Friday, August 12, 2011

Daredevil by Ed Brubaker (Review)


Citizen's Grade: Impressive.

With the relaunch of Daredevil at Marvel Comics, I thought I'd review the previous body of work from the last relaunch of Daredevil. Going over 100 issues, it spawned a couple movies (Daredevil & Electra) and has created THE mythos of the character. There were 4 main writers for this series' duration, all of them adding their part. I will break the series' down by author......following the inspired runs of Kevin Smith & Brian Michael Bendis was Ed Brubaker.


Nominated for three Eisner Awards, the team of Brubaker and artists Michael LarkStephano Gaudiano took the reigns of Daredevil from Bendis & Alex Maleev and didn't miss a beat.  Going from issue #82 until #119 with a few extra issues, Brubaker weaved a wonderful tale following Matt Murdock's whirlpool of stress, attacks, & near nervous breakdowns.  Along the way, he faces some of the hardest decisions in his life......here is just  some of the highlights from Brubaker's run on Daredevil:

....arrested and in jail, Murdock turns to the only ones who can help him escape.  Kingpin, Bullseye, & finally Punisher. 
....meanwhile, another Daredevil is lurking on the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen.
....Murdock heads off to Monaco to search for those connected with Foggy Nelson's death.
....Foggy Nelson; meanwhile, is not dead and is trying to get to Matt
....in Europe, Murdock meets Lily Lucca....who has a strange hold over him.
....in Zurich, Daredevil comes face-to-face with the one behind it all, Vanessa Fisk
....Matt defends The Kingpin, and helps him get set free
....Matt defends the Gladiator, who goes on a killing spree and attempts to kill Milla (Matt's wife)
....Daredevil comes face-to-face with Mister Fear, who is behind Lily Luca's new found powers and causes Milla to go crazy and ends up being responsible for the death of an innocent bystander.
....Milla is institutionalized.
....Dakota North is shot by a Government agent while she & Daredevil uncover nasty secrets of her father's.
....Daredevil, Black Tarantula, & the new White Tiger battle the Yakuza, The Hand, & Lady Bullseye
....Dakota & Matt have an affair (at least in Matt's eyes)
....Master Izo stalks Daredevil to help him defeat The Hand & Lady Bullseye
....The Hand goes after Kingpin, bringing him back to America and Hell's Kitchen.
....Daredevil & Kingpin call a truce to defeat The Hand, who wants one of them to lead them
....Kingpin is rejected as leader of The Hand, while Murdock begins training
 
***By the way, Elektra was killed and found to be a Skrull.  The "true" Elektra was back by the end of the Daredevil series, but that is why The Hand was looking for a new leader.

Though slightly less impressive than Bendis' work, Brubaker more than held his own and did a great job of twisting, turning, and keeping you wondering what would happen next to The Man without Fear!  Ed Brubaker is currently the writer of Captain America for Marvel Comics.

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