Even as a kid in the late 60s and early 70s it was obvious to me that Daredevil was a second-rate character; a cross between Spiderman and Batman. The only
things that made him kinda special was being blind and - and this was a big point in his favour - gorgeous artwork by Gene Colan.
After Colan left, Daredevil became as boring and uninspiring as the premise suggested.
Then came Frankie Miller and he turned a two-bit Spiderman wannabee into a grim, crime fighter trapped in a noir world of murky shadows and deadly ninjas.
Miller finally gave DD a real voice.
After he left, the comic lost is guts again and direction.
Miller, however, returned for argueably the greatest reprise in comics history with Born Again, creating one of the classics of the 80s, aided and
abetted by the great David Mazzuchelli, who basically created the template for crimes comics from then on.
DD floundered again afterwards with only one moment worth mentioning; The Fall of the Kingpin, a direct sequel to Born Again, which admirably
captured the mood of the original. Kudos to Dan Chichester and especially Lee Weeks.
After that DD hit the skids yet again, not reviving until Marvel Knights.
Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada did a great job of putting DD back on the map even if the story fizzled out at the end.
And then came Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev, creating a run to rival the best of Miller. Wonderful, inventive, critty stuff. And what's amazing is that they
managed to maintain the quality almost until the very end.
Bendis is a big name nowadays but - as enjoyable as his Avengers work is - I feel his body of work on DD is his only genuine Marvel classic to date.
Which brings us in my long-winded fashion to Ed Brubaker and Micheal Lark's incarnation of DD.
I waited patiently for years for this to be collected in hardcover and it finally arrived on my desk last week.
I cracked it open today and after only reading the first chilling 3 issues, I was so enthusiastic and inspired, I wanted to start a new thread to share my
excitement.
Only 3 issues in so far and I get the impression this may even top Miller.
I'm already enjoying it more than Brubaker's Cap, which I love too.
More anon.









