Daredevil Reviews - Page 3

Daredevil: Out  2003 (SC TPB) 208 pages

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

Reprinting: Daredevil (2nd series) #32-40

Rating: N/R

Number of readings: 1

Once again, I haven't read this TPB. I've read the hardcover book, Daredevil, vol. 2, which included the "Out" story line from #32-37. But the Out TPB also included the next three issues comprising, apparently, a separate story arc. As such, I've resisted giving this an "official" rating, though I'm offering my opinion of the "Out" story line.

Following Underboss (though you don't really need to have read that earlier story), a mobster offers up Daredevil's secret identity to the F.B.I. as a trade. Although the F.B.I. doesn't have much interest in following up on it, the story leaks out and, soon, a major newspaper is splashing it across their front page.

I read this story as it was collected with Underboss in the big hardcover collection, Daredevil, Vol. 2. Underboss left me unimpressed...and this, frankly, doesn't do much to change my impression of writer Brian Michael Bendis. Part of the problem with Bendis is that he takes a long time to say and do very little. The opening chapter is entirely devoted to a talking head sequence involving the F.B.I. agents as they recap Underboss, and lay out the case that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. To be fair, Bendis works in some cute dialogue, but basically, there's no real story here, nor development of any of the personalities.

In subsequent chapters, Bendis presents whole sequences without verbiage of any kind, leaving it to artist Alex Maleev to convey matters as best he can. Bendis is part of the modern crop of comics writers who obviously grew up on movies and TV (unlike earlier generations who, one infers, were more literate) and he clearly thinks in cinematic terms of pantomime sequences and mute reaction shots. But sequences like that are tricky, since an artist, no matter how talented, will have trouble drawing the same subtle nuances an actor can convey with his face. Maleev, in particular, has a photo-realist style at times that, like a lot of photo-realist artists, can actually be less expressive than a style drawn strictly from imagination. He also layers on the shadows, rendering a lot of scenes and faces masks of black ink.

The story is extremely thin. In an afterward included in the hardcover book (but probably not this TPB), Bendis comments that he didn't want his story to use some "cheap-ass ****" by having someone impersonate Daredevil and appear beside Murdock to fool the media. One infers that Bendis believes he's written something far more sophisticated. Great. But like other writers before him seeking to strip away the "childish" adornments of comics past (I'm reminded of an introduction John Byrne wrote for the TPB Lois & Clark -- reviewed in my Superman section -- claiming the same) Bendis doesn't replace it with anything. It's like someone claiming a tree in the yard is unsightly, so he has it dug out...then just leaves a gaping whole in the yard and says, "There, isn't that better?"

Daredevil is "outted" and struggles internally with this for an issue or two as we wait for him to come up with a plan. We wait, we wait, and then he -- ready? Are you sitting down? O.K. he...denies it! What a stunning plot twist! Why hadn't Superman and Batman and all the other super heroes who've been through similar plot lines done the same?

Oh, wait. They did. But previous writers didn't think a denial alone would justify a six issue story.

Besides, if you had a secret identity, and friends like Spider-Man, what is the more realistic and sophisticated behaviour? Sitting on your hands, knowing that the longer the story goes unchallenged, the more it threatens you and your loved ones? Or coming up with some "cheap-ass ****" to get out of it -- like getting Spidey to dress in your costume and be seen standing with you in your civilian identity? Personally, I think I'd go for the "cheap-ass ****". That's the problem with hiding behind realism...we all have our separate views on what's realistic.

There's even a technical question. Although circumstantial evidence is produced to intimate a connection between Daredevil and Matt Murdock, the chief "proof" is an F.B.I. agent claiming a mobster told him that another mobster told him that another mobster believed Matt Murdock was Daredevil. That's not proof. That's barely a rumour. Would a newspaper even take that story seriously, let alone splash it on the front page?

Plot-wise, not a whole lot happens. Ditto for the adventure aspect. There's one scene where DD and Spider-Man take on Mr. Hyde who, having read the paper, comes a-calling. It's a moderately entertaining, if brief, scene, with Spidey's quips and serving as an illustration of why a superhero prefers anonymity. But mainly, this saga is meant to be brooding introspection. Which would be fine...if it really worked for me. But between the thin plotting, the stretched out pantomime scenes, and only an occasional use of internal captions, I just didn't really feel I was getting whatever Bendis thought he was giving out. On one hand, when Foggy suggests now would be a good time for Matt to give up crime fighting, DD reacts unfavourably. Yet, later, DD is gun-shy about putting on his costume, with even the Black Widow trying to shake him out of his funk. But even that turns out to be a bit of a non-plot as, later, when he puts on his costume again, it's not clear what's changed his attitude.

