Hey there boys and girls, and welcome to the mandatory end of the year retrospective! This could have been a great time to sum up possibly the best decade of Daredevil ever. However, since the decade (unlike “the 00’s”) doesn’t end until December 31, 2010, I’m going to have to put that one off until next year. If you think I’m just being anal, think of it this way: holding off another year might actually bring the total score up a notch. It all depends on what Andy Diggle, Roberto de la Torre and the rest of the team cook up for next year. It looks like it’s going to be a big one for Matt Murdock and gang.
Panel from Daredevil #501, by Andy Diggle and Roberto de la Torre
So, what happened in 2009? Aside from such major events as Disney’s purchase of Marvel Entertainment, those of us with a particular fondness for Marvel’s very own scarlet swashbuckler saw a lot of changes. After more than three years, and 39 issues, the Brubaker/Lark era came to an end. After a couple of skipped months – unusual for the famously on-schedule Daredevil – their last issue finally hit the stands in August. It turned out to be worth the wait, and the following month saw Diggle’s first take on the character in the one-shot Dark Reign – The List: Daredevil, penciled by Billy Tan. Having Daredevil be involved in a major event, however marginal the involvement, marked a departure from status quo of the last few years which saw Matt Murdock pretty much occupy his own corner of the Marvel universe. If I’m right (see the Shadowland post below) we might see much more of this kind of thing in 2010.
Aside from the change in creative teams, 2009 also saw two Daredevil anniversaries with the 500th issue and subsequent return to the original numbering, as well as the 45th anniversary of the first Daredevil issue which came out in April 1964. The latter wasn’t given any special attention, but I still find it worth mentioning.
For me, 2009 also meant finding a new home for this blog. Fortunately, the move to self-hosted Wordpress worked out fine, and I hope I didn’t lose anyone in the process. I also passed 300 posts and have now been online for over two years. Over the next year, I hope to continue to post two to three times a week, and I hope that you guys will be around for it. I also want to take the opportunity to thank the team at The Weekly Crisis for giving me a guest spot to celebrate the 500th issue of Daredevil. I had fun doing it, and am glad that my efforts were well received.
With this site growing in scope – and I have some new additions planned for the next year as well – it’s an ongoing challenge to try to make it as easy as possible for a new visitor to browse, and I expect you guys to let me know if you run into any problems in this regard. As you’ve probably noticed, each post now has a related post listing, as well as a link to a random post, and there is a page listing the complete archives of the blog. New since last week is an extended list of the most recent comments, which you can find near the bottom of the sidebar. As The Other Murdock Papers is becoming increasingly social, that should make it easier to keep up with new comments.
In closing, I’d like to ask you guys what you’d like to see happen in Daredevil, as well as the greater Marvel U, in the next year. Make it as crazy as you want. I’ll see you next year! 
Tagged as:
Andy Diggle,
Ed Brubaker,
Meandering musings,
Michael Lark,
Random information,
Roberto de la Torre
by Christine on December 30, 2009 in Humor
Longtime visitors to my blog probably remember my old Daredevil parody web comic that used to have its own section while I was still hosting this site on Blogger. Since the move to Wordpress in late September, I’ve been meaning to put it back online again, but just never got around to it. This being the time of year to reminisce, I thought now was as good a time as any to bring the comic back to life. To those who are seeing it for the first time, I hope you enjoy it! Head over to the Hell’s Kitchen page to check it out.
Tagged as:
Blog updates,
Hell's Kitchen cartoon,
Humor