Rating: 
Summary: Yellow to Red...
Review: A friend recommended this to me and the first thing that struck me was the funny title. Daredevil, the man without fear - YELLOW?. What an irreverent oxymoron. It's like saying "Superman Weakling" or "Flash Slowcoach". A look at the book allayed my fears - he really WAS yellow, but perhaps only in costume, not in character. I opened this book reluctantly, expecting to see a travesty of one of my heroes. Five minutes later I walked out of the store with a fine addition to my comic collection. PLOT:
Jeph Loeb has outclassed himself yet again. The slow yet beautiful story recounts Daredevil's origins and his gradual rise to fame as "New York's favorite son". It reads like a personal diary with beautiful introspective monologue, especially the references to boxing and his dad. Essentially it's one long flashback explaining why the costume changed from yellow-and-red to all-red, with our hero remaining mired in tragedy all the time. Along the way Daredevil/Matt Murdock meets his first love, battles a few guest supervillains and there is even a cameo appearance by some other Marvel uberpeople. Daredevil's blossoming relationship with Karen Page is explored deeply throughout, yet I found the denouement to be unsatisfactory. After developing one phase of the man's past so well, the ending is a little rushed and abrupt. The book's conclusion is squeezed into 3 brief pages starting with "the rest of the story you know too well". At this point the book was already too big and needed to end soon, but the main threads (e.g. just how did one of the important characters die?) are left dangling in unsavory suspense for the DD newcomer. ART:
Exquisite water colors! There are loads of full-page panels and several double-page spreads. In fact each page has at the most 3 to 4 panels, which is appropriate becuase this is not an action thriller. The attention to detail can vary from a monochromatic background to a full-paged intricately pencilled Manhattan skyline stretching away to the horizon. There are unforgettable scenes like DD ruminating on the Empire State Building's spire. And there is good use of the color black (yes black is a color!) though there aren't too many dark moments here. OVERALL:
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have proved themselves a formidable team once more. Adrenaline junkies will be disappointed with the book if they're expecting a series of senseless bashemups. This tale is not fast-paced or action-packed. The plot is a "year-one" rewrite lacking twists and turns. There are no hysterias or histrionics. The book is a carefully designed work of art. Those who appreciate subtlety or visual poetry will dig this title. Overall, this is one colour-changing trip you'd want to experience at least once.
Rating:
Summary: Another Wonderful Addition to A Jeph Loeb Collection
Review: If you're a collector like me who shelled out the cash for "Essential Daredevil," you're probably like me, wishing you hadn't. The book was horrible, in black and white, and had the feel of the 60's, almost like Murdock and Nelson were the Brady's. But if you really want to catch up on the origin of Daredevil, then this is your book. Written faithfully to the original first issues of Daredevil, this book puts a more 21st century vibe into the writing. Add in the wonderful artwork that is Tim Sale's, and you've got yourself a perfect buy. Though this book could easily be passed off as a love story, the simple minded fool who depicts it as that is wrong. This book's major theme is loss. Loss of love, yes, but still loss. It is Daredevil looking back on the chance he had, that is now gone. This book is not a novel version of Crossroads, but instead more along the lines of A Walk To Remember. It touches all sides of human emotion, and follows the change of a person who has had tradgedy all about him find true love. Like all of the Loeb/Sale color books, this too is a must have.
Rating:
Summary: NOT just a retelling of Man Without Fear...
Review: Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have now become famous for their stories placed early in a superhero's career--Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and Daredevil. Daredevil: Yellow is about Matt's early days but doesn't just go over Miller's MAN WITHOUT FEAR miniseries. As always, Tim Sale's art is brilliant and it is a must have in the increasingly large must have Daredevil library. (That library includes all of volume II of Daredevil and all of Frank Miller's stuff.)
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Retelling of the Daredevil Origins
Review: Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have produced another great book, but this time they deal with Daredevil and his origins. In particular, they bring back the yellow union suit and retell they story on how Daredevil went from Yellow to all red. The book is a retelling because the authors do not go back to Matt Murdock's (Daredevil) childhood like Frank Miller did in his 1993 epic "The Man Withot Fear." The story gives enough background for a newcomer can follow the story. The authors intent seems to be to deal with the entire Karen Page episode and the values of doing the right thing that his father instilled in him. The dialogue and artwork are great and the story moves quickly and enjoyably. This story deals with Daredevil coming to terms in regards to Karen's death and he travels back to the time he met her. I do prefer Miller's origins story. It is slower, more detialed, and much more psychological, but this does not in anyway should take away from Loeb and Sale's book. A fun book and a must for us Daredevil fans.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Retelling of the Daredevil Origins
Review: Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have produced another great book, but this time they deal with Daredevil and his origins. In particular, they bring back the yellow union suit and retell they story on how Daredevil went from Yellow to all red. The book is a retelling because the authors do not go back to Matt Murdock's (Daredevil) childhood like Frank Miller did in his 1993 epic "The Man Withot Fear." The story gives enough background for a newcomer can follow the story. The authors intent seems to be to deal with the entire Karen Page episode and the values of doing the right thing that his father instilled in him. The dialogue and artwork are great and the story moves quickly and enjoyably. This story deals with Daredevil coming to terms in regards to Karen's death and he travels back to the time he met her. I do prefer Miller's origins story. It is slower, more detialed, and much more psychological, but this does not in anyway should take away from Loeb and Sale's book. A fun book and a must for us Daredevil fans.
