Daredevil fans in the house?

[The Prodigal]

Just read the second volume of Waid's DD run and once again he knocks it out the park, its just plain superb. Worthy winner of the Eisner. This one will one day challenge for the title of best ever DD run it really will.

And yet Waid has received criticism for relegating DD to a poor mans Spider-man status. I myself dropped the title.

Tempted to buy the trade by your post.

[Colin YNWA]

And yet Waid has received criticism for relegating DD to a poor mans Spider-man status. I myself dropped the title.

Taking him back to his roots then!

I'd say far from it though. One of the things Waid has done with such skill is alleviate the 'Daredevil as grim tormented soul' meme (is that a meme?) in the short term, while leaving that very tormented soul very much as the driver for the series. Its a wonderful effort. The fact that it could very well be argued that the surface stories, or the superhero stuff, could easily be retooled as Spiderman tales could be levelled at a heck of a lot of other works. The real story is the one of Matt Murdock trying to break free of his cycle of emotional extremes, the very act of doing so making it seem like he's simply doing it all over again just with different specifics. The tension is derived from the fact that no one knows if another breakdown is just another dead girlfriend away, even Matt you suspect.

Oh and the superhero bits might be genric, but they have rarely been done this well and all neatly tie to the ideas above. So for example in this volume DD goes to the underworld again, as he has done in the past both metaphorically and so wonderfully in the Nocenti issues, literally. This time though its a much 'lighter' affair, yet the dark undertones run deep. Its incredibly deftly handled and while its a very positive take on the DD in hell idea, it has consequences that have us looking a Matt very concerned.

[Link Prime]

Not an avid follower, but had to pick up the Mike Allred illustrated issue today. It's feckin lovely.
The comics equivalent of getting a hug off your Gran while eating a toasted cheese sandwich and watching a 60's episode of The Twilight Zone on Blu-ray.

[Charlie boy]

I know I'm coming to this thread pretty late (I've only just seen it) but I grew up with the Nocenti run and although it had its faults, it's great come the time he's in Hell- carrying a flame the forces of Hell want to extinguish and rejecting Mephisto's offers. That's followed by his return- he's lost his memory and Bullseye is running around New York in the DareDevil outfit as Matt Murdock dreams about his past before remembering who he is and taking on Bullseye wearing... Bullseye's costume! The excitement this caused me to experience as a child has never been matched.
You then had D.G. Chichester take the reins and write Last Rites (Fall of the Kingpin)- a brilliant sequel to Born Again- before the title lost its stride in my eyes. I stopped collecting until the Kevin Smith run and stopped collecting again shortly after he left. I haven't really liked any of the writers since Smith. It's an interesting idea to get rid of Miller's grim and gritty feel in favour of the swashbuckling origins, but it hasn't had me buying the title again. My problem is they really have done EVERYTHING they can do with old horn head

[Colin YNWA]

Well we've been neglecting Matt of late, but just having read the fourth collection (bless Marvel for making these hardcovers so cheap) I can't justify such ignorance any longer. My God will Waid's run really be challenging for my favourite ever DD run, can it do that... well maybe, maybe it is already. These things need to be judged with a bit of time and distance, when the runs complete. After all one of the masterful things about Nocenti's run was how well it was completed, how she took things apart and then put them back together, well as much as Matt's ever fully back together, so we need to see how Waid finishes things off. Its fair to say though I'm in no rush to see the end of this run as its bloody brilliant.

Book IV, covering issues 16-21, with thankfully no cross-over (the Spidey, Punisher thing has been the only really let down in this run so far) this time was just superb. Foggy finally does what Foggy could reasonably have been expected to do long ago. Matt finds out whose been playing him and his sanity. Only for more questions to be raised at the end. Allred draws a wonderful, very Allred story, Chris Samnee provides some beautiful art, Ant Man, a great new villain, another vision of hell, a wonderful cliff hanger.. christ there's a lot of good good things packed in there. I chuffin' love it.

[Charlie boy]

Saw my older brother yesterday and he asked if I've heard about the upcoming DareDevil story which he says is supposed to do for DareDevil what Dark Knight Returns did for Batman. Think he may have said Punisher is incarcerated in it and is toying with giving away information like Dr Lecter in Silence of the Lambs and DD is dead? I was far too hot to pay decent attention to what he had to say given the distance I'd just walked in the heat but I'm afraid I can't even remember the title or creative team behind this! Come to think about it, this may have simply been a heat-induced fantasy.

