very sanity. I don't know why all the best Daredevil stories are those where his life totally falls apart, but this is no exception.

For a first effort, this is actually a very impressive story. I think Smith overplayed the religious aspects of the story, but this was released at about the same time as Dogma, so I can see how these themes would have been on his mind. Smith conveys a deep appreciation for the classic Miller Daredevil stories, and his dialogue - always one of his strengths - is sharp and modern. I know he's not universally loved, but I really enjoyed his work on this title.

Parts of a Hole - I was a David Mack fan from the very first Kabuki comic, so I'm biased here. I love the idea of Echo as well as her similarities to Daredevil, though the character is something of an amalgamation of Kabuki and Elektra, or perhaps Kabuki and Daredevil. Mack's storytelling is very memorable, especially in the use of narrative background artwork.

Artwork
Guardian Devil - Joe Quesada walked away from his creator-owned property Ash to take on Daredevil, and that was a really big deal at the time. Obviously it paid off, as the man is now literally "the man" at Marvel. He is in top form here, with dynamic and fluid action scenes, stunning backgrounds, and those distinctly Joe Quesada faces. Looking at these pages makes you wish he had more time to devote to drawing comics.

Parts of a Hole - Again, Joe Quesada does some incredible illustration, though he was falling behind and had to get Luke Ross to fill in. Ross did his best, but there is an obvious contrast in styles. David Mack's painted backgrounds are what really make this story stand out.

Beyond being a really impressive Daredevil saga, Smith and Quesada's run on the title put Daredevil back on the map, which led to a major movie (which sucked, but that's beside the point) and set the stage for Brian Michael Bendis and Alexander Maleev's epic run on the title, which may be the best Daredevil saga ever. It all starts here.

I read the original Kevin Smith story in Marvel Knights Daredevil when it first came out all those years ago. Never didn't really finish it. I now remember why I didn't. It's not that good. It's kinda silly and the main villain's (not gonna spoil who it is) reasons for doing what he's doing to Daredevil and his friends is very stupid. So meh.

Why did I give the trade 4 stars, then? Because of the amazing David Mack (of Kabuki fame)story, featuring Echo. David Mack knows how to write people, and in his story you can see it first hand. Echo falls in love with Matt Murdock, but the Kingpin, who has raised Echo since his father was murdered, orders her to kill Daredevil. She doesn't know the man she loves and the man she has to murder are one and the same, though. Very cool story.

The restart of the Daredevil series collected here is awesome! Kevin Smith is PRIMO, and the storyline takes your breath away! A must buy for anyone starting to collect Daredevil or anyone who loves the character!

This Hardcover collects both Kevin Smith's work on Daredevil and David Mack, with Joe Quesada providing art for both (exept for one or two issue's on Mack's run), and is overall an okay collection.
Kevin Smith's arc, entitled Guardian Devil, is credited for reviving the Daredevil line from a long obsurity, though from what I've read of his work on this comic it was probably more to do with his famous name.
His arc is good, but it just reads more like an average DD/superhero story right down to the behind the scenes machievallen super-villian. On top of that he fails entirely to make new readers of DD (like myself when I ofirst picked it up) actually care about what is meant to be a pivotal (to the character, and to this arc) DD character, Karen Page, whom he fails to properly characterise. Instead she is simply presented as a textbook "Women in Refrigerators" plot device, sans actual believable emotion. Essentially she turns up, whinges, cleans up in one or two pages, then is quickly and quite out of the blue killed off. Save money and get it in tpb form.

To save space I'll just say David Mack arc also okay, way too long, but with a few redeeming features (some solid exploration of Kingpins character, and some other things). And even though Karen Page just recently died, it is hardly mentioned let alone explored(actually there's a joke about Karen in here, which really confuses me, IS SHE IMPORTANT OR NOT?!) Once again, get it in tpb form, or pass it completely.

Joe Quesada art is a low point (so low that his fill in artist during Mack's run actually look's better). His art is really cartooney and is especially bad when DD is actually in costume, but it might suit some people I guess.

This book is good enough that I bought the hardcover, even though I already had the same two storylines in TPB paperback form. I ended up giving the two TPBs away to friends to convince them that they should be reading this book! The storyline is good, the art is fantastic, and this book was a real deal here at Amazon.com. Is it the best daredevil story I've ever read? Honestly, no. There are others out there that I've enjoyed just as much or more, but this one ranks up with some of the finest stuff Marvel has published this century. Do yourself (or someone else) a favor and grab this book while you can!