Daredevil Volume 3 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Frank Miller's run on Daredevil is quite famous. Marvel recently reprinted all of it in three volumes. Volume 1 has issues 158-172, but the early issues were drawn by him but not written. The good stuff starts in #168 where he introduces Elektra. Volume 2 takes us from issue 173 to 184. It really makes Kingpin into the main villain for Daredevil, making Kingpin the quintessential Daredevil villain (instead of a Spider-Man villain). Volume 3, this volume contains issues 185 through 191, issue 219 and a graphic novel he did with Bill Sienkiewicz.
The volume is fantastic. One of the best Daredevil issues is the last issue in Frank Miller's run, issue 191. The issue could be read at anytime, it doesn't really depend on previous issues. It is an issue where Daredevil talks to a comatose Bullseye while debating whether he should be fighting crime. I have had doubts about myself all the time and it is nice to see Daredevil be so open about his doubts and give an interesting point of view with respect to violence. A fantastic issue to end a fantastic run by Frank Miller.
The issues before 191 were really good. Since issue 168, Miller has changed the landscape of Daredevil by introducing Elektra and giving depth to The Hand, an organization that is really important in current Daredevil issues. He also introduced Stick, Daredevil's mentor and in this volume we get to see the past of Stick. It was all wonderful.
Issue 219 was a bit strange and I wasn't in love with it, but the graphic novel with Bill Sienkiewicz was great. Sienkiewicz brings a very different style to Daredevil and it worked great in this story.
Overall a great volume. I would suggest reading all of Miller's run, starting with issue 168 all the way up to 191 and then reading Born Again. Born Again is by far the best Daredevil story I've ever read.
Showing posts with label frank miller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frank miller. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Dark Knight Returns
Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
This is one of the first graphic novels I read. I read it in High School, about ten years ago. Today I read it for the first time since then. It was interesting seeing how much denser it is than most comics nowadays. It took me over three hours, which is about double what it would take to read the same number of Walking Dead pages. A lot of the pages are full of panels, there are very few splash pages, no double splashes and almost every panel has writing in it. I love to see narration during fighting sequences (something not done much since) and this book has great narration from Batman whenever he is fighting. It is so cool to see what he thinks and I also enjoy that the narration is sometimes repetitive, such as "Lucky old man". Being repetitive makes sense, because that is how we talk and think.
The first time I read this book I really enjoyed the fight between Batman and Superman. This time, I feel like I enjoyed many other things. I like how it uses news channels to give us the information about what shape the world is in. I like how crazy the Joker is, I like how each issue has a different menace, but it all seems natural, as part of a bigger story. I like how there is constant debate over whether Batman is a good thing.
The beginning of this comic is very strange, as the mutants are weird villains, however, by the second issue I got into the comic, once the new Robin was introduced and the subplots were starting to form.
This is a great comic, worthy of the praise it gets.
This is one of the first graphic novels I read. I read it in High School, about ten years ago. Today I read it for the first time since then. It was interesting seeing how much denser it is than most comics nowadays. It took me over three hours, which is about double what it would take to read the same number of Walking Dead pages. A lot of the pages are full of panels, there are very few splash pages, no double splashes and almost every panel has writing in it. I love to see narration during fighting sequences (something not done much since) and this book has great narration from Batman whenever he is fighting. It is so cool to see what he thinks and I also enjoy that the narration is sometimes repetitive, such as "Lucky old man". Being repetitive makes sense, because that is how we talk and think.
The first time I read this book I really enjoyed the fight between Batman and Superman. This time, I feel like I enjoyed many other things. I like how it uses news channels to give us the information about what shape the world is in. I like how crazy the Joker is, I like how each issue has a different menace, but it all seems natural, as part of a bigger story. I like how there is constant debate over whether Batman is a good thing.
The beginning of this comic is very strange, as the mutants are weird villains, however, by the second issue I got into the comic, once the new Robin was introduced and the subplots were starting to form.
This is a great comic, worthy of the praise it gets.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Various Single Issues
Marvels: Eye of the Camera #6 by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern and Jay Anacleto.
This is the final issue in a six part miniseries. I read the first five issues about 6 months ago and I kept waiting for this issue to come out. The issue was quite good, giving us the back story on Maggie (from the mutant issue on the original Marvels) and giving a nice ending to the series. I think this series was worth it. It is not as good as the original, but it is a nice comic analyzing superheroes. I enjoyed it a lot. The artwork was great and while the issue itself is not fantastic, overall, the miniseries was very good.
Irredeemable #11 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.
Now that the Plutonian is vulnerable, the comic is getting better and better. We found out about the past between Bette Noir and Plutonian and we found out some of the bad things Plutonian did as a child. The story is great and the art is very good (although, I think Krause is not that good on close ups as he is on the rest). A great series that I recommend people to check out.
Daredevil #226 by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
The last issue of the Frank Miller run that I hadn't read (his last issue was 233). Although I have not read Daredevil: Man of Fear, I'd say that is outside the run. This issue is a pretty good one-shot. It sets up the attraction that Foggy has for Matt's girlfriend, it has the Gladiator (a character who shouldn't be interesting but Miller and Brubaker have made interesting) and it has great art by Mazzucchelli.
It was worth reading. A nice one shot before the masterpiece that is Daredevil: Born Again.
Amazing Spider-Man #620 by Dan Slott, Marcos Martin and Javier Pulido.
The third issue in the three part story on Mysterio. I think the issue was pretty good. It was nice to see Mysterio be a competent villain and I liked the jokes. The art was great, I was surprised the art was consistent even though there were two artists. I think Marcos Martin is great when it comes to drawing Spider-Man.
Haunt #5 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Todd McFarlane.
