Review- Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

DAREDEVIL: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR (MARVEL PREMIERE CLASSIC VOL. 18) (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Daredevil: The Man Without Fear Nos. 1-5 (cover dates October, 1993- February, 1994)

Writer: Frank Miller

Artists: John Romita, Jr. (pencils) and Al Williamson (inks)

This is a retelling of Daredevil's origin, with all sorts of back story inserted. It is extremely dark and gritty, and it is also extremely well done. Frank Miller is a good writer, but I have never been crazy about his artwork. Here we have the work of the ever capable John Romita, Jr. and Golden Age great Al Williamson to help propel this to levels of greatness.

Miller does a tremendous job of creating an atmosphere with his first (and sometimes second) party caption box narratives. You simply cannot create this much atmosphere and tension with picture heavy, text light modern decompression-style comic book storytelling. That's not to say that this is a Don McGregor book; indeed, there are pages with little to no text on them at all. Miller understands pacing and story structure, and like most comic book writers of his generation, when to speed it up and when to slow it down.

This was another one of those $10 box convention finds, where old overstock is blown out. This was sealed and in mint condition. It's also the only way that I would've bought this variant design dustjacket. While I like the appearance of it, they all have numbers on the spines, which means that if you have them all they all line up and look real pretty. I do not buy all of the Premiere Classics Hardcovers, so that is why I don't buy this dustjacket design.

The OCD zone- This was a blast from the past, in a bad way. While I love this paper stock, this book has the glued mousetrap binding that I loathe. I don't enjoy fighting to keep books open. If you were to let go and try keeping this book open with one hand...SNAP!, like a mousetrap.

The restoration is excellent, and there are a ton of DVD style extras in the back, such as the original proposal, scripts, unused artwork, and even the covers of the older trade paperback printings. It's the extras and attention to detail like this that make Marvel's collected editions department superior to DC's in every way, shape, and form.

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Review: Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Vol. 3

DAREDEVIL BY FRANK MILLER AND KLAUS JANSON VOL. 3(Marvel, 2009; Softcover)

Collects Daredevil Nos. 185-191, 219, Daredevil: Love & War and What If? No. 28 (cover dates August, 1981- December, 1986)

Writer: Frank Miller

Artists: Klaus Janson, Frank Miller, John Buscema and Bill Sienkewicz

Forget that right-wing Hollywood sell out that calls himself Frank Miller in 2011, and journey with me to the past. A past where a young, hungry artist helps push the medium to the limits, challenging the now defunct Comics Code Authority. A past where this creator, who earned fame, fortune and notoriety, went on to fight for the rights of his fellow creators to try and help them get a fairer share of the pie. Fortunately, I can separate the art from the artist, and was still able to enjoy this book.

Horrible gradient shading.

This is the first time that I've read Miller's legendary run on the title, and it has aged well. Everyone that I know that read these issues off of the stands ranks them among their all-time favorite comic books. While I wouldn't go that far, these are damn fine reads. I am not a huge Frank Miller fan, and I prefer his writing to his artwork. He turns over the lion's share of the artwork over to Klaus Janson during this run, sticking to roughs and layouts. This might bother some people but not me.

Miller's love of film noir/ pulp crime becomes apparent but begins to wear on you. Again, I realize that he was playing this song 30 years ago, and it has since been copped by every writer that has come down the pike since then. Crime comics have become a dime a dozen in the last few years, and I suspect that most of them owe a huge debt to this title. Frank Miller was one of the pioneers of the dark and gritty crap that would overtake my beloved Silver Age flavor in superhero comic books, and the shock-waves from this are still being felt today. I absolve the pioneers of any trend in entertainment, because they had an original vision that was later strip-mined and rendered impotent by their followers. Miller turned this into a hard-boiled crime comic, filled with gray areas and questionable motives for the hero. It was the later generation of comic book creators that seem to have missed the point of what he was going for. 

Artwork by Bill Sienkewicz from the Love & War Original Graphic Novel.

