Category: Daredevil

 

By Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada & Jimmy Palmiotti (Marvel Comics)
ISBN 0-7851-0737-1

Kevin Smith generated a lot of excitement when he was announced as the writer of the new Daredevil comic in 1998, and that transferred to high sales when the comics finally appeared. Unlike Frank Miller’s legendary tenures, Smith’s run (Volume 2, #1-8 “Guardian Devil”) wasn’t about tearing down and rebuilding as much as shining a light on dusty forgotten corners, reminding fans why they liked the character whilst presenting him to new readers.

The plot itself revolved around a young girl who believes she has given birth to a new Messiah, entrusting him, and possibly the fate of the world to the emotionally scarred and battle-weary Matt Murdock to protect them from eerie foes and the temptations of a seemingly insurmountable and pervasive evil. Despite living day to day among monsters and magicians can the Man Without Fear, a coldly logical lawyer, rationalise these events with the superhero’s deeply held Catholic beliefs? Is a different kind of evil at work here?

As a stand alone book Visionaries is a great example of an inspired idea competently delivered. Smith chooses to embrace all of the hero’s long history rather than re-tailor the hero to fit his vision, and the highly design-oriented style of art from Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti is garish but oddly appropriate to this moody tale. Seldom out of print since the first collection in 2001, this book remains a sadly rare high point in Marvel’s output of recent years.

© 2001, 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

By Kim Deitch

(Fantagraphics Books)  ISBN 1-56097-771-X

Kim Deitch has been one of the leading lights of America’s Comix Underground since its earliest days, although as with Harvey Pekar and American Splendor, it is only in recent years that he has won wider acclaim: in his case for 2002’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams. For the past two decades he has been producing occasional short stories about a down-at-heel carnival and the shabby, eccentric no-hopers that have populated it through-out the 150 years. Shadowland is the first complete collection, and also features a splendid colour gallery of supplemental artwork.

Combining science-fiction, conspiracy theory, urban history and legend, show-biz razzmatazz, Film Noir and a highly developed sense of the absurd, he weaves an irresistible spell that charms, thrills and disturbs whilst his meticulous black and white drawing holds the reader in a deceptively fluffy grip.

Follow the story of clown and Carny Al Ledicker Jr. as he shambles his way through the sleaziest parts of the 20th century in this wonderful compendium and critique of the “Americana Way”.

Text, art & characters © 2006 Kim Deitch. All Rights Reserved