Daredevil Reviews - Page 4

Daredevil: Underboss  2002 (SC TPB) 144 pages

Written by Brian Michael Bendis. Illustrated by Alex Maleev.
Colours: Matt Hollingsworth. Letters: Richard Starkings, Wes Abbott. Editor: Stuart Moore.

Reprinting: Daredevil (2nd series) #26-31

Rating: * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

The Kingpin is brutally dethroned in a coup staged by one of his mob underlings, while Daredevil finds himself the target of hired killers...not as DD, but in his alter ego of Matt Murdock. And slowly he begins to suspect that someone knows his secret I.D.

Daredevil has been enjoying a bit of a critical renaissance lately, first with filmmaker-turned-comics writer Kevin Smith kicking off DD's new series, then Brian Michael Bendis has enjoyed accolades for his mobsters n' mean streets approach to the series. Unfortunately, Underboss doesn't do much to justify all the praise.

At first blush, you can see being intrigued. There's the art by Alex Maleev that mixes an, at times, almost photo-realism, with a more impressionistic dark, gritty style of grey backgrounds and grime. Though like with other artist who can ape some realism, there can be a certain stiltedness at times. Writer Bendis, meanwhile, has clearly imbibed the works of others -- from former Daredevil writer Frank Miller, to screenwriters like David Mamet and Quentin Tarantino -- to try and fill the thing up with quirky, off beat dialogue and monologues. But the problem is, Bendis takes a long time to say very little. Literally. Bendis' scenes tend to spill over many panels and pages, without really being that great. A four page scene where DD as lawyer Murdock delivers a closing summation reminded me of a Frank Miller scripted scene. Except Miller only used a couple of panels -- and was more effective!

Bendis throws in the jumbled chronology trick that Christopher Priest did in Black Panther -- where the story begins near the end, then fills in the beginning and middle in a way that allows the story to unfold gradually. But part of the nature of that technique is that, frankly, it can be employed to make a simple story seem complicated. Not a whole lot actually occurs, given that this is a six issue epic! Even allowing for the fact that one of the issues was hamstrung by being published during a gimmick month called "Nuff Said, where all of Marvel's writers had to deliver a story devoid of words (memo to Marvel's editorial staff: how about a month called "Great Story Month" where all writers have to...well, you get the idea).

But the real stumbling block for me was the dearth of characterization. Now that's funny, because much of what I'd been reading about Bendis -- this story included! -- was his great handling of the characters. There are a couple of good scenes involving DD. There's one with him and partner Foggy, that provides some much needed human element and even humour. Another is where DD is told that with Kingpin having recently been blinded, it was only a matter of time before his mob turned on him because of his weakness. And DD -- the blind superhero -- takes a moment to understand that being blind would be seen as a weakness. But other than that, there's not a whole lot -- Foggy only appears in a couple of scenes and DD is more a presence on the page than a personality in the plot. Strangely, I wasn't even sure what Bendis' take on DD was. He seems a particularly cruel version of the character -- threatening to kill a crook, or taunting the Kingpin when he learns the big man's being targeted (even though it's clear they have a mutual enemy). And yet, he doesn't actually seem to be any more brutal (the death threat appears to be just a bluff). Strangely, when the climax comes...DD isn't even a part of it! In fact, if you were to remove DD from the story entirely, events would have played themselves out the same way.

Which brings us to the wiseguys and goodfellas that seem to interest Bendis more than his hero. The villain, Silke, is given a few convoluted, anecdotal- heavy monologues meant to evoke Mamet or Tarantino, but one can't exactly call him a multi-dimensional figure. Initially, one wonders if he's acting as a mouthpiece for Bendis-the-writer, as he belittles the Kingpin, dismissing him as an ex-supervillain, as if he -- Silke -- represents a tougher, grittier, more realistic villainy Bendis is introducing to the comic. But when Silke's coup falls apart, he's revealed to be a bit of a goofball -- what? He didn't anticipate retaliation from those loyal to the Kingpin? Rather than being a complex story full of twists and turns, the plot hinges on dorky characters not anticipating the obvious.

The main human element on the mob side of the story involves the Kingpin's wife and his estranged son, Richard. But it's a radically different interpretation of their family dynamics than was first presented in Amazing Spider-Man #83-85 (reprinted in Essential Spider-Man #4). Bendis' version -- with the Kingpin as a brutal father -- is probably more realistic of a mobster''s home life, but Stan Lee's original, more sympathetic version was the more interesting, the more emotionally complex.

I once read years ago that the thinking in comics circles was that the average reader only stuck around for a couple of years, so it was O.K. to recycle ideas, because most readers wouldn't have read them. Of course, this philosophy dated from before the glut of trade paperback collections, where even a modern, transient reader might have read older story lines. Still, I recognize that, being as I am a reader -- off and on -- for a number of years, perhaps it's unfair of me to knock something because it all seems a touch...derivative.

