Daredevil By Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Ultimate Collection Book 1 TPB (Graphic Novel Pb) [Paperback]

THE GOOD: Beautiful opening with David Mack's art on Wake Up which works so much better in a collection than single issues. Then it's straight into the action, cutting out the forgetable DD issues 20-25 (may they rest in peace) and onto the acclaimed stuff. And here's where Bendis-haters can't possibly deny: the man has talent. Perfect pacing, an understanding of every facet of the story, characters with individual voices and dialogue so sharp it almost cuts your fingers as you turn each page. Alex Maleev's artwork rounds things off perfectly, giving the series the dark edge the best DD stories are remembered for and, yet again, the pacing and camera work match the script to perfection.

THE BAD: I like Terry Dodson's art, but it doesn't quite match the tone of the story. Saying that, I wouldn't mind seeing a Daredevil story with Dodson's art one day, but not here. It just feels a little odd to finish up the book with his slightly cartoony art, but it doesn't detract from the overall piece enough to knock it from its five star perch. This is comic book gold.

THE PULP HERO RETURNS: Top notch stuff. I need to not gush, so overall...? If you're a grown-up who still loves suerheroes, this is the kind of stuff that you can sound off about to justify your geeky little fetish.

The one thing about mainstream superhero comics- basically, Marvel and DC Comics- is that there is ALWAYS a status quo to stick to. Nobody wants to change this status quo because it means developing the characters and moving them away from what Stan Lee and numerous other creators originally envisioned them as. This is a scary thing to do for mainstream comics- these characters have become so entrenched in their original visions that creators will do anything to keep them where they are. Well, that is, almost all of them. Bendis is an exception in this regard- his only goal, as it appears from an extra afterword at the back of this collection- was to shatter the current status quo and develop Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, the man without fear, into a fully realized character. Whilst I have yet to read the rest of his run, this collection shows that Bendis is doing that beautifully. We begin with what is frankly a beautiful opening four-parter, with David Mack, called "Wake Up", in which Ben Urich investigates a broken family and the possible reasons for the family's son's comatose condition. I can't say enough on how beautiful this story is, but not particularly for Bendis' writing- it's actually David Mack's art that is the standout feature. However, when we move onto the first shocking issue of Bendis' main run, with gritty and grimy artwork by Alex Maleev, the story really kicks in and Bendis' flair for writing becomes apparent. This guy has the most brilliant dialogue in comics- he's the form's Tarantino for sure. Reading his words are brilliant and the dialogue is simply astonishing. However, it's Bendis' willingness to destroy the status quo that is most engaging- from the first page, in which we see the apparent death of the Kingpin, to the huge reveal of issue #31 (the single story that has the most impact of Bendis' run), this volume really bites. It bites hard. The characters are amazingly well-written and I don't think Matt Murdock has ever been this fully realized- not even under Frank Miller's classic run. This collection is a reminder as to why I personally read comics. And the amazing thing? Daredevil's not in it that much. Only for a scene here and there. The rest is Matt Murdock. This is by no means a superhero book- instead, it's a tight, hard-boiled, pulp fiction thriller. Reading it, I thought someone like Dashiell Hammett would have loved this run. Maleev's art, whilst taking some getting used to, is perfect for Bendis' story and his writing style, and it becomes particularly obvious that Maleev is the perfect artist for the job when the less-stellar but still good fill-ins by Terry Dodson and Manuel Gutierrez occur. This is a great comic for any new-comer, and I imagine viewers of the Wire would love this comic. We've also got some neat extras, including scripts, Maleev's notes, an introduction by Mark Steven Johnson, a reprint of an article that appeared on Newsarama, and an afterword by Bendis that provide interesting context to the work. This is definitely one of the best Daredevil comics I've read, and I recommend it to all. Roll on volume 2!

I first got this collection because i was becoming interested in Brian Michael Bendis. I was not a previous DD fan, i had reads comics here and there but no solid runs or anything like that. At first i found Miller's the art kind of crude, and simple but it grew on me so much in just the first story in this collection. The whole book is just brilliant comic after brilliant comic, it has me wanting more (in fact i got the next 2 books which were amazin) and has made me a Daredevil fan