Daredevil: Born Again

This book was originally recommended to me by a friend after the first season of Netflix's Daredevil came out. While the show did draw heavily from the comic, the comic is very much its own entity and in some ways becomes even darker than the show manages to be. The character of Karen is notably different in the comic as well, and while she suffers from some of the typical [author: Frank Miller] writing stereotypes, she in no way is as caricatured as, say, Catwoman in [book: Batman Year One] or the girls of [book: Sin City]. This is long before [author: Frank Miller] became pretty much a stereotype of himself.

The comic is the story of Kingpin's destruction of everything Matt Murdock holds dear. Matt is beaten, his ex having sold his show more identity for a hit of heroin, and one by one everything that made Matt Matt is taken from him. His job, his money, his house, his friends. Matthew becomes a pariah, all that is left to him his senses and Daredevil... until even the identity of Daredevil is no longer his own. How does one become born again when they are beaten so low?

This book is a character study as much as it is a story. We see Matt at his worst, and in many ways how his worst is what makes him the stalwart fighter that he is. Matt needs people to save, he needs the costume, he needs the identity of Daredevil to function - but how can that be gotten again when no one will stand up to the Kingpin? Men like Ben are needed, too. Like Foggy says in the extra comic, added for completions sake at the end of Born Again, we've got to keep believing in the good in other people. Otherwise, what are we doing? We all could use a little grace. show less

Frank Miller is one of the best creative forces in comics today, both in terms of art and writing. This is the compilation of his "Daredevil" episodes, which chronicles the events that follow when the Kingpin learns Daredevil's true identity, and methodically destroys his life. The fall to the depths, and his eventual rebirth as a man and a hero, are presented in near-religious terms (as are the titles of each issue herein). This is one of the most daring and courageous changes in the life of a major mainstream superhero that I have seen, and nobody could have done it better than Frank Miller. This is one of the best comic book story collections I have seen, perhaps only surpassed by Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" story.

One of my favorite Daredevil arcs, and certainly my favorite Frank Miller storyline on the character. Mazzucchelli's art really helps sell the story and while I'm often not a fan of destroying your heroes so you can recreate them, I think it's done extremely well here.

This is probably the only bookshelf comic I have left with Miller's name on it, and I nearly got rid of it too. But I started flicking through it, and it is actually really pretty good. Written by Miller and drawn by Mazzucchelli in 1987, it has all the energy and power that made people think how good Miller was, while showing little of the tics and distasteful attitudes that have put me off his work from Sin City onwards.

Mazzucchelli's art is great - solid in the interiors, beautiful on the cover. I wondered slightly if in some places Miller might have inked bits as there is some similarity between their art styles, but frankly give me Mazzucchelli's style over Miller's empty stylishness any day.

This collection of comics opens with Karen Page selling Matt Murdoch's name as Daredevil for a fix to some bad guys in Mexico. It goes up the chain of command until it reaches Mr. Fisk, or Kingpin as he is widely known. Fisk decides to go after Matt and destroy his life. He makes it so that he is two months late on his mortgage and the IRS is doing an audit on him and had frozen his accounts.

Fisk gets charges brought up against Matt by an honest cop that he got witnesses to purgery themselves on the stand. Foggy argues his case and keeps him out of jail but he loses his law license. That's not all he's losing. He's beginning to lose his mind. He lost his girlfriend Glori who is now working at the Buggle taking pictures.

Reporter Ben show more Ulrich suspects that something is going on and begins to investigate but even he gets scared off of the story. And Karen has people trying to kill her and she knows the only person who can save her is Matt and he's in New York and he's also the person she betrayed. But she has to get there for him. As Daredevil, Matt has gone rogue and is beating people up badly whether they deserve it or not.

Then he goes after Fisk and Fisk beats him up badly and sets him up in a car to die but he escapes and goes to the Church where Maggie works. Maggie who had helped him when he first found out he was blind. Maggie nurses him back to health and he meets with Karen and deals with his feelings for her. Also, Nuke the experimental super-soldier who was a bit of a mistake that the government uses on projects outside of the country has been tasked with getting Daredevil and destroying him.

These are amazing comics and Frank Miller and company are the best at what they do. This is truly one of the best Daredevil stories ever written. He is brought so low to a point that would break a normal man, but Daredevil, Matt, becomes a man without hope, who is a man without fear and can take on anything. Even when his friends seem to desert him he can still stand tall and not let Fisk win. There's also included a comic called Warrior about an old acquaintance of Matt and Foggy's who has gotten himself into trouble that Daredevil must get him out of. I give this book five out of five stars. show less

When there is a well-plotted plan to destroy your reputation, career, home, loved ones... and then your life... when do get desperate, and when do you go mad? Matt Murdoch becomes 'a man without hope'... and a man without hope,'is a man without fear.'

Beautiful work, still some of the best writing and art in the history of comics.

The one criticism, is the Nuke character, which is not far removed the Rambo concept. Not necessarily a bad idea, just a stretch in plot, in order to include Captain America.

Even at twenty plus years old with garish colors, it remains undiminished as a classic of the superhero genre. Only when there’s a true collaboration, and the writer and artist are working together as Miller and Mazzucchelli do here, and both bringing more to it than each could individually, do you get a great work, a classic, like this one.