Daredevil By Mark Waid - Volume 1 [Hardcover]

Celebrated comic book scribes have come and gone on DAREDEVIL, and call it the Frank Miller influence but they'd all pretty much bestowed ridiculous tough love on Matt Murdock. The Man Without Fear has been thru some bleak times. To quote Matt: "It has been a miserable last few years. And every time I thought I'd finally hit bottom, God somehow found me a bigger shovel."

Off the top of my head, there are two veteran comic book writers whom I absolutely respect: Ron Marz, the Top Cow's main architect who's demonstrated longevity on WITCHBLADE, and Mark Waid who's been doing big things with BOOM Studios' IRREDEEMABLE and INCORRUPTIBLE. And I loved their run over on the defunct CrossGen company. But here's Mark Waid now to kick dirt on what Frank Miller has wrought on DAREDEVIL, and maybe it's time someone did that, do away with the nonstop doom and gloom. Daredevil's fall from grace during the Shadowland arc had me wondering in what direction they would take our blind vigilante. Waid aims to let in some sunshine on Matt Murdock's corner of the universe. The result is perhaps 2011's most unexpectedly successful comic book title.

Remember those early, pre-Miller years when Daredevil actually exhibited a sunnier disposition? This was back in the day before the comic book medium got all post-modern and started focusing on depicting gritty, realistic stories. Mark Waid brings back the Silver Age sensibility. He reintroduces Daredevil's zest for life and his swashbuckling demeanor. He makes him into a more lighthearted adventurer. And so what if it's Matt Murdock purposely wallowing in self-denial? Criminy's sake, dude was just possessed by a demon and forced into performing heinous deeds. He's entitled to a break.

Matt's back in New York City, back from who knows where. He and Foggy Nelson are intent on reestablishing their law firm. But Matt's step back into the court room is confounded by opposing counsel's constant mention of his crimefighting alter ego. Yes, plenty of people still believe Matt is Daredevil. This compels Matt to come up with a new way to practice law. But is it completely above board?

There's optimism now, and brightness and a renewed sense of adventure, and you get a whiff of all this from the opening moments of the revived series' first issue, as Daredevil crashes a mob wedding and foils an abduction attempt by the Spot (and then plants one on the bride). Waid is such a solid storyteller; he knows pace; he writes sharp dialogue. He has a way of presenting his protagonist as heroic without being pompous. That opening sequence is Waid's gambit in a nutshell. Lighten up the ol' hornhead.

Foggy - who's in on Matt's devilish alter ego - isn't sure he's down with Matt's suddenly carefree philosophy. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop (maybe we all are). That doesn't happen in this volume. Instead, Matt's civilian job has him taking on a police brutality case and a wrongful termination case. This last one presents Matt and Foggy with a blind client who had inadvertently uncovered a sweeping conspiracy connecting five superterrorist organizations. That makes him a desperately wanted man.

It's no coincidence that both cases have Matt more directly involved as Daredevil. As such, he ends up tangling with Klaw, Master of Sound, and with a paid assassin called Bruiser. Bruiser is a metahuman who can shift his center of gravity to any part of his body. Bruiser is interesting in that his ultimate goal is to fight the Hulk. As such, he's steadily working his way up the ranks of superhumans, each adversary more powerful than the last. Bruiser has a check-off list. He even writes a blog about it. In their first scrap, he wipes the floor with Daredevil. Matt, hey, easy on the hubris.

The tandem of artists, Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, brings a vibrant and dynamic aesthetic. Rivera handles the first three issues, with Martin picking up the three after that (Martin also draws the backup story in issue #1). These two cats complement each other perfectly, both favoring delicate yet lively line works. Credit Waid for a lot of this series' newfound success, but don't sneeze at Rivera and Marcos's contributions. I particularly love how they visually translate Daredevil's radar sense. This allows us a peek into how Matt's enhanced senses interpret the world for him. Pages 4 & 5 of Martin's issue #1 backup story transforms Matt and Foggy's simple neighborhood walk into an exquisite visual treat, partly because we get to see what Matt "sees." It's a joy nowadays to read this title, sir. There's that sense of escapism again. Next thing you know, Waid'll have DD back in nostalgic black and yellow threads.

