Alex Maleev

I know Bendis has his detractors out there. Yes, he's the king of the multiple babbling word balloons.

But he's also a masterful plotter, and while his characters are a little more verbose than most, what they're saying is funny, real, and vital to the understanding of the characters.

I read this massive collection in mostly one setting, and when I finished it and thought about it, I realized that I was completely invested in the world of Matt Murdock/Daredevil. By that, I mean these show more characters had taken on weight and meaning and importance, much like they do in a very good novel.

Most comics tend to set up a story, then have a fight scene—doesn't matter if the two going at it have fought side-by-side many times to save the world previously—then they move on to solve the central problem with more fighting. In between, you get some gigantic plot holes, some guest appearances, and a shitload of wisecracks from the hero.

Not here. Bendis turns the whole thing on its head. You still get the guests, but there's no wisecracking, there's no fights between heroes. There's just very legitimate, very real responses.

And Alex Maleev? All I'll say is, you don't truly appreciate his understated genius until the art abruptly changes to someone else who isn't Maleev and can't hold a candle to his style or storytelling sense.

Just a brilliant team, and an example of everything that comics can be, with the right writers and authors. show less

The middle collection, while very good, was perhaps a bit less memorable than the first one, but in this final third one, I find Bendis is back in top form. The first story, "Golden Age", is a solid revenge narrative as Hell's Kitchen's pre-Kingpin crime boss is let out of prison and Bendis and Maleev take us through a decades-spanning glimpse into the Kitchen's little corner of Marvel continuity. It is, however, paling in comparison to the next story, the collection's highlight in my show more opinion, as "Decalogue" takes to a this-Daredevil-person-touched-my-life support group and we follow each participant's story while a sinister throughline starts appearing. Finally, there is "The Murdock Papers", a roller-coaster of events that brings the main plotline of the Bendis/Maleev run (the premise of Kingpin's long-standing knowledge of Daredevil's secret identity and its many unintended consequences for them both). The latter does end on a bit of a nail-biting cliffhanger setting up the (excellent) Brubaker run to follow, but works well as an ending in its own right, I think.

The collection also includes, likely for completism, two non-Marvel 616 Daredevil stories by Bendis: The "What if..." story "What if Karen Page had lived?", which I unfortunately found to be rather underwhelming, and the Ultimate Marvel Team-Up story introducing Daredevil and Punisher to that continuity (between frequent but minor cameos from Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man), which I actually enjoyed a great deal in spite of its rather simplistic plot.

All in all, these three volumes of Bendis' Daredevil are highly recommended. They perhaps don't have quite the zest and imagination that his concurrent "Alias" run packed, but within the more limiting scope of taking over a big name book like "Daredevil", the result is still hugely impressive and deservedly standing as one of the most influential runs the character's ever had. show less

Great dual premise (Daredevil is revealed to be Matt Murdock; simultaneously, someone kills the Kingpin); great Mametian dialogue (Bendis shows some self-respect and doesn't fall down into verbal tickery--he was still hungry here, I suppose); tight plotting with various genre strains (superheroes, courtroom drama, quotidian people-in-the-city weed-grows-through-the-pavement stuff blossoming into our awareness of Matt's total nervous breakdown), interwoven into a kind of meta-pastiche; show more underpinned by Maleev's obfuscated, think-twice art, with only a couple of stumbles into superhero-book misogyny (though they are twice as annoying since they seem so unmotivated, like they occurred through simple inattention, like when the human bomb guy blows himself up on the steps and we see the people being blasted away from him and Maleev places the woman reporter at upskirt angle. I know they were less woke times, but come on. Why?). Nevertheless, one of the great Marvel stories; the best Daredevil there is, for my two cents. show less

Another Star Wars one-of from Marvel. Yes, Marvel/Disney is very good at milking this cash cow and I do fear the future of the franchise. However, this fun little pre-Bespin Lando story is pretty cool and is uniquely Lando. In the first few pages, Lando is literally pillow talking an Imperial Moff on her throne like bed. I think Lando uses the term "Baby" to sweet talk three different ladies in this story. Smooth talker indeed. If you like the grittier underbelly side of the Star Wars show more universe, this might sate your thirst. Lots of two timing and scoundrels galore and getting in over one's head. The lighting effects in each setting is pretty cool too. Alex Maleev does a great job of capturing the various facial expressions of a young Billy Dee Williams. I also have a new appreciation for Lobot. I hope future Marvel projects like this keep the same quality. show less