Customer Reviews

Daredevil, Vol. 1: Yellow

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A friend recommended this to me and the first thing that struck me was the funny title. Daredevil, the man without fear - YELLOW?. What an irreverent oxymoron. It's like saying "Superman Weakling" or "Flash Slowcoach". A look at the book allayed my fears - he really WAS yellow, but perhaps only in costume, not in character. I opened this book reluctantly, expecting to see a travesty of one of my heroes. Five minutes later I walked out of the store with a fine addition to my comic collection.

PLOT:
Jeph Loeb has outclassed himself yet again. The slow yet beautiful story recounts Daredevil's origins and his gradual rise to fame as "New York's favorite son". It reads like a personal diary with beautiful introspective monologue, especially the references to boxing and his dad. Essentially it's one long flashback explaining why the costume changed from yellow-and-red to all-red, with our hero remaining mired in tragedy all the time. Along the way Daredevil/Matt Murdock meets his first love, battles a few guest supervillains and there is even a cameo appearance by some other Marvel uberpeople.

Daredevil's blossoming relationship with Karen Page is explored deeply throughout, yet I found the denouement to be unsatisfactory. After developing one phase of the man's past so well, the ending is a little rushed and abrupt. The book's conclusion is squeezed into 3 brief pages starting with "the rest of the story you know too well". At this point the book was already too big and needed to end soon, but the main threads (e.g. just how did one of the important characters die?) are left dangling in unsavory suspense for the DD newcomer.

ART:
Exquisite water colors! There are loads of full-page panels and several double-page spreads. In fact each page has at the most 3 to 4 panels, which is appropriate becuase this is not an action thriller. The attention to detail can vary from a monochromatic background to a full-paged intricately pencilled Manhattan skyline stretching away to the horizon. There are unforgettable scenes like DD ruminating on the Empire State Building's spire. And there is good use of the color black (yes black is a color!) though there aren't too many dark moments here.

OVERALL:
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have proved themselves a formidable team once more. Adrenaline junkies will be disappointed with the book if they're expecting a series of senseless bashemups. This tale is not fast-paced or action-packed. The plot is a "year-one" rewrite lacking twists and turns. There are no hysterias or histrionics. The book is a carefully designed work of art. Those who appreciate subtlety or visual poetry will dig this title. Overall, this is one colour-changing trip you'd want to experience at least once.

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have produced another great book, but this time they deal with Daredevil and his origins. In particular, they bring back the yellow union suit and retell they story on how Daredevil went from Yellow to all red.

The book is a retelling because the authors do not go back to Matt Murdock's (Daredevil) childhood like Frank Miller did in his 1993 epic "The Man Withot Fear." The story gives enough background for a newcomer can follow the story. The authors intent seems to be to deal with the entire Karen Page episode and the values of doing the right thing that his father instilled in him.

The dialogue and artwork are great and the story moves quickly and enjoyably. This story deals with Daredevil coming to terms in regards to Karen's death and he travels back to the time he met her. I do prefer Miller's origins story. It is slower, more detialed, and much more psychological, but this does not in anyway should take away from Loeb and Sale's book.

A fun book and a must for us Daredevil fans.

When I finished reading this graphic novel, the only thing I could think for several moments was "Wow." It was my first introduction to the character and I'm pretty much obsessed now. It covers how Matt came to be don the costume of Daredevil, from the death of his father to the change to the red costume we all know and love.

Well I've just got round to reading it and thoroughly enjoyed it . DD has probably been , over the years , my favourite solo Marvel character . From his launch , through the glorious Colan years , and then the revitalisation under McKenzie , Miller and laterly Smith and Bendis.

I think Frank Miller did the definitive origin of his version in the Man Without Fear book but for us old-timers this is the origin of the character we were first introduced to by Stan , Bill and Wally which would later lead us to the swashbuckling Romita and Colan version.

Going back and expanding on Stan's origin , and the artwork too , especially , turned back the clock to those days I'd cycle round looking for tha latest issues in the local newsagents.