The OCD zone- I think that this book gave me a rash, with it's terrible 2001 gradient shades. Daredevil looks orange rather than red, because primary colors are stupid. Most Marvel Comics from a decade ago use softer colors, lots of pastels and other muted tones, and I hate them. This hack job recoloring has not aged well, and I yearn for the Masterworks to reach this run.

Reviews: Daredevil By Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Vol. 1 & Vol. 2

DAREDEVIL BY FRANK MILLER AND KLAUS JANSON VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2008 edition)

Collects Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 27, 28 and Daredevil Nos. 158-161, 163-172 (cover dates February, 1979- July, 1981)

I have never been a huge Frank Miller fan, but so many people have raved about his run on this title for so long that when I saw this in a $5 box of trades I couldn't possibly pass it up. I do not like Miller's artwork, nor do I care for Klaus Janson's inks. There is just something about their work that is not pleasing to my eye. Having said that, their sense of pace, layouts, clarity, and storytelling are amazing. The action sequences are second to none. I just don't care for the way things look. If Frank Miller stuck to layouts and, say, John Romita, Jr. did the actual artwork, I'd be more receptive to it.

The stories really don't get into gear until Miller takes over writing duties as well as his art duties. It is at this time that things go from decent to really, really good. The issues with Bullseye are the best, but there isn't a clunker in the bunch.

The only complaint that I can make about this package are the craptastic computer coloring gradients. I hate it when the colors don't match the original issues. The colors should have been flat.

DAREDEVIL BY FRANK MILLER AND KLAUS JANSON VOL. 2 (Marvel, 2008 edition)

Collects Daredevil Nos. 173-184 (cover dates August, 1981- July, 1982)

OK, now I get it. I can see why people have heaped praise upon Frank Miller as both a writer and an artist. Prior to reading these two trade paperbacks, my only experience with his work was The Complete Frank Miller Spider-Man hardcover many moons ago and all seven Sin City trades. In the former, his artwork wasn't anything to write home about. In the latter, his artwork had devolved into a scratchy mess. I enjoyed the writing and layouts in Sin City, but the actual pencil work left a lot to be desired, in my opinion. In Daredevil, though, he and inker Klaus Janson achieve a synergy that is exhilarating to watch unfold. I would even go as far to say that they achieved greatness on this run. The layouts, sense of pacing, dialogue and narrative are superb. You can see where hacks like Bendis have stripmined what was once a fresh angle to storytelling as far as the medium was concerned. The whole Elektra/ Bullseye/ Kingpin arc is brilliant.

Again, the gradient shades are annoying, as I prefer to see the original color palette in classic material collected editions. Having said that, though, there is nothing that can take away from these great comic books.

The All-New, All-Different Junk Food For Thought

OK, not really. What I meant to say is that this is the first all-new blog post since I signed up for Blogspot last month. All of my other posts have been re-posts from my myspace blog (RIP). My last post over there was on July 4, and since then I have been sitting on my reviews. Here we go...

THE ZOMBIE FACTORY (Idea Men Productions, 2007)

Collects selections from Tales From The Tomb (Vol. 2 ) No. 2, (Vol. 4) Nos. 4, 5 (Vol. 5) No. 1, Tales of Voodoo (Vol. 3) Nos. 1, 2, Terror Tales (Vol. 2) No. 5, (Vol. 3) No. 3, (Vol. 4) No. 6, (Vol. 6) Nos. 1, 4 (Vol. 9) No. 1 and Witches’ Tales (Vol. 6) No. 1 (cover dates January, 1970- January, 1978).

This is an interesting collection of mostly B and C level black and white Horror from the '70s. Credits are nearly non-existent, which is a pet peeve of mine. It would be nice to know what issue which story came from, as well as who wrote and/or penciled it. The scans are way too dark, likely done to compensate for the deterioration of the pulp paper used back then. I'm sure that a C-level publisher like Eerie (no relation to Warren Publishing's superb Creepy and Eerie) didn't bother archiving their stats for later use. This is an okay read if you can find it, although I would have preferred a more comprehensive hardcover collection.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 VOL. 2: HELL COMES TO BIRMINGHAM (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Captain Britain and MI13 Nos. 5-9 (cover dates November, 2008- March, 2009)

This series is worlds better than most of the current stuff being put out by Marvel. It's a shame that this wasn't the first arc, rather than the always gimmick-y crossover spin-off that it had. Maybe if Marvel would let a series find its own footing rather then being shoved into crossover after crossover we wouldn't see the amount of launches, re-launches, and cancellations that we currently do.