[Colin YNWA]

I think he might be referring to Daredevil: End of Days by Bendis, Maleev (with klaus Janson apparently) I'm trade waiting it so can't be sure, but sounds about right.

[SmallBlueThing]

SBTI'd say that far from being a "poor man's Spidey", this run of Daredevil has done more to create a feeling of marvel's New York being a cohesive locale, populated by characters who sit beside eachother realistically, than any comic outside the spiderverse, ever. It's got me reading monthly- in print- off the back of the sublime 'Superior Spider-Man' , and DD is suddenly a favourite. I've recently read the entirety of Miller's famous run, reprinted in Panini's MWOM, and sorry- but Waid's version does more for me.

While Marvel have been obsessing about galactic heroes and the more silly end of their super-spectrum (iron man, Thor etc) the likes of DD, Otto's Spidey and Hawkeye have been holding the fort for the moRe hounded, less cosmic, grimy noo yawk !that the late sixties marvels always suggested was nearly real. Their use of artists a million miles from the awful cack steroidal twattery of Jim lee et al is only a part of that. But yeah, Daredevil is a must-buy

[Colin YNWA]

I've recently read the entirety of Miller's famous run, reprinted in Panini's MWOM, and sorry- but Waid's version does more for me.

I've said for a while now I don't think the Miller run has aged well. It must have been freaking amazing back in the day, but shows its age. Its far from terrible but not as good as a number of other DD runs. Klaus Janson's inks are however timeless.

Waid's run is quite brilliant but have you tried Nocenti's SBT?

[Charlie boy]

I think he might be referring to Daredevil: End of Days by Bendis, Maleev (with klaus Janson apparently) I'm trade waiting it so can't be sure, but sounds about right.

Thanks for that, Colin, and End of Days does sound familiar; can't believe I overlooked the current Marvel slogan (e.g. If you're not sure who the writer is going to be, it's more than likely Bendis) on this. I'm one of those who don't really like his work so I'm a bit disappointed to hear his name and can't see him doing anything comparable to Dark Knight. May have to punch my brother in the back of the head next time I see him for this...

[JamesC]

I'm very tempted to try Daredevil but it's been absolutely years since I read any of his comics. If I start with the Mark Waid stories (I enjoyed his Fantastic Four run a few years ago) is there anything I need to know going in? I guess I could Wikipedia it but reading years worth of continuity for comic characters can be pretty tiresome.

Also, SBT, you haven't been on the Last Movie thread for ages - I always enjoyed reading your reviews.

[Frank]

SBT, you haven't been on the Last Movie thread for ages - I always enjoyed reading your reviews.

Between those and the tales of explosive bowel complications, this place is much more fun with SBT around. Welcome back.

[Greg M.]

If I start with the Mark Waid stories (I enjoyed his Fantastic Four run a few years ago) is there anything I need to know going in?

I think you can start fresh from the Waid run - everything you need should be provided as you go. It might be handy to know that prior to this run, Matt Murdock has been getting progressively more messed-up and 'dark' (wife got driven insane, Matt got possessed by a demon and killed Bullseye - the usual misery) but as of the Waid era the character is acting like nothing bad has happened - something which worries Foggy.

[Colin YNWA]

If I start with the Mark Waid stories (I enjoyed his Fantastic Four run a few years ago) is there anything I need to know going in?

I think you can start fresh from the Waid run - everything you need should be provided as you go. It might be handy to know that prior to this run, Matt Murdock has been getting progressively more messed-up and 'dark' (wife got driven insane, Matt got possessed by a demon and killed Bullseye - the usual misery) but as of the Waid era the character is acting like nothing bad has happened - something which worries Foggy.

As ever what Greg said really. The specifics of his current dilemmas aren't really central to the series. Its just superb stuff.

[Colin YNWA]

This is the series that just keeps giving. As I've discussed elsewhere I've just finished book 5 and I've come here to say something a little different. I think I am now prepared to say, even though its not over, even though after 27 issues you could argue we've only had the one arc, even though my love for Nocenti's run knows no bounds (it always makes my 10 top runs of all time when I do that kinda thing) and I'd take Born Again over any other of Miller's work when he was good, ANY of it... even with all that I'll call it now.

Mark Waid's Daredevil is my favourite take on the character. My number one, my top of the heap.

Now the only question is next time I do a top ten can I fit both this and the Nocenti run in?