But I couldn't help thinking Underboss -- at least the stuff about someone gunning for Matt Murdock -- reminded me of the opening chapter of Daredevil: Born Again. Not even the whole saga, just the opening chapter! And that it was more effectively handled in that earlier story. While the Kingpin weathering a challenge to his power has happened more than once -- such as Gang War. And a sequence where DD's powers go temporarily haywire has been done more effectively earlier (in a sequence in Typhoid Mary and Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, vol. 3). As I say, though, such nitpicking may be unfair. After all, it's not about whether the basic ideas have been done before. It's in the details that the story can be made fresh. But, as noted, I just didn't think there were that many details -- there wasn't that much in terms of plot twists or character scenes.

Yet, with all that being said, I kept waffling back and forth on the story. Every chapter that kind of lost me was followed by another that started to win me over again with the art and the, occasionally, clever dialogue. It wasn't bad, necessarily. Reading it I knew that how satisfying the climax was would make my decision for me as to whether the story worked...and the ending just seemed weak. As noted, Daredevil doesn't play any part in it, nor does it seem clever or unexpected. Worse, although the mob coup plot is brought to an end, this whole story line is really just a lead in to the next one -- collected in Daredevil: Out. You've basically got an uneven story that works only in fits and starts...and then ends weakly. The result, for me, is that Underboss is underwhelming.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $14.95 USA.

Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, vol. 2 2001 (SC TPB) 250 pgs

Written and pencilled by Frank Miller. Inked and embellished by Klaus Janson.
Colours: Glyunis Oliver Wein, Kalus Janson, others. Letters: Joe Rosen. Editor: Denny O'Neil.

Reprinting: Daredevil (1st series) #168-182 (1981-1982)

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Additional notes: intro by Diana Schutz; covers

Frank Miller's original run on Daredevil has been collected across three thick "Visionary" TPBs, a run that he began as an artist (with Roger McKenzie as writer), continued as writer/artist, then finished mainly as writer, with long time inker Klaus Janson taking over as artist over Miller's storyboards. This second volume begins shortly after Miller began writing the comic, and reprinting 15 consecutive issues, shows the development of his early talent.

I'll admit to being surprised at my own mixed reaction to some of these issues. Admittedly, my relationship to Miller's works is...complicated. I was a big fan of him when I was younger, including his Daredevil, was blown away by some of his mid-1980s work, became less interested in his subsequent projects...and have been downright appalled by his recent work (such as The Dark Knight Strikes Again). And because Miller has such a strong style, once you go off him...it's hard to go back, since you can hear echoes of the things you grew to hate even in work you once loved. But as well, these issues are near the beginning of Miller's career as a writer, and you can see a talent evolving, with a lot of clumsy writing, corny characterization, and "clever" phrasing that is more heavy handed. Yet...you can also see the brilliance, the experimentation, the raw talent shaping itself out of clay.

You can also detect early influences. Miller's editor was longtime scribe Denny O'Neil, and you can probably detect O'Neil's guiding influence a bit, for better and worse (I having a mixed reaction to O'Neil, too). Some of the heavy handed "relevancy", that can seem more clumsy than provocative, and the attempts at comic relief that can be a bit juvenile and obvious, all seem evocative of O'Neil. Miller was also a big fan of Will Eisner's The Spirit (an adoration that culminated in the ill-received motion picture Miller directed in 2008!). And you can really see that here (particularly now that I've read more of Eisner's work). There's the attempts to really play with the panels and composition, to try and make the telling of the scenes interesting, and to cram a lot in: Miller often uses a lot of little panels, milking a lot of content from his pages. Eisner is also reflected in the aforementioned humour -- Miller's run on DD is thought of as the definition of grim n' gritty, but there's actually a lot of comic relief, with DD himself a more light-hearted, easy going guy at times -- like The Spirit. There's even a scene where Daredevil is casually leaning against a wall as he awaits someone, sipping with a straw from a soda pop bottle...almost an exact duplication of a similar scene from an old Spirit comic.

But Miller's art lacks Eisner's discipline and detail. Where Eisner would create a palpable (if caricatured) world of sagging tenements, right down to the crooked nails in the floorboards, Miller's art is rather hastily sketched, as though more a rough storyboard than the finished pencils. It seems strange to criticize a run of Miller's work for aspects that are, after all, intrinsic to Miller, but as someone who had read some of these issues, and loved them as a kid, I have to be honest and say that reading them now, I have mixed feelings.