At the same time, other reviews I've read of this have heaped praise on Bendis' knack for character insight...so go figure.

Bendis throws in talk of the "cycle of violence" that Daredevil lives, and there are a few guest appearances and cameos, but it doesn't really add up to much. Bendis touches on a troubling idea at the centre of superhero/alter ego stories -- particularly with reporter heroes or, in DD's case, a lawyer -- and that is their profession represents "truth", and yet they lie every time they open their mouths! Admittedly, Bendis can't really get into the morality of that too deeply, because it's intrinsic to the genre, but it might've been nice to examine it more closely. Particularly in a story where DD eventually sues the paper...when he knows the story is accurate!

On the plus side, Bendis occasionally crafts some good dialogue -- or, at least, a couple of witty lines. There are some decent scenes, like DD finding that, once people see him as a man-in-a-costume, he loses some of his necessary mystique. There's a scene in the Daily Bugle newsroom with J. Jonah Jameson demanding coverage of the story, and reporter Ben Urich, and Peter Parker (Spidey's alter ego, of course) putting themselves on the line to try and protect DD's secret. It's O.K. but, like so much else, is longer than it needs to be, and not as well done as it could be.

Another problem with both Underboss and Out comes about in Bendis' afterward again, in which he states how important it is to be fresh, and innovative, and shake up the comic. The problem with both stories is how, well, derivative they seem. I recently read Daredevil: Typhoid Mary and, going into that story about DD becoming seduced by a lady assassin working for the Kingpin, I couldn't help thinking it sounded like a rehash of the whole Daredevil-Elektra stuff. But I was wrong. Ann Nonceti's story does its own thing. Conversely, Bendis' material seems vaguely familiar and even tired -- a problem of the thin plotting, I think. Every story is probably familiar at its roots, but it's how the writer dresses it up with plot twists and new characters that makes it original.

Even the very idea of "outting" Daredevil is hardly radical since we've already been through the scene where a character pieces together the fragments of Matt Murdock's past to get a portrait of DD -- a number of times. Heck, even arch foe Bullseye figured it out once, but was fooled into rejecting his theory by a "cheep-ass ****". And Bendis seems to want to eat his cake and have it to, as by the end the DD-is-Matt thing seems to be treated as nothing more than a high profile rumour (at least, in DD stories published years later, his secret identity still seems more-or-less a secret). The story ends in a way that kind of allows Bendis to say he radically changed the nature of DD's situation...without seeming to have changed it at all!

Cover price: $__ CDN. / $19.95 USA 

Daredevil / Spider-Man 2001 (SC TPB) 96 pages.

Written by Paul Jenkins. Pencils by Phil Winslade. Inks by Tom Palmer.
Colours: Avalon Studios, Matt Milla. Letters: Richard Starkings, Troy Peteri, Jason Levine. Editor: Nancy Dakesian, Stuart Moore.

Reprinting: Daredevil / Spider-Man #1-4 (plus covers) - 2001

Rating: * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Mini-series originally told stories that wouldn't fit into any regular title, or were try-outs for characters without their own, monthly magazine. Although that still occurs, modern mini-series often seem to exist simply to increase the number of titles a character appears in. Both DD and Spidey have their own, monthly comics, and could easily have teamed up together in either of those (such as the storyline collected in the TPB Spider-Man: The Death of Jean De Wolff).

Presumably the intent is to present a relatively stand alone story for the new reader, one that doesn't stretch out for a dozen issues, or is filled with innumerable unresolved sub-plots. Or maybe it's just a way to allow writers and artists not assigned to the regular series to have a crack at the characters (which, if you weren't enjoying a current run, for instance, would be a plus).

The story -- "Unusual Suspects" -- has crime lord, the Kingpin, under attack by some costumed foes like the Stilt Man and others, forcing DD and Spider-Man to intercede before a bloody gang war erupts. Though starting out seeming a mix of urban mobsters with a few costumed villains, things take a supernatural turn later in the story.

