Top positive review
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5.0 out of 5 starsFun with the devil-may-care Daredevil!
ByBruno Mon March 1, 2013
Daredevil By Mark Waid Vol. 1 HC collects:
- Daredevil #1 to 10 and 10.1 (2011 series)
- Amazing Spider-Man #677
The extras include 14 pages worth of material:
- Spotlight interview with author Mark Waid.
- Paolo Rivera sketchbook full of original pencil pages and creative process demonstrations.
* * * * * OVERVIEW * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Following the critically acclaimed runs of Brian Bendis and Ed Brubaker that pushed Daredevil to edges we haven't experienced since the Frank Miller days, and after the ill-fated Andy Diggle run that unsuccesfully tried to take Matt Murdock even further, comes Mark Waid. So what does Mark Waid do? Exactly the opposite!
I'll admit that I was at first reluctant to the idea of a light and carefree Daredevil, as I'm very much used to a gritty and hardboiled hero. But Waid manages to deliver an incredibly fresh take on the character, and while on the surface this Matt Murdock may seem like an easygoing do-gooder, he remains at his core as complex and intense as we know and love him.
Mark Waid takes Daredevil to new territories, pairing him up against unusual adversaries like Spot, mega-criminal organizations AIM and Hydra, and two particular Marvel villains that I won't mention to avoid spoilers. I really can't praise Waid's efforts enough: he reminds us once more why he's such an essential contemporary comic-book author.
* * * * * ABOUT THE ART * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The art is truly amazing, mainly featuring the talents of Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, as well as Kano, Khoi Pham and Emma Rios. Rivera and Martin are incredibly accomplished artists and storytellers, giving not only life and vision but also design to Waid's scripts.
* * * * * ABOUT THE EDITION * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This is a high quality book, featuring sewn-binding, glossy paper stock and excellent quality printing with sharp art reproduction. The sewn-binding allows to read the book comfortably with no gutter-loss at all, so you can fully appreciate the wonderful art.
Unfortunately the paper stock is not as great as previous Marvel hardcover editions: this is a lighter weight kind of stock. I won't go as far as to say it's flimsy, because it's good quality material, but my main complain is that it lets you see through the pages a bit when the art features blank spaces in the page layout design.
Also, unlike previous hardcover editions this book does NOT include metal engravings printed on the front and spine of the book that you can see when you remove the dustjacket. Instead, it features a nice matte full printing (which unfortunately is a bit pixelated due to the enlargement of the image, but nothing really serious, just a detail). While I definitely miss the old look, I think is one also good on its own.
* * * * * CONCLUSION * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I recommend this book both to newcomers and old veterans alike. Mark Waid brings the glory back to Daredevil and already shapes up as the next great writer of the title, following Miller, Bendis and Brubaker.