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Daredevil Man Without Fear

Daredevil Man Without Fear

List Price: $45.75
Your Price: $45.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pretty good but...
Review: ...the plot feels a lot like Born Again, by Frank Miller, which I think is the greatest Daredevil story ever written. Both books deal with the near-total destruction of Matt Murdock's life by an unseen force. Matt even comments on the similarity, which does not excuse it.

I enjoyed the ending, and the revelation of who the villain was. It was also good to see Matt finally confront his mother. And the art was beautiful (although it didn't feel dark enough to be Daredevil).

I can understand how someone would be curious about this, as a Kevin Smith fan, but both Born Again and (I'm told) his own Green Arrow series are significantly better.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No other words...
Review: At first I was very hesitant in buying this graphic novel. Of course, I enjoyed reading Daredevil stories since I was in High School, but only because of Frank Miller's Daredevil: Born Again and his equally legendary Elektra Saga. Nothing more. I had perfectly assumed this new book would be another one of those present-day rip-offs (all form, no substance stuff) that's further pushing me away from reading comic books. Boy, I'm sure glad I was wrong. The book in itself was fantastic. Kevin Smith's (Chasing Amy, Dogma, Mall Rats-y'know, the works) writing was more than remarkable, it was amazing! I haven't seen lines written in comics like that in a long while now. The last time I read something as memorable was when I read Frank Miller's (again) The Dark Knight Returns. It's very interesting to note some good lines from Smith's script like "What kind of a mugger wears a suit?" or "To do my father's work, padre." Not to mention the middle part of the story where there is an unexpected plot twist that ultimately undo our protagonist's life beyond any form of redemption (hmm, I'm sounding a bit strange back there). This is excellent stuff that I'm sure is already a classic on its own. Smith does his best working as a comic book scribe so his growing number of fans certainly look forward to seeing him do more for the industry in the near future. As for the book's art, man, Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti far exceed their bars of excellence sky high! Those two guys went over-the-top on this series. Oh, I wouldn't want to forget the stark and detailed computer-enhanced coloring that gave depth to the pictures. Crisp writing plus good art equals an excellent, classical read. And to top it all off, I would like to quote Matt Murdock's most remembered (and touching) line in the story that further adds greatness to the book: "There are no words..." You'll understand why when you get this graphic novel. 'Nuff, said.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not bad...
Review: but doesn't hold a stick to the Golden Era of Frank Miller's Daredevil. The story, plot and graphics were OK and if your simply looking for a few hours of escape, then this is an OK read but I wouldn't hardly recommend buying it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: extremely terrible graphic novel
Review: I bought this title based on the positive reviews about kevin smith's work. Unfortunately, the story and graphic novel was extremely boring and lame. there is no comparision to frank miller's eighties work in terms of intensity and impact. Frank Miller was brilliant because there was a cleverness to the words and the impact in emotional thought to Daredevil or Batman in Miller's work. THe christian theme was extremely ineffective and the drawing, which was pretty good, was destroyed by the terrible coloring. It was too dark and I dont mean the story. As a very picky comic book reader, I would tell discerning comic readers not to spend their money on this title.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: repetative
Review: I just started reading DD and collecting all the trades I could lay my hands on, in other words I read "Guardian Devil" and "Born Again" within a week of each other. Kevin Smith certainly gave credit where credit was due by having multiple characters make references to "Born Again" but this story simply pales beside the work it was derived from.

This has happened before, the reader knows it, Matt knows it and it just doesn't have the same punch as the first time around for either.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent Daredevil story, destroyed by the graphics
Review: I only recently discovered Daredevil (ironically enough, NOT because of the movie), but since then I've read every DD comic I could get my hands on through the library - which is most of them. I particularly enjoyed Frank Miller's "Man Without Fear" and "Born Again." "Parts of a Hole" and "Underboss" were also quite good.

This story was - ok. It had a lot to say, and it said it well, and it has lots of repercussions for future storylines, which a less daring author/publisher might not have allowed. But the characterization of DD was... I guess he just wasn't Frank Miller's Daredevil - the one who repeatedly tried to tell an assassin, "I don't want to kill you. Let her go." He wasn't the Daredevil I fell in love with.