But what becomes fascinating reading this volume is two things:

First, just how seminal these issues were, as Miller introduced characters and ideas into the series that would influence it to this day. We have the first appearance of Elektra, we have the introduction of the Kingpin into DD's world -- the Kingpin previously having been a Spider-Man foe, but forever after indelibly associated with DD. There's the introduction of the Hand, the ninja assassins that would appear throughout the Marvel Universe, as Miller imbues DD with a more martial arts flavour. And the obligatory retcon of origins, as so many writers do when taking over a comic, with the introduction of DD's (previously unreferenced) mentor, the blind, cranky, Stick. All in this run of issues!

Secondly, this actually forms a kind of graphic novel. If you've read other reviews on my site, you'll know a pet peeve (or passion) of mine, is the idea of the graphic "novel". That is, the idea that if you pick up issues collected between a single cover, the great volume is one that really feels like it has a beginning and end, and doesn't just close with a zillion plot threads dangling. A satisying beginning and resolution to a collected edition can elevate the whole book.

The collection begins with DD #168, which introduces Elektra Natchios, DD's former lover, turned cynical bounty hunter and assassin. Elektra continues to flitter in and out of the next few issues, sometimes disappearing, then returning, sometimes as ally, then as enemy as Elektra joins the Kingpin's organization. And then this collection climaxes with the double-sized #181 in which Elektra is killed (at least, temporarily) -- and the epilogue-type issue #182. So this collection is a mixture of various stories, some light-hearted, some serious, some action-oriented, some suspense focused, battling mobsters, ninjas, and street crooks, some stand alone, some multi-issue arcs, making for a nice grab bag of disparate tales. But it's all tied together -- and neatly tied up -- by the Elektra arc. There are even a few other sub-plots that are introduced, then also resolved before the end.

Which is why it has the feel of a genuine "graphic novel".

In execution, there's hit and miss. The opening Elektra issue, and the final climax are both exceptionally well told tales, and there's a decent level of enjoyment overall. Yet, with that being said, there aren't too many stand out stories or issues, either. After having read the whole thing...a number of the issues have kind of faded from my mind. As I say, this is a Miller still learning, his command of his composition and characterization definitely more consistently sure toward the end of this collection. But one can appreciate the variety in tones and styles Miller goes for, from the light n' fun, to the dark n' gritty. There's more humour and joviality than you might expect, such as an issue teaming DD with Power Man & Iron Fist (in a story that crossed over with their own comic...but not in a way that is essential to reading this issue). But there's also a sombre issue attempting to deal with rape (albeit metaphorically -- the serial attacker beats women up, but doesn't explicitly sexual assault them) and its emotional impact upon DD's secretary is certainly well-intentioned, but a bit clumsy and heavy handed (and made a little insincere when, in a later issue, DD's girlfriend Heather is basically threatened with rape...and Miller turns the would be rapist into a comic relief figure!)

As someone who would've just automatically said he was a fan of Miller (at least, Miller in the 1980s) I was surprised that it was Miller's work that left me a bit ambivalent, finding the art sometimes crude and uninvolving, despite the stylish and occasionally powerful composition, and the writing and characterization is likewise a mix of intelligence and cleverness...and simplicity and one dimension (Miller's Foggy isn't half as well-rounded as Stan Lee's earlier take on him).

But there is an entertainment value overall. And with the Elektra arc forming a unifying thread, this works quite nicely as a graphic "novel", a tome to be put on the shelf and read as a coherent work with a beginning, middle and end -- and one that laid many of the foundation stones for the next few decades of DD stories!

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $24.95 USA.

Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller, vol. 3 2002 (SC TPB) 272 pgs

Written by Frank Miller. Pencils by Klaus Janson, Frank Miller. Inks by Klaus Janson and Terry Austin.
Colours: Klaus Janson. Letters: Joe Rosen. Editor: Denny O'Neil.

Reprinting: Daredevil (1st series) #183-191, Daredevil stories from What if...? #28, 35, and the Elektra story from Bizarre Adventures #28 (1982-1983)

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 3

Additional notes: intro by Klaus Janson.

Marvel's various "visionaries" TPBs are meant to highlight the work of popular creators. The three volumes of Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller collect the complete run of Frank Miller's early 1980s work on Daredevil, first as an artist working from Roger McKenzie's scripts, then as a writer-artist.

Miller's later return to the series as a writer is not included as part of the "visionaries" label, but has already been collected as Born Again.

Volume 3 reprints the last of his original run, and after the first couple of reprinted issues, it also sees the pencilling chores being handed over to Miller's longtime inker, Klaus Janson (while Miller retains an ambiguous stortelling credit implying he continued to storyboard the scenes).

Janson as penciller/inker isn't as strong as Miller -- his style being, perhaps intentionally, quite crude and rough. But he tells the scenes well enough (working from Miller's outlines or not), and his spartan scenes and coarse, thick inked style certainly has a lot of atmosphere, particularly combined with his own, sombre colouring.

