I never thought I would be reviewing a book (I tend to stick
to comics) but this one has two things going for it: 1) it is a book about comics
and 2) it is a book about the my favourite superhero, Daredevil. That’s not to say
it was a given that I would pick it up. I had a quick glance at the contents
page and it seemed to offer quite a variety of topics related to the man named
Matt Murdock. I’ll give a quick summary of each essay:
1) “A
Different Daredevil” looks at the various creators who were involved at the very
beginning (Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr and so on) and ponders
various what ifs including one that John Romita Sr seems to ponder himself of
what if he stayed on the book he seemed to really enjoy working on (He was
moved to Spider-man after Ditko’s departure).
2) “Grabbing
the Devil by the Horns” examines Daredevil’s early rogues gallery and how week
and weird they were.
3) “Being
Mike Murdock” looks at Matt’s fictional brother and what it says about the
psychology behind his creation.
4) “Daredevil
and the Missing Father” is an examination of the relationship between Matt and
Jack Murdock while looking at father/son relationships in Western Literature.
5) “There
Will Be Blood” is a discussion of the violence in the book and why Daredevil’s
villains are more bloodthirsty.
6) “Science
Fact!” looks at the Marvel Physics behind Daredevil’s powers and how they hold
up in the real world.
7) “Daredevil:
Not Ready For Primetime?” ponders why Daredevil works better alone and not as
part of a group like the Avengers.
8) “The
Life and Times of Foggy Nelson” takes a look at Matt Murdock's law partner and best friend.
9) “Blind
Dates and Broken Hearts” is a look at Matt Murdock tragic love-life.
10) “Daredevil
and Spider-man”. Is Daredevil a dark Spider-man? A comparison of the two early
60s creations.
11) “Daredevil
and Punisher” asks are Daredevil and The Punisher polar opposites?
12) “What Fall
From Grace?” takes another look at the much maligned Daredevil run by Daniel
Chichester.
13) “.22
Caliber, a Girl’s gun” takes a look at Vanessa Fisk’s role in Brian Michael
Bendis’ Daredevil run.
14) “When
Things Fall Apart In Hell’s Kitchen” looks at Brian Bendis’ run.
15) “Daredevil:
Intermediate Super-Hero Filmmaking” looks at super-hero movies and Daredevil
(2003).
16) “The Only
Way Is Down” examines Ed Brubaker’s run and how it is akin to 1970’s Film Noir.
I enjoyed the variety provided. It is a book that you can
pick up and read a chapter and get something different each time. It never
looks down on the subject matter (I was worried that “Science Fact” might but
it tends to highlight where the powers are factually correct) and it examines various
aspects of the storytelling that has had me picking up Daredevil in interesting
ways. I think it is a must for all Daredevil and comic fans in general.