The issue is good. An important character dies, changing the scene quite a bit and we find out a bit more about the past of the ghost. It is a bit surprising to me that there is almost no back story to the main character, but a lot of back story to the ghost character. Hopefully we'll find out more to get to be interested in the characters more.
I am starting to have second doubts about continuing with these series. It is not that it is bad, but I think that it is the weakest of the series I get monthly. I will give it a few more issues.
Not a recommended series, but not bad.
This is the final issue in a six part miniseries. I read the first five issues about 6 months ago and I kept waiting for this issue to come out. The issue was quite good, giving us the back story on Maggie (from the mutant issue on the original Marvels) and giving a nice ending to the series. I think this series was worth it. It is not as good as the original, but it is a nice comic analyzing superheroes. I enjoyed it a lot. The artwork was great and while the issue itself is not fantastic, overall, the miniseries was very good.
Irredeemable #11 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.
Now that the Plutonian is vulnerable, the comic is getting better and better. We found out about the past between Bette Noir and Plutonian and we found out some of the bad things Plutonian did as a child. The story is great and the art is very good (although, I think Krause is not that good on close ups as he is on the rest). A great series that I recommend people to check out.
Daredevil #226 by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
The last issue of the Frank Miller run that I hadn't read (his last issue was 233). Although I have not read Daredevil: Man of Fear, I'd say that is outside the run. This issue is a pretty good one-shot. It sets up the attraction that Foggy has for Matt's girlfriend, it has the Gladiator (a character who shouldn't be interesting but Miller and Brubaker have made interesting) and it has great art by Mazzucchelli.
It was worth reading. A nice one shot before the masterpiece that is Daredevil: Born Again.
Amazing Spider-Man #620 by Dan Slott, Marcos Martin and Javier Pulido.
The third issue in the three part story on Mysterio. I think the issue was pretty good. It was nice to see Mysterio be a competent villain and I liked the jokes. The art was great, I was surprised the art was consistent even though there were two artists. I think Marcos Martin is great when it comes to drawing Spider-Man.
Haunt #5 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Todd McFarlane.
The issue is good. An important character dies, changing the scene quite a bit and we find out a bit more about the past of the ghost. It is a bit surprising to me that there is almost no back story to the main character, but a lot of back story to the ghost character. Hopefully we'll find out more to get to be interested in the characters more.
I am starting to have second doubts about continuing with these series. It is not that it is bad, but I think that it is the weakest of the series I get monthly. I will give it a few more issues.
Not a recommended series, but not bad.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli consists of issues 227 through 233 of Daredevil.
Frank Miller had a great run on Daredevil writing issues 165-191 (he co-wrote 165-167). He not only wrote those issues but drew most of them too (he actually starting drawing Daredevil with issue 158). His first solo issue was Daredevil #168 which is a great one, introducing us to Elektra and changing the tone of the book. Miller made the Kingpin into Daredevil's nemesis, while also making Ben Urich a more important character. This run on Daredevil has been very influential since, with Urich, Kingpin and even Turk being important side characters in recent comics. Miller wrote fantastic stories and ended on a high note with a very powerful self-examining last issue.
With all that great work behind on Daredevil, one would be surprised to find that he wrote a much better story for Daredevil a little later when he teamed up with Mazzucchelli with whom he would team up again the following year to write another classic, Batman: Year One.
Daredevil: Born Again is arguably the best comic book story I have ever read. It has a hero defeated and then reborn. It has a great villain who manages to control everything from his tower, a villain that doesn't need to get his hands dirty to hurt you. It has a sad story involving a junkie. It has a love story in the making, with Foggy and Glori. It has moments of great tension, that build up in a way only comics can do. There is a scene where Ben Urich witnesses a murder through a telephone, the art and the story work together perfectly. There are so many things this comic does that make one think about.
I like how the early pages of the first issues always have Murdock sleeping. It is as if we can see that he is on his way down. From a nice bed, to a horrible bed in a cheap hotel, to the streets, to a basement in a church. The destruction of Murdock happens steadily throughout the first issues, not only exemplified in the story itself, but even through a subset of images throughout the story.
I highly recommend this book. It is because of comics like this that I read comics.
Frank Miller had a great run on Daredevil writing issues 165-191 (he co-wrote 165-167). He not only wrote those issues but drew most of them too (he actually starting drawing Daredevil with issue 158). His first solo issue was Daredevil #168 which is a great one, introducing us to Elektra and changing the tone of the book. Miller made the Kingpin into Daredevil's nemesis, while also making Ben Urich a more important character. This run on Daredevil has been very influential since, with Urich, Kingpin and even Turk being important side characters in recent comics. Miller wrote fantastic stories and ended on a high note with a very powerful self-examining last issue.
With all that great work behind on Daredevil, one would be surprised to find that he wrote a much better story for Daredevil a little later when he teamed up with Mazzucchelli with whom he would team up again the following year to write another classic, Batman: Year One.
Daredevil: Born Again is arguably the best comic book story I have ever read. It has a hero defeated and then reborn. It has a great villain who manages to control everything from his tower, a villain that doesn't need to get his hands dirty to hurt you. It has a sad story involving a junkie. It has a love story in the making, with Foggy and Glori. It has moments of great tension, that build up in a way only comics can do. There is a scene where Ben Urich witnesses a murder through a telephone, the art and the story work together perfectly. There are so many things this comic does that make one think about.
I like how the early pages of the first issues always have Murdock sleeping. It is as if we can see that he is on his way down. From a nice bed, to a horrible bed in a cheap hotel, to the streets, to a basement in a church. The destruction of Murdock happens steadily throughout the first issues, not only exemplified in the story itself, but even through a subset of images throughout the story.
I highly recommend this book. It is because of comics like this that I read comics.
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