DAREDEVIL collects the first six issues of the relaunched series. This volume also reprints two interviews with Mark Waid (one of which concerns his return to Crossgen's old RUSE series). Added bonus features present several variant covers, a sketchbook by (and interview with) Paolo Rivera, and a two-paged layout in which Paolo walks us thru his illustrating process.

First, speaking as a DC Comics fan, I didn't expect to actually like this book. Daredevil isn't one of those characters I consider to be an end-all, be-all of the Marvel Universe when there are more iconic characters around (Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, etc.). But this book took me by surprise.
Mark Waid is one of my favorite writers working today, so I naturally had to give this a shot when it came out. I haven't looked back. I'm now a regular Daredevil reader. Never thought I'd say that.
I don't want to spoil the story for you and I think it's been covered by other reviewers, I'll just put it as simply as I can: this is a great book!
It's especially great for people who might not have given Daredevil a shot before. It does contain some references to events that played out in previous story lines, but don't let that scare you off. Those events have little or nothing to do with what's happening now. This story is geared for those just getting into the Man Without Fear.
It doesn't mean this won't please long-time Daredevil fans, though. There's plenty of what made Daredevil fun and exciting pre-Frank Miller and even a little bit left over from the Miller time period. The manic depression has been sucked right out, though and replaced with something that's so much better: ACTUAL heroics.
It's not contained in this collection, but Daredevil #7 was one of the most amazing books I read last year. There's incentive to pick up the next volume.
If you like the fun of Spider-Man, but get a little tired of the self-deprecating humor or you love Batman, but don't want to be bogged down by loads of continuity or maybe you just want to find something that's both fun and thrilling all in the same place, do yourself a favor and pick this up. The price is pretty great for the hardcover edition, but if you're cheap like me, the paperback is even better on the wallet (or purse).

I hadn't read Daredevil since Brian Bendis left the book and I heard such horrible things about Shadowland, but when Mark Waid writes a book, I just have to check it out.

Waid takes Daredevil in a new direction. Instead of a Matt Murdock who is grim, gritty, down on his luck, self-loathing, and holds a grudge against life in general, we get to see a cheerful, playful, "devil" may care, determined to be happy Matt Murdock, and it's great. It makes the book a lot more fun.

This volume is incredibly accessible for new readers. Waid keeps reminding readers of who Daredevil is, what his powers are, and the grim & gritty past that he's trying to let go. In fact, this book may be TOO accessible. Waid repeats these things frequently, leaving me to wonder how many times I'm going to have to hear how echolocation works during this series.

A plethora of background plots are the highlight of Waid's Daredevil: Matt & Foggy trying to salvage their law firm, the mysterious Fantastic Four artifact, and hints of a possible romance with a state prosecutor that won't stop calling Matt "Daredevil."

Daredevil Volume 1 is made up of two primary stories from Daredevil #1-6 (2011). The collection starts off with a strong first chapter that sets the tone and direction of the series. Issues 2 & 3 pit DD against Klaw, the master of sound, which is in theory a great villain for a hero with enhanced senses, but the script is a bit clunky, especially in issue #3. It doesn't have a good flow, there's a bit of technical jargon that doesn't make a lot of sense, and by the time the story was over I still didn't really know what the whole thing was all about.

The second story in issues #4-6 is better with a strong focus on may of the earlier-referenced subplots. DD's mission in this story is to help a young blind man who feels he was wrongly terminated from his job. A whole conspiracy is set into motion involving five terrorist organizations. It sounds like a leap, but Waid connects the dots in a way that flows naturally and it's a very good story.

Probably my favorite part of this volume is how reflective Matt is about his abilities and what he can do with them such as learning to play a musical instrument in a matter of moments or identifying individual strawberries by scent. There's also an awesome scene where Matt overthrows an entire hit squad with the flip of a switch.

One aspect of this book I can live without is the constant reminders that Matt Murdock isn't Daredevil. He is, obviously, but he's trying to cover up a leaked identity. This was a major story the last time I read Daredevil years and years ago. I can't believe it's still going on. The series really needs to move past this. It's stale.

At times I find the series to be uneven in pacing and energy. It may be because of the stale "I'm not Daredevil" reminders or repeats of details about echolocation. When I hit these scenes it's like someone tossed an anchor and killed the momentum. I also think forcing Matt out of the court room and turning him into a legal adviser works against one of the defining aspects of the character.