Rating: 
Summary: The Dream Team is Back... with an Unexpected Offering
Review: Of all comic book heroes, Daredevil is the most tragic. In order for him to have gotten his powers, he had to let go of one of his senses, vision. Would any person sacrifice that gift and hav his remaining other senses heightened? That may not be the case in many circumstances! Reading a book that highlights hi early days as a hero only makes the reader sympathize more with him and truly understand what it is that makes him tick. The dream team od Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have collaborated in many previous successful projects, including legendary characters like Superman and Batman. His work on the latter was legendary in terms of excellent characterization and suspense. Something that truly captured the essence of the Dark Knight. DD is not a dark character. He may work well at night. The movie that has just been released may show him as such, but in reality he is as witty and wisecracking as they come. A sort of urban legend somewhat darker Spider-Man. This book, however, does not capture the essence of the tragic character who was created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan or the one who was reintroduced by Frank Miller. The story is that of present day Matt Murdock and how he is living with the loss of his greatest love, Karen Page, who was killed handsomely by Kevin Smith in the ongoing series. Matt looks back at how he became DD from his early days with his father to the days he meets Karen. Though the premise is theoretically rich in emotion, Jeph Loeb just fails to make us feel what the character is going through and how he might be feeling with this loss. His love, though great, is albeit superficial. This is not the Loeb who captured the passion of Clark Kent and Lana Lang in Superman For All Seasons. His story just sneers to a retelling of DD's origin and how he came to meet Karen. Not as personal as one might expect from Loeb. The art by Tim Sale is also somewhat lacking. The magic of him drawing Batman is out of this world. No one can capture the mystery and the darkness he commands when he does that, but drawing a lively character like DD, especially in his early yellow garb is not following the same style as Batman. All in all, his art is not really that bad, but not that great either. Sort of like he was rushed in to complete these pages. This is the first time I'm not really that pleased with what the dream team has to offer. Perhaps their next project, Spider-Man: Blue would be better, though I don't know how they'll handle another colorful character like Spidey. Daredevil: Yellow doesn't do much to make the character stand out. The story is not ground-breaking and is essentially of the mundane. Perhaps Kevin Smith should step in once again to write the character in another shattering story arc. Until that comes, however...
Rating: 
Summary: Daredevil hasn't been good for years now.
Review: So have Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale really crafted a good DD story? Nope. This is a Marvel elseworlds story with cardboard characters and really unimpressive artwork. The real DD origin story was told by Stan Lee and Gene Colan.
Here's hopeing Daredevil will be reborn again at the movies, Like Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men have been.
Rating:
Summary: Daredevil hasn't been good for years now.
Review: So have Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale really crafted a good DD story? Nope. This is a Marvel elseworlds story with cardboard characters and really unimpressive artwork. The real DD origin story was told by Stan Lee and Gene Colan.
Here's hopeing Daredevil will be reborn again at the movies, Like Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men have been.
Rating:
Summary: Loeb & Sale Do it Again!!
Review: Sweet mercy! Nothing can stop the creative team of Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale! Every book they've ever done is nothing short of a hit. Few writers in the comics business manage to make the characters sound as authentic as Jeph Loeb can. As always, the characters' dialogue was well-written and thoughtful but still sounded realistic. And Tim Sale's cartoony/realistic hybrid style of art was just gorgeous, helped here by the colorist, Hollingsworth. The framing sequence of each of the 6 chapters is Matt (Daredevil) Murdock writing letters to Karen Page as he re-examines his past. We see the beginnings of his tenure as the costumed hero Daredevil, back when he wore the Yellow costume. There's such a great human tone to the whole story. We, the readers, can justify and rationalize doing what Murdock does. We can easily believe that losing your father to a two-bit con-man may make a strong, trained man don a costume, even if this man is blind. The few guest-stars in this book (including the Fantastic Four, Electro, and the Owl,) seem well placed and not shoe-horned in. I've said it several times before. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale could very easily write a mini-series about a head of cabbage and I'd buy it and enjoy it. I recommend this book without any reservations. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Loeb & Sale Do it Again!!
Review: Sweet mercy! Nothing can stop the creative team of Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale! Every book they've ever done is nothing short of a hit. Few writers in the comics business manage to make the characters sound as authentic as Jeph Loeb can. As always, the characters' dialogue was well-written and thoughtful but still sounded realistic. And Tim Sale's cartoony/realistic hybrid style of art was just gorgeous, helped here by the colorist, Hollingsworth. The framing sequence of each of the 6 chapters is Matt (Daredevil) Murdock writing letters to Karen Page as he re-examines his past. We see the beginnings of his tenure as the costumed hero Daredevil, back when he wore the Yellow costume. There's such a great human tone to the whole story. We, the readers, can justify and rationalize doing what Murdock does. We can easily believe that losing your father to a two-bit con-man may make a strong, trained man don a costume, even if this man is blind. The few guest-stars in this book (including the Fantastic Four, Electro, and the Owl,) seem well placed and not shoe-horned in. I've said it several times before. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale could very easily write a mini-series about a head of cabbage and I'd buy it and enjoy it. I recommend this book without any reservations. You won't be sorry.
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