The advantage to collecting a run of issues is it allows sub-plots to be introduced, woven around each other, and then brought to a climax. This begins with a two-part tale, still pencilled by Miller, of Daredevil battling the arch-vigilante, the Punisher -- which has previously been collected as Daredevil/Punisher: Child's Play. It's co-written with Roger McKenzie and, my impression is, may well have been sitting on the shelf from back when McKenzie was the regular DD writer. The next two stories are interconnected but relatively stand alone, and humourous in tone, involving corruption at the company owned by DD's then-girlfriend, Heather. This segues into the collection's main story arc, involving fellow superhero, The Black Widow, DD's old mentor, Stick, the nefarious assassin cult, the Hand, and the recently murdered Elektra. Miller bows out, once more pencilling, with the semi-classic "Roulette".

Filling out this collection are a couple of tales from What if...?, Marvel's alternate reality comic, and an Elektra solo story from the anthology magazine, Bizarre Adventures -- all by Miller. I've only read one of these -- "What if Bullseye Had Not Killed Elektra?" (Wi #35) -- and, frankly, it wasn't much to write home about, seeming like Miller did it to please an editor rather than because he had anything to say.

What keeps the stories in high gear is Miller's (then) brilliant ear for dialogue, and a sense that he knew his characters. The dialogue -- veering from comical to heartfelt -- is delightful to read. His Daredevil is all too human, sometimes cruel and selfish in his dealings with others. That's supposed to be because he's still grieving, internally, over the death of Elektra in the previous Visionaries volume -- but that incident is not even alluded to until later in this collection, making it awkward as motivation. Still, Miller creates interesting dynamics even with new characters, though Stick, the embodiment of tough love, quickly out wears his welcome.

As mentioned, the plus to a collection like this is you can enjoy what can be a comics' forte -- the use of fractured plots, where seeming unrelated threads gradually weave together. I sometimes feel that's been lost a bit in recent years. Reading more modern TPB collections, such as Batman: Evolution, multi-part stories seem desperately lacking that sense of layered plotting where sub-plots build to form grand epics. And because this was the end of Miller's run, he doesn't leave lose ends dangling.

At the same time, you kind of have to enjoy the scenes, and appreciate the anticipation of wondering how they'll come together, but not bother analysing whether, at the end of it all, it really holds together.

DD is drawn into a battle between two ancient orders of martial artists, but there's little explanation for who and what Stick's order is or does. One of the plot threads stretched over a couple of issues involve the nefarious Hand ressurecting a dead, super-scary ninja, Kirigi -- who then gets beaten with very little effort by the heroes! Nor was there any explanation for what Kirigi's body was doing in a New York morgue (well, until I read DD Visionaries 2, and realized Kirigi had previously appeared there). Aspects like that remain sticking points -- Miller carefully juggling various threads, including some character-based, soap opera-y stuff...but often the denouements are weak or wishy-washy. Which could explain why, though I enjoy this run of issues whenever I re-read them...I tend to forget what transpires in them quite easily.

Still, the whole Hand saga builds to an effective, double-sized climax involving the Hand trying to resurrect the dead Elektra. It's a particularly strong, well-written, emotionally charged issue, albeit some of its resonance is based on the reader having some familiarity with the history between Elektra and DD (though it's explained in some dialogue for the newcomer). Some of its potency is mitigated by the subsequent return and over-use of Elektra -- but don't think about that. Just take the story on its own.

Miller's run on Daredevil was marked by grittiness and (Comics Code Approved) violence. Some felt Miller kept pushing things too far, such as having DD use a gun (even if it's only to wound) and in the battles with the evil Hand, there are no quarters given. I don't condone Miller's excesses, but I more quibble with them than fully object. Though it puts an ironic spin on the anti-violence message of the final "Roulette" story. That story is clearly meant to be a "special" story, and succeeds reasonably well...but not totally. Maybe it's trying too hard, its very pretentiousness working against it; maybe it's because the framing sequence that gives the story its name, though memorable, is a little too obviously symbolic -- you can't really believe Daredevil would be playing Russian Roulette. Still, it's a very good story.

Though the art is uneven in the Janson drawn issues, there's potent atmosphere at work, and the juggling of various sub-plots makes for a nicely complex saga, even if the pay offs for many of them are a little weak. Married with Miller's dead-on ear for dialogue and character shading, and a surprisingly diversity of tone (from the humourous, to the tough and violent, to the emotional and melancholic), this third and final collection of Miller's original Daredevil work is definitely an enjoyable read. And, whatever its weaknesses, it's a bit heartbreaking, because it reminds you of just how good Miller could be...and how much his talent has been squandered in recent years when one reads the almost excrutiatingly bad Dark Knight Strikes Again!

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $24.95 USA.

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