SIN CITY VOL. 4: THAT YELLOW BASTARD (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: That Yellow Bastard Nos. 1-6 (cover dates February- July, 1996)

SIN CITY VOL. 5: FAMILY VALUES (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Family Values Original Graphic Novel (cover date October, 1997)

SIN CITY VOL. 6: BOOZE, BROADS & BULLETS (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: The Babe Wore Red, Sin City: Silent Night, Sin City: Lost, Lonely & Lethal, Sin City: Sex & Violence and Sin City: Just Another Saturday Night (cover dates November, 1994- October, 1998).

SIN CITY VOL. 7: HELL AND BACK (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Hell and Back Nos. 1-9 (cover dates July, 1999- April, 2000)

This is a super fast paced read, and it works for this type of series. Frank Miller's artwork is growing on me, as he makes excellent use of black and white and solids. The occasional color inserted into the black and white color scheme is interesting as well. I really like the paper that these books are printed on, as it has an intoxicating smell. I like how all of the characters and settings all circle around and intersect in each other's stories without becoming directly involved with each other, and without it being necessary to know any of the previous stories. One could literally pick up any book in the series and have an enjoyable read.

BLAZING COMBAT (Fantagraphics, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Blazing Combat Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 1965- July, 1966)

The Warren magazines were the natural successors to EC Comics. Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales depicted the horrors of war in often unfavorable ways, and this series ups the ante with it's early anti-Vietnam angle. The title was blackballed by distributors and cancelled, which is a damn shame considering the quality. The EC stable turns in fantastic artwork all around, and Russ Heath does what is, in my opinion, his finest work ever. The book is a super high quality presentation, with superb uncoated, thick paper stock, spotless art transfers from pristine sources, and luxurious sewn binding, all in hardcover to boot. The only gripe that I have is that the Frazetta covers are shrunk down to 1/4 page in the back of the book. Aside from that, this is the definitive document on this series for the ages. Interviews with James Warren and Archie Goodwin provide invaluable insight into the minds of the men who made it happen.

SWAMP THING VOL. 7: REGENESIS (DC, 2004)

Collects Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) Nos. 65-70 (cover dates October, 1987- March, 1988)

SWAMP THING VOL. 8: SPONTANEOUS GENERATION (DC, 2005)

Collects Swamp Thing Nos. 71-76 (cover dates April- September, 1988)

This series doesn't seem to miss a beat after the departure of Alan Moore. I was delighted to see Alfredo Alcala's finely detailed artwork grace these pages.

THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN (Idea Men Productions, 2006)

Collects The Monster of Frankenstein Nos. 18-33 (cover dates March, 1952- October/November, 1954)

This collects the obscure series by Dick Briefer, and is outstanding! Gruesome, gory and violent, this is not some campy or watered down version of the monster. Briefer's artwork is unusual, but has a style that is pleasing to the eye. I wish that this series was collected in a full color, high end hardcover rather than this black and white trade. Oh well, when you are dealing with comics as obscure as this, you have to take what you can get. I highly recommend this book to all fans of Horror comics.

Originally posted on my myspace blog on 2/22 and 3/8/2009

SHE-HULK VOL. 3: TIME TRIALS (Marvel, 2006)

Collects She-Hulk (Vol. 2) Nos. 1-5 (cover dates December, 2005- May, 2006)

SHE-HULK VOL. 4: LAWS OF ATTRACTION (Marvel, 2007)

Collects She-Hulk (Vol. 2) Nos. 6-13 (cover dates May-December, 2006)

SHE-HULK VOL. 5: PLANET WITHOUT A HULK (Marvel, 2007)

Collects She-Hulk (Vol. 2) Nos. 14-21 (cover dates January- August,2007)

