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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Daredevil Becomes Great, June 6, 2004
During Frank Miller's first nine issues on Daredevil, numbers 158-161 and 163-167, the stories were written by Roger McKenzie with Miller supplying pencils. (Number 162 was a non-McKenzie/Miller fill-in issue.) It was only with number 168 - the first issue in this collection - that Miller was handed the writing chores as well. That's when Daredevil, since its inception in 1964 one of Marvel's second tier books, truly hit its stride.
In his very first outing, Miller slammed a home run when he created Elektra Natchios, ninja assassin and Matt Murdock's (Daredevil's) old college girlfriend. Miller has since admitted the basic plot skeleton was lifted from Will Eisner's famous old Spirit story containing the first appearance of Denny Colt's ex-girlfriend Sand Saref, including the idea of the hero's old flame becoming in the present his criminal enemy, that she was turned evil by her father's violent death, the final kiss on the docks, etc. That doesn't change the fact DD #168 is an incredibly powerful piece of comics storytelling - just not as blindingly original as some people like to believe.
Frank Miller was hardly comic books' first writer/artist. Jack Cole with Plastic Man; Neal Adams with Deadman; Steve Ditko with The Question, Mr. A, The Creeper, E-Man, etc.; Jim Starlin with Warlock; Mike Grell with The Warlord; Dave Sim with Cerebus; all predated Miller. But he did weigh-in as an outstanding member of a group that's never been large.
Not to come across like I'm downgrading Miller's accomplishments here - I'm not - but it's worth noting that, for a first time big league comic book writer and neophyte penciller, he had a powerful support team. Marvel Comics' then-Editor-In-Chief, Jim Shooter, one of the greatest writers of comics' Silver Age, and even then penning some of Marvel's best stories (he STILL had it, and in spades), took an early interest in Miller's Daredevil and, as Miller put it, "proceeded to kibitz ferociously." Klaus Janson, a seasoned comics pro, had inked Miller since his start on Daredevil, and (another Miller quote), "had to sand down many a rough edge, and rescue many a panel outright." McKenzie and Miller had spent countless hours discussing the character before Miller ever soloed. So the kid had just a wee little bit of help.
None of which changes the fact that under Miller's tenure as writer/artist, Daredevil began to absolutely kick butt. McKenzie, long before Frank Miller showed up, had already begun the metamorphosis of DD from a second rate Spider-Man, instead casting him as a second rate Batman. Grim 'n' gritty, doncha know. Miller, combining his love of hyper-violent Japanese manga like Lone Wolf and Cub with a penchant for hard-boiled crime writers like Jim Thompson, took that basic idea and ran with it. Under his aegis, Matt Murdock's world became a battleground against street thugs, gangsters, hitmen, secret societies of assassins. Demonstrating an artistic sensibility heavily influenced by Eisner, rooms became chiaroscuro landscapes cut by light and shadow. The Kingpin, a laughable Spider-Man foe, was elevated by Miller to the pantheon of Marvel villains, a grotesque giant ruling New York's underworld with an iron fist inside an iron glove. Bullseye, a minor DD baddie for years, became then and forevermore Daredevil's Joker, his arch-nemesis. In these stories we find love betrayed, murder, revenge, psychosis. Our hero was driven by violence and loss to the very edge of insanity - and maybe just a tiny bit beyond.
All heady stuff, the likes of which comic books had never seen. It was a time, and a comic, where you almost literally couldn't wait 30 days for the next issue. I was there, and I loved it. For those of you who weren't there, or, like me, already own these issues but just want the stories in this square bound, paperback, heavy slick paper format as well - so you can hand the book to Frank Miller Daredevil virgins, showing them how great these stories are without cracking the seal on your mylar encased, backing boarded, mint condition originals - you NEED this book. Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Volume 2 collects some of the greatest super-hero comics ever.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Daredevil's Darkest Story, January 21, 2003
For those of you who read the first volume of the Daredevil Visionaries series, you know that Frank Miller was a very talented artist working with subpar scripts, being forced to draw Ol' Hornhead in silly predicaments against weak adversaries. All of that changed with this book.
Daredevil was changed forever as soon as Miller took over the writing duties as well. The story begins as Elektra, Daredevil's college sweetheart-turned-assassin, returns to New York to collect a bounty. Meanwhile, Bullseye has escaped a hospital where he was about to undergo surgery for a deadly brain tumor. The tumor makes him hallucinate that everyone is Daredevil. Bullseye maims and kills various innocents before the real Daredevil can reel him in. While all of this is happening, Wilson Fisk, the former Kingpin of Crime, is forced back into the underground when his loving wife is kidnapped by his mob enemies. The enemies want the documents that Kingpin has that could incriminate all of them.
As plots twist and turn, Daredevil faces many things. As Bullseye lay unconscious in front of an oncoming train, Daredevil must decide whether he lives or dies. He also has to square off against Elektra, the deadly league of ninja known as The Hand, and even Kingpin himself. Before it's all over, Bullseye will be cured of his tumor and will be deadlier than ever, Kingpin will have regained control of the underworld, and Elektra will die.
Miller's prose is as dynamic as his artwork. Any comic writer can make you feel a punch or kick, but Miller is of a rare breed that can not only make you feel the fighting, but the emotion as well. When Elektra determines that Daredevil, who, as Matt Murdock, was the only love she ever knew, is a hindrance to her and her mission, you can feel her heart sink. When Kingpin's wife is captured, you can feel the blood boiling in his veins. When Daredevil is shackled and thrown into a water main, you can feel his panic. You get the idea. Miller is able to mesh the emotion and substance of a suspense novel with his top-notch artwork, and it really hits home. In short, Daredevil fans are treated with substance and style that is rare in comic books. Frank Miller proved with this collection that he is the premiere writer/artist of our age. I can't say enough about him, or this book. It is essential for all comics fans, not just Daredevil devotees. You will not be disappointed.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
These are the Daredevil stories not to be missed, January 22, 2003
When Frank Miller was only drawing and co-plotting "Daredevil" in the late 70's and early 80's the issues were a lot of fun, but once he took over the writing chores... wow. "Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, Volume 2" reprints the first dozen or so "Daredevil" issues featuring Miller as both writer and artist, and wait 'til you see the leap in quality from the undeniably entertaining stories seen in volume 1, where Miller was only the artist and sometimes plotter. How good are these stories? Well, right out of the box, we meet Daredevil's first love turned killer-for-hire Electra (in Miller's FIRST issue as writer!); get plunged into a major gangwar featuring the Kingpin, Bullseye, and the mysterious group of ninja assassins known only as "The Hand"; meet yet another previously unseen figure from Daredevil's past, his streetwise and battle-scarred teacher and mentor "Stick"; and experience all kinds of other fun stuff still talked about twenty years after the stories first appeared. And I haven't even talked about the memorable, operatic Daredevil #'s 180, 181, and 182, the classic issues that close this volume. By the way, the storyline of the upcoming Daredevil movie was heavily influenced by this fan-favorite run of stories, so why not experience them in their original form first? Great stories, great art, and even some humor (in the form of recurring, not-very-efficient crooks Turk and Grotto)-- what more can you want?
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