I don't think there's too many heroes out there who have had two such great books written in recent years re-telling their origin as DD.

Terry

As far as superhero origin's stories are concerned, there's an infinite number of ways to skin the cat. In Daredevil: Yellow, the fan-favorite creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale (of Batman: Long Halloween and Dark Victory fame) tell their version of Matt Murdock's origin and early career, using his brief stint in that atrocious yellow costume as the overriding concept of the miniseries. The story is framed by Matt Murdock's grief-laden letters to the deceased Karen Page, and while the narration gets a bit melodramatic and heavy-handed at times, the story is somehow able to maintain a fun, light-hearted tone. Loeb doesn't exactly introduce anything new to the Daredevil mythos, but he does an enjoyable and commendable job visiting some crucial moments in Matt Murdock's life while perfectly capturing the voices and personalities of Daredevil's supporting cast. The star of this show is Sale, who provides more of his unique style of art and keen eye for storytelling.

This book was good. If you've read Essential Daredevil, you see that Matt Murdock is in love with Karen Page. But you only saw it...u didnt feel it. This book truly captured all the emotion. You see Foggy's heartbreak. Truly will make a lump in your throat. This was my first Loeb/Sale book. I'm sure Spidey Blue is great too. All in all..this book is great and really gives you their feelings.

If you're a collector like me who shelled out the cash for "Essential Daredevil," you're probably like me, wishing you hadn't. The book was horrible, in black and white, and had the feel of the 60's, almost like Murdock and Nelson were the Brady's. But if you really want to catch up on the origin of Daredevil, then this is your book.

Written faithfully to the original first issues of Daredevil, this book puts a more 21st century vibe into the writing. Add in the wonderful artwork that is Tim Sale's, and you've got yourself a perfect buy. Though this book could easily be passed off as a love story, the simple minded fool who depicts it as that is wrong. This book's major theme is loss. Loss of love, yes, but still loss. It is Daredevil looking back on the chance he had, that is now gone. This book is not a novel version of Crossroads, but instead more along the lines of A Walk To Remember. It touches all sides of human emotion, and follows the change of a person who has had tradgedy all about him find true love. Like all of the Loeb/Sale color books, this too is a must have.

This is an excellent Daredevil book. He's one of my favorite characters, since he has a real moral depth and is constantly facing challenges that require him to act often against his true desires. Yellow is a gorgeously illustrated version of a beautiful and compelling story of Daredevil's early days, and how he fell in love with Karen. It covers some of the same ground as Frank Miller's origin story, but does it so uniquely in its style that it feels original, yet familiar at the same time.

There are a few encounters with villains, but the focus is on the relationships between Matt, Foggy and Karen, and they are handled exceptionally. This is a book that is going to provoke a bunch of feelings not normally found in standard superhero fare, subtly blending romantic comedy in with usual Daredevil exploits.

This feels like a book for grown-ups, tinged with regret at his losses. If anything, the only weakness is that we don't get to see the full arc of his story with Karen. We don't see how he loses her, but maybe we don't need to. Daredevil Yellow gives us all the feelings we need in its beautiful pages.

This is another of the color-themed named series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale and this one, like the others is worth reading and rereading! Sale's art has the perfect retro look that makes these classics shine. Loeb's dialogue here is spot on and pretty fun. The insight into Matt Murdock's life through a few different stages is pretty awesome. Overall, this is a really fun read!

This comic has quite a touching storyline, Daredevil coming to terms with the loss of Karen Page by recalling their first times together, in a sense, recapitulating some of the early few issues of Daredevil's origins including encounters with his early nemeses the fixer, Elektro and The Owl. The build-up of their growing feelings toward each other is quite good except for the ending which is too abrupt.
I don't actually like this sort of drawing style. Sales draws a little like Miller, large exaggerated figures which cover whole pages. It may make for interesting pacing, cinematic effects etc but it all boils down to taste.
Overall, I enjoyed this book.