Mostly, though, I couldn't enjoy the story because of the drawings. The scenery, as I recall, was ok, but the characters were annoyingly caricature-like. Meaning, the characters (DD, in particular) have feet and hands that are very disproportional to the rest of their bodies. And Matt is repeatedly drawn with cataracts. Why is that? And that's not to mention the perpetually-furrowed brow (caused, apparently, by the effort involved in always rolling his eyes back. The eyes of the blind sometimes do roll back, but I can't imagine that there would be much muscular effort involved). And lets not go into the perpetual sneer...

All in all - decent story, fair characterization, bad graphics, okay book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: disappointed
Review: I think Quesada should stick with doing covers, because it is very difficult to know what is going on when he tries to tell a story between them. And Kevin Smith should stick with movies... then again, after seeing Jay and Silent Bob, maybe he should retire all together.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Smith is here to stay...
Review: Smith does a wonderful job reinventing the Man Without Fear. One can only wonder the spontaneity he'd bring to the film version starring Afflek (Blech!). Quesada's artwork is so over the top, and the coloring appears to be done by somebody on acid. If you're expecting the menacing an stark vision which Miller brought to this anti-hero, don't tread in these waters. Still, it's a 4 star story... and DD is back!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Returning Daredevil to form
Review: The introduction of the Marvel Knights line was the first step of many in Marvel Comics undergoing an overhaul. Daredevil wasn't selling anymore, and the stories had degenerated into predictable and rather lackluster storyarcs that were only a shell of the classic Daredevil stories of years ago. So, Daredevil was re-launched under the Marvel Knights banner, with artist Joe Quesada brought on board, and none other than Clerks and Chasing Amy director Kevin Smith brought on board to scribe the Man Without Fear. This TPB collects Smith and Quesada's eight issue Guardian Devil storyline in which Matt Murdock/Daredevil finds himself at the center of a would-be conspiracy with a mysterious baby who is proclaimed to be either the savior of the world, or the anti-christ itself. At the same time, Matt's old flame Karen Page returns, as does the deranged assassin Bullseye, and tragedy soon follows. Smith's story manages to do the character justice while paying homage to previous Daredevil storylines. Joe Quesada's art on the other hand has it's up's and down's. The art as a whole is solid, but his character models look too much like caricatures at times. The only real problem with Guardian Devil is with the story. Frank Miller brilliantly injected the notion of catholic guilt into the character, and while Smith manages to do the same, the underlining theme of faith in God is just unnecessary. That aside though, this was the beginning of some of the best stories to ever hit Daredevil, followed by various runs by David Mack and Brian Michael Bendis, and this volume is worth picking up for alone as a precursor to those brilliant storyarcs.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Returning Daredevil to form
Review: The introduction of the Marvel Knights line was the first step of many in Marvel Comics undergoing an overhaul. Daredevil wasn't selling anymore, and the stories had degenerated into predictable and rather lackluster storyarcs that were only a shell of the classic Daredevil stories of years ago. So, Daredevil was re-launched under the Marvel Knights banner, with artist Joe Quesada brought on board, and none other than Clerks and Chasing Amy director Kevin Smith brought on board to scribe the Man Without Fear. This TPB collects Smith and Quesada's eight issue Guardian Devil storyline in which Matt Murdock/Daredevil finds himself at the center of a would-be conspiracy with a mysterious baby who is proclaimed to be either the savior of the world, or the anti-christ itself. At the same time, Matt's old flame Karen Page returns, as does the deranged assassin Bullseye, and tragedy soon follows. Smith's story manages to do the character justice while paying homage to previous Daredevil storylines. Joe Quesada's art on the other hand has it's up's and down's. The art as a whole is solid, but his character models look too much like caricatures at times. The only real problem with Guardian Devil is with the story. Frank Miller brilliantly injected the notion of catholic guilt into the character, and while Smith manages to do the same, the underlining theme of faith in God is just unnecessary. That aside though, this was the beginning of some of the best stories to ever hit Daredevil, followed by various runs by David Mack and Brian Michael Bendis, and this volume is worth picking up for alone as a precursor to those brilliant storyarcs.


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