As an interesting aside, I believe I read that either the original mini-series, or this TPB collection, was held back post-Sept. 11th, 2001. There isn't any real connection to that real life tragedy, but there is an attack on an office building. The Powers That Be at Marvel clearly felt, and perhaps wisely, the story would be better off being postponed by a few months.

This is largely Daredevil's story. Spidey fans shouldn't be disappointed -- the web-slingers' on a lot of pages, and drops a few quips. But it's DD who narrates, whose foes are involved, whose supporting cast and private life as Matt Murdock is utilized (Spidey never appears out of costume). There's some interesting attempts to contrast DD's more sombre style with Spidey's wisecracking, though given that DD has gone through wisecracking phases, it doesn't always ring true.

Although employing the Kingpin, this story seems a (small) step back from the overt urban grittiness that one often associates with DD, perhaps harkening back to an earlier stage in the character. It's not entirely unwelcome. There's something pleasantly old fashioned, in a sense, about this, like coming upon a few issues of Marvel Team-Up (a 1970s-1980s series featuring Spider-Man team ups). The art by Phil Winslade is solid (aided by Palmer's inks) with a lot of sinewy figures and semi-realist faces, vaguely evoking someone like Brent Anderson, although Winslade maybe leans a little toward caricature at times (hence why he drew the recent Howard the Duck mini-series). Though his Spidey is too skinny and knobbly for my tastes, presumably intended as a contrast to DD's more archetypal physique. Jenkins, meanwhile, scripts well enough, with decent dialogue, and the story is well paced. Though Jenkins' tired use of "lawyer" jokes doesn't really suit the characters. This may strike Jenkins as a novel concept, but a lot of lawyers -- probably including DD's alter ego of Matt Murdock -- actually consider theirs a noble profession.

However, as modestly enjoyable as the story is, that's all it is. Perhaps it's my higher expectations for a "mini-series" (let alone a TPB collection), but nothing really screams "special" here. Jenkins plots with a certain looseness that nicely gets you from scene to scene, but maybe doesn't hold up to any great analysis. Things take a supernatural turn...but there's little foreshadowing of where the story is headed. Meanwhile, DD sends partner Foggy Nelson (along with recurring DD guest star, super heroine the Black Widow) off on a mission that is crucial to resolving one of the plot threads...but within the story it doesn't make a lot of sense. And the Black Widow's presence is largely extraneous. There's also a scene where DD gets crucial information from a dying priest (how the blind Daredevil recognizes him as a priest is not explained) but since the priest hadn't appeared anywhere else in the story, it seems arbitrary. Jenkins doesn't present a complex, interwoven saga, but rather seems a little like he's working from a basic outline, but is otherwise writing as he goes.

There's also an ethical problem -- strange in a saga that thinks it's dealing with ultimate concepts of good and evil. I can't give too much away, but at one point DD finds evidence of a public health hazard...and, to achieve his goals, hushes it up. Writer Jenkins doesn't seem to have any problems with that, clearly viewing it as a legal question, rather than an ethical one.

It's also worth noting that there're some technical goofs in this collection (blame reprint editor Ben Abernathy?). Artist Winslade indulges in a few two page spreads that would require a bit of tricky juggling to present properly -- maybe by inserting some of the cover illustrations in the middle of an issue, rather than between the issues, in order to alter the page count. This isn't done, though, and the result is a few scenes where you have to turn the page to see the full picture. It doesn't affect the narrative flow too much, but if Marvel's going to indulge in TPBs, they should deal better with things like that.

I mentioned earlier that I wonder if part of the point of a mini-series like this might be to present a self-contained story, a friendly welcome to new readers. But the villains are recurring foes, and there are occasional references that seem to demand prior knowledge. A character tells DD: "You helped me, and I became lost..." But it's a line that has no meaning in this story. If Marvel really wants these sort of mini-series to tell a finite story, better they should feature original characters and situations...or, if they intend them as a handy primer on their heroes for new readers, at least provide better explanations for the characters and their past relationships. That last theory -- that it's intended to introduce readers to DD and his world -- could explain the Black Widow's presence. She's there simply to be there, not because she advances the plot.

Ultimately, this is reasonably fun, though the beginning and the end seem like they belong to different stories, and the plotting is too loose to make this the thinking man thriller dealing with big issues that Jenkins, maybe, wants it to be. It's certainly enjoyable, but a touch breezy.