Dan Slott writes some great stuff here, with jokes that only hardcore Marvel zombies will get. Not exactly a title I would recommend to a newbie, though. Juan Bobillo’s artwork is far too mangish and cartoony for my taste, but Scott Kollins does a great job on Issue 4. Issues 6 and 7 have excellent artwork by Will Conrad, and Ron Frenz pops in on Issue 9, but most of the artists and colorists on this series are sub-par. I was thrilled to see the return of the Man-Wolf, as I have been a sucker for him since my friend had Amazing Spider-Man No. 189 when I was 6 and showed it to me. I hunted down that and several other back issues with Man-Wolf in '83-84. I snagged ASM 124 and 125 for $1.00 each in Fine condition back then and still have them, but I digress. This was a witty, light-hearted and fun series that I actually want to read again someday.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE ALL-WINNERS VOL. 3 (Marvel, 2008)

Collects All-Winners Comics Nos. 9-14 (cover dates Summer, 1943- Winter 1944-45)

Carl Burgos and Bill Everett were all busy serving Uncle Sam when these issues were originally published, but the machine rolled on. The page counts gradually decreased, as paper became more scarce and expensive during World War II. These days, they would simply jack up the price, but back then they wanted to maintain the 10 cent cover price. This continued into the early '60s. These stories are par for the course for the Golden Age, with the exception of the excellent Whizzer story from All-Winners No. 13: The Maze of Madness, which for some reason creeped me out. All in all, these Golden Age Masterworks offer comic book fans a chance to read these long lost treasures at an affordable price.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE AVENGERS VOL. 8 (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Avengers Nos. 69-79 (cover dates October, 1969- August, 1970)

Outstanding stuff by Roy Thomas (writer), with art by John Buscema, Sal Buscema and Tom Palmer. This is the first Golden Age of The Avengers, when they had a great team and great villains. Bendis should pick this book up and take notes. Sure, some of Thomas' dialogue is dated and/or slightly corny, but at least there aren't two page spreads and splash pages interrupted by talking head pages!

SIN CITY VOL. 3: THE BIG FAT KILL (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: The Big Fat Kill Nos. 1-5 (cover dates November, 1994- March, 1995)

I really enjoy this series, which surprises me, as I don’t really like Frank Miller’s artwork very much. His writing and sense of pace are excellent, but his artwork just leaves me cold. He should stick to layouts.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE X-MEN VOL. 7 (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Amazing Adventures Nos. 11-17, Amazing Spider-Man No. 92, Incredible Hulk Nos. 150, 161 and Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) No. 4 (cover dates January, 1971- March, 1973).

This hardcover collects the "in-between" years of the X-Men, when the title was cancelled due to low sales and existed as a reprint title. The Beast stories in Amazing Adventures, done mostly by Steve Englehart and Tom Sutton, are sensational slices of Bronze Age goodness. I've always enjoyed the "furry" Beast, and wish to _______ (deity of your choice) that someone would undo the cat-like Beast from Grant Morrison's run on the title that seems to have stuck around much too long in the current comics.

DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING THE MAN-THING (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Dead of Night Featuring Man-Thing Nos. 1-4 (cover dates April- July, 2008)

This was an excellent read that re-tells and revises Man-Thing’s origin. The artist and colorist were different each issue, but they were all excellent. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing was great, too. A little more meat wouldn’t hurt, though; I flew through these issues.

MOON KNIGHT VOL. 3: GOD & COUNTRY (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Moon Knight (Vol. 4) Nos. 14-20 (cover dates March- September, 2008)

MOON KNIGHT VOL. 4: THE DEATH OF MARC SPECTOR (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Moon Knight (Vol. 4) Nos. 21-25 and Moon Knight: Silent Knight (cover dates October, 2008- February, 2009).

Mike Benson (writer) and Mark Texeria (artist) (14-19) craft a disturbing tale of the hero(?) on the brink of madness. This title is really gaining steam and is inching towards the top of my favorites. Mike Deodato, Jr. (artist, Number 20) hops on board for a done-in-one, back to the roots story featuring my beloved Werewolf By Night! Issues 21-25 see the quality dip slightly but are still very good. I am not a fan of the Norman Osbourne led Thunderbolts, or the whole redeemed villain angle. The fight with Bullseye was great, though.