Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection: Underboss (Marvel Daredevil)

Description

Industry legend Brian Michael Bendis begins his acclaimed five-year DAREDEVIL run! When the staff that once belonged to his mentor is stolen, Daredevil is determined to get it back — even if that means joining an ancient ninja battle between the Seven and the Hand! Then, why is investigative reporter Ben Urich focusing on the catatonic son of two-bit costumed criminal Leap Frog — and how is Daredevil connected to a child he doesn’t even know? When a rich client hires Matt Murdock to sue Daredevil, it’s time for everyone’s favorite attorney to play to the camera! Plus: Ambitious gangster Sammy Silke has inspired Wilson Fisk’s lieutenants to rise up against the Kingpin of Crime! But what is the connection between Silke’s coup and the contract on Matt Murdock’s life? Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev’s gritty reinvention of Daredevil’s world begins right here! COLLECTING: Daredevil: Ninja (2000) 1-3, Daredevil (1998) 16-31 Review: One of the best runs - This was one of the first Marvel comics I ever read month to month. I was strictly DC before it. I've read the Bendis run through twice. It's incredible. A few issues in this one aren't Bendis though. Review: On of the best runs in modern Marvel Comics begins... after a lot of other stuff... - This is the beginning of the great Daredevil run by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. But! It takes a while to get to that run so this gets three stars because of everything else in this book. To start things off, we need to acknowledge that Daredevil's 1998 series begins the "Modern Age" of Marvel Comics. You may be wondering why many Marvel series from the same time are being released as "Classic" Epic Collections while this is a Modern Epic Collection. That's because the Marvel Knights Imprint at Marvel Comics heralded the current direction of the entire Marvel Comics Universe. The imprint was run by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti who would be the art team for Daredevil for its first year under the imprint. Marvel Knights books brought in high profile creators and the books were afforded a higher production cost with glossy paper and modern coloring techniques. This was (probably) the shot in the arm that Marvel needed after its bankruptcy and Joe Quesada would go on to become Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics, shaping the direction of the entire comic book line. This, of course, is VOLUME TWO of the Daredevil Modern Epic Collections and is more firmly set in the "Modern Age" of 2000- 2002. Which is still over two decades ago. The book collects Daredevil issues from AFTER Quesada and Palmiotti left the book. Honestly, this volume is all over the map with different creative teams contributing to the title before the regular creative team of Bendis and Maleev take over. Brian Michael Bendis ends up writing a bulk of this volume, however. It starts out with the mini-series, Daredevil: Ninja (three issues) written by Bendis and illustrated by Rob Haynes. This is a good but largely unnecessary story that shows Bendis' grasp of the characters but doesn't really contribute to the future narrative (at least as of Volume Four of the Modern Era Epic Collections). That is followed up by a Ben Urich led Daredevil story (Daredevil #'s 16-19) written by Bendis and illustrated by David Mack. This is a great story with some seriously amazing artwork. There seems to be some continuity mishaps in the story (if that sort of thing bothers you-- and it clearly does bother me) but this might be overlapping something that happened in volume one that I can't remember. It's been over two decades since I've read those earlier stories and because Epics are released out of order, that volume isn't yet available. I guess I'll revisit this later when I learn the startling truth! Regardless, the story and art are worth your time. Daredevil #'s 20-25, however, are less recommended. This is a courtroom focused drama, written by Bob Gale (screenwriter for the Back to the Future movies among other things) with art by Phil Winslade and Dave Ross. It is purposefully overcomplicated. I read this thing and was poking holes in the story pretty much all the way through. It's a fine throwback story that feels out of place, as though it doesn't really belong in a Modern Era Collection. I'm glad it's here, though. Bob Gale worked on expanding the cast of characters by giving the Law Firm of Nelson and Murdock some actual employees with personality. Sadly, they will all be ignored but it's nice to see the effort put in! That leaves us with Daredevil #'s 26-31 and absolute greatness. If you're wondering why the hell Brian Michael Bendis seemed to take over the Marvel Universe, writing every book you cared about for probably longer than you cared for, it's because of this book. And Ultimate Spider-Man. But we're talking about this book right now. The writing still feels fresh. The ideas are new. Bendis and Maleev are going to do some amazing and terrible things with Daredevil and company and it all starts here. This book is the street level crime noir super-hero book for the modern era that you want to read. It's not perfect. Nothing is. But if I were to judge the book simply on this last storyline, it would be five stars. Maleev does some impressive work here and he just keeps getting better as the book goes on. Bendis is a fresh up and comer with everything to prove. It's just great. And what do we get for extras? A LOT! There's a variant cover for Daredevil: Ninja, an unused cover, character sketches, cover mockups, and a pin-up all by Rob Haynes and David Self. You also get an afterward by Rob Haynes for the trade paperback of Daredevil: Ninja. The script for Daredevil #16 by Brain Michael Bendis is included. Three sketches by Joe Quesada are included that would be used by David Mack in his cover designs. We also get layouts for a number of pages from David Mack's DD story and another cover sketch by Mack for Daredevil #19. Two pages by Luke Ross and Mark Pennington are here from Daredevil #23 and #24. We get the Introduction for the Daredevil Vol. 2 Hardcover by Mark Steven Johnson (writer-director of the Daredevil and Ghost Rider movies). The plot for Daredevil #28 is here (by Bendis) which is cool because that's the "'Nuff Said" no dialogue issue. Maleev's cover sketch for Daredevil #28 and foreground cover art for Daredevil #29 are here. We also get some stuff from Daredevil #31 listed as "thumbnail sketches by Alex Maleev with script excerpts by Brian Michael Bendis." Also layouts for Daredevil #31 and some stuff from Daredevil #27 by Maleev! We still aren't done! Maleev did a page for Marvel Knights: Millenial Visions that is collected in here with a feature written up by Buddy Scalera & Alex Maleev. Finally, we have a Marvel Knights: Millenial Visions pinup by Sean Phillips. Like I said, there's a lot of extras. I'm not a massive Daredevil fan. I have a random assortment of Daredevil trades with the highlight being Man Without Fear (which is fantastic). This Modern Era Epic Collection is the business. I got the next two volumes and devoured them in about a week. It sounds more impressive than it really is: these things read pretty fast. Despite that three star rating, this book is SUPER RECOMMENDED because it begins one of the best comic book runs I've ever read. And you get some David Mack artwork besides so it's really all win all the time.