Cover price: $19.50 CDN./ $12.95 USA

Daredevil: Typhoid Mary  2003 (SC TPB) 210 pages

Written by Ann Nocenti. Pencils by John Romita, Jr. Inks by Al Williamson.
Colours: Max Scheele, Janet Jackson, Greg Wright. Letters: Joe Rosen. Editor: Ralph Macchio.

Reprinting: Daredevil (1st Marvel series) #254-257, 259-263 (1988-1989)

Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 3

Review revised and re-posted Aug. 2010

Daredevil: Typhoid Mary collects the run of issues that first introduced villainess Typhoid Mary. A split personality, Typhoid is a crazed, devil-may-care psychopath, with low level telekinitic abilities, a mean kick, and the ability to make any man fall for her, while Mary is an innocent, unaware of her alter ego. Though not fully articulated, we can assume Typhoid Mary's duality would only work on DD -- the blind hero! Which makes her a perfect tool for mobster the Kingpin to employ against his arch nemesis, Daredevil -- Mary to seduce him, Typhoid to destroy him.

While all this is unfolding, there are other plots, like a three-issue story (continued from earlier) as Daredevil, in alter ego of Matt Murdock, fights a civil court case against a corporate polluter (owned by the Kingpin), as well as stories where DD tackles the Punisher, kiddie pornographers, and more. Plus superheroes like the Black Widow and the Human Torch guest star.

And at its best, it's an extraordinary collection, even as it can be uneven. And it's extraordinary simply because of writer Ann Nocenti. Nocenti is an odd writer, crafting idiosyncratic dialogue, where monologues can run to heavy handed and obvious, as characters think lines like "The entanglements and waste of America's legal system just contribute to the inertia of lies..." It may not be the most realistic dialogue, but that can actually work in its favour, creating its own, meta-reality, as if characters have stepped out of an Arthur Miller play, rather than off of the streets. They may not apeak the way they do in the real world...but they speak the way they do in Ann Nocenti's world.

But what makes Nocenti's work stand out most -- at least here, and in the few other things I've read by her -- is that Nocenti isn't afraid to be political, to be philosophical, to use a four colour world of super people in garish costumes to reflect and ruminate on the real world. (Admittedly, Nocenti has a bit of a left/liberal bias that I'm personally more comfortable with -- though like with any of us, she can veer right or left on different topics). Too few comics writers are willing to be political, and those that do, too often end up with stories wrapped around simplistic homilies in water downed After School Specials -- reassuring us, rather than challenging our pre-conceptions. So she treats the civil case against the polluter as a main plot -- not just a minor cutaway between the super heroing. When Daredevil broods about "moral criminals" as opposed to legal ones, you know we're getting into challenging, difficult areas. The book is full of digressions and passages that are so thick with implied meaning and sub-text that you can reach a point where you're unsure what Nocenti's point is...but you're pretty sure she has a point. The term "bully" echoes again and again in the comic, applied to heroes and villains and even society itself as a recurring motif.

What adds to this is the characters, full of vices and virtues and everything inbetween. Which is perhaps what also distinguishes Nocenti's writing from (the few) other writers who try to tackle themes and ideas -- her people still are people. They may pontificate, they may spout preachy monologues...but they themselves resist the urge to be simply ciphers to illustrate a lesson. Daredevil, intentionally, isn't always portrayed as the most sympathetic of characters -- brooding and self-absorbed, and overly self-righteous, one character charges that he "wields his 'morality' like a club". However, this story hinges on him cheating on his girl friend, Karen Page, with the seemingly innocent Mary -- which is the Kingpin's plan: to corrupt Daredevil. Though the fact that Mary has an almost preternatural allure can maybe allow us to forgive him a bit, nonetheless, this is a DD acting in a decidedly less than heroic way toward the women in his lives -- but that's the point: he's a good man...not a perfect man.

Nocenti works in the various characters, crafting a complex romantic conflict involving, not just Daredevil, Karen, and Mary (and Typhoid) but even the Kingpin gets entangled as he becomes infatuated with Typhoid, essentially falling victim to the very trap he intended for DD.

Re-reading this collection a couple of times over the last few years, I'm continually left agog at Nocenti's ambition, her chutzpah, that tends to make other, celebrated DD writers like Brian Michael Bendis, Kevin Smith, and even Frank Miller seem like...like...comic book writers, afraid to take their red-suited cartoon out of the funny pages of mobsters and ninjas and super-villains and into the harsh sun light of the real world the way Nocenti does. At one point DD contemplates marching...in an anti-Nuclear march. What does that have to do with being a super hero, you ask? Not much -- that's the point! Not everything he says and does is motivated by the fact that he's a superhero. (Although, admittedly, there's a thematic connection at play).

