Broken Frontier

The modern comics renaissance is a big topic these days.  In the past few years, one man has more or less spearheaded this movement.  Brian Michael Bendis has almost single handedly brought Marvel out of the doldrums of the mid-nineties (alright, he had some help from Kevin Smith) and launched probably the single most successful initiative in at least a decade in the Ultimate Universe.  Now, with the move of Powers to Icon, Alias’s rebirth as The Pulse, and the impending launch of Bendis’s Avengers, you’d think that the guy has enough readers.  But, he has yet another book that’s not getting the attention it deserves.  The book that started Bendis’s career at Marvel has gotten a bit of a cold shoulder of late, often being cited as an example of what’s wrong with modern comics:  virtually devoid of costumes, entire issues dedicated to secondary characters, gigantic serpentine storylines, not to mention long inward thinking monologues several times per issue.  What most people fail to notice is that, while, yes these things are being over used in the industry right now, Daredevil is not an example of it.

Alright, so story wise, in case you haven’t been following, Matt Murdock has been outed as Daredevil, has beat the Kingpin at his own game, and crowned himself the Kingpin of crime.  Recently, we’ve seen the Yakuza move into Hell’s Kitchen to try and capitalize on the “void” left by Wilson Fisk, only to find Matt more than capable of keeping them out, especially with the aid of Spider-Man, Power Man Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.  Meanwhile, Matt has married and now divorced his blind ladylove, who Foggy thinks was Matt’s attempt to hide from the loss of Karen Page. 

I’d hardly call that “devoid of action,” would you?  Bendis has created a book that exists expertly in the monthly medium (a criticism often leveled against the perfect for the trade Ultimate Spiderman), the stories gradually evolving from issue to issue, the character of Matt Murdock turning ever slightly more towards the truth of his own cracked psyche.  It’s actually one of the most engaging character portraits in modern literature, painted in masterful strokes by Bendis, with a fluid arm and a clear direction towards the end of an era for one of Marvel’s most complex characters.

Alex Maleev’s art has often been accused of stiffness, a lack of expression, and repetition.  To me, those traits are more inherent in the character then in Maleev’s art style, the stoicism that makes each of the characters in Daredevil’s world able to function, especially the cold and detached Matt merges perfectly with Maleev’s painterly style.  On top of that, the last few issues of Yakuza ass kicking have shown that Maleev truly is more than just a one trick pony, flawlessly depicting some of the most bone crunching action in comics today.

I suppose the one thing Daredevil truly succeeds at is the feeling that in fact anything can happen.  Bendis has managed a pretty impressive magic trick, especially in a book with such a rigid back story, he’s made everybody feel “unsafe.”  I wouldn’t put it past Bendis to cripple Matt, kill Foggy, or resurrect Karen Page, and he’s done it with some pretty superb choices, including Matt being outed, snapping and beating Fisk nearly to death, and even getting married.  These changes, while far from being permanent, have the illusion of being major status quo upheavals, and it definitely works for the nail biting tone that many people have seemed to miss in the book.

Look, the criticism of say Bruce Jones’ Incredible Hulk, or even Grant Morrison’s run on New X-Men are fair enough, these are stories where the characters are going through machinations to get to the next plateau.  The difference here is that Matt Murdock at the beginning of Bendis’s run and Matt Murdock now are two totally different people. You aren’t left feeling like this is just a run from status quo to status quo.  Each issue has a noticeable impact on the character, and Bendis has made a point to make sure that his run influences other creator’s takes on the character for time immemorial.

GUIDING LINE: Daredevil is easily one of the most sophisticated adult oriented (while still being PG rated) comics on the stands today.  If you’re enjoying Bendis’s other work, yet for some inexplicable reason skip DD, it’s time for you to pick up some trades, and join along in the new arc starting this week.

- Josh Fialkov