Yet for all that I continually "re-discover" this every time I read it, I find myself finishing it with a vague sense of dissatisfaction. Some of the flaws fall away with subsequent readings, either because I realize they do make sense (the ease with which Typhoid seduces DD and Kingpin both, though convenient, is ultimately justified by her super abilities) or they seem less consequential (the fact that Typhoid's hench man just disappears without explanation mid-way through). But the strongest "story" is arguably the opening three parter involving the civil case. There are other adventures -- DD butting heads with the Punisher in pursuit of a random killer (a story that crosses over with the Punisher's own comic, but not in a way that you need to read that issue) or with Karen Page going undercover to track down a kiddie porn ring -- none particularly stand out. They are okay page turners, certainly decent chapters in the arc, but nothing more. And the Typhoid Mary thread itself doesn't fully come together as an arc -- as a graphic novel. Unsurprising, since in 1988, few comics writers were probably thinking in terms of collected editions.

It does come to a head, but in a slightly wishy washy way.

Part of that is because toward the end Nocenti had to tie the issues in with the company crossover "Inferno" (from the X-Men comics) in which demons invade and New York erupts almost literally as hell on earth. It's a bit of a change from the street crime of the earlier issues -- yet Nocenti integrates it better than probably a lot writers did at the time. Her whole story arc was about corruption -- of people, of the system, of the city, with garbage strikes, corporate malfeasance, and nuclear Armageddon lurking always in the background. In a sense, New York erupting into hell acts as almost the inevitable thematic realization of the earlier issues. In a way, the philosophy in Nocenti's stuff reminds me a bit of Steve Gerber, that same sense of fatalism, of humans as inherently corrupt. Yet unlike Gerber...there is a glimmer of hope in Nocenti's stuff, of compassion, the possibility of redemption.

The saga is dark and almost overly downbeat at times -- as mentioned, New York becoming Hell on earth actually seems like a logical expression of Nocenti's themes. This is a Daredevil saga so, as has become almost tradition, you know sooner or later he's going to be put through the bloody, physical wringer. But, at other times, Nocenti goes for a lighter touch. After many issues of DD seemingly smothered in an almost Nietzschean fatalism, suddenly there's a sequence where he reverts to his old, wisecracking self. And an issue featuring Johnny Storm (of the Fantastic Four) is amusing...though a touch long for what it is.

A sequence where a disoriented DD's hyper-senses start misfiring is superbly effective, reminding the reader of how thin the barrier is between Daredevil, superhero, and Daredevil, blind man. The use of supporting characters is also interesting -- like DD employing street ragamuffins as informants, evoking Sherlock Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars. And Nocenti utilizes the lawyer aspect better than many Daredevil scribes. This isn't about a superhero who moonlights as a lawyer simply to give him an alter ego...the civil trial really is the most important thing in Matt Murdock's life while it transpires.

Artist John Romita Jr. has become a genuine fan favourite, though I've had mixed feelings about him. Son of Silver Age Marvel Comics legend, John Romita, junior started out with a fairly clunky, unremarkable style, and in recent years has moved toward a loose, sketchy style. But this middle period work is very good -- arguably his peak -- with some nicely realized figure work and action scenes, and a nice eye for telling the story through the panel composition. In fact, re-reading this, Romita Jr.'s storytelling is also a big part of the effectiveness of the narrative flow. Though he has a tendency to draw Mary in a way that, frankly, makes her appear even more sinister than Typhoid, which kind of hurts the point of the saga.

As I say, I have a "vague" sense of dissatisfaction. On one hand, the "climax" isn't quite the tidy resolution of the threads...even as it does feel like a logical creative/thematic denouement. Daredevil had earlier been battered and left for dead, only to rise up toward the end, to take on the demon threat through his force of character as much as force of might. By the ending, Daredevil is battered and Typhoid victorious in that his life is ruined...yet at the same time, there is a sense that he has -- in his way -- overcome. He is badly bent...but not broken.

Yeah, as a collection, Typhoid Mary is flawed, uneven...but at times extraordinary!

Cover price: $32.00 CDN./ $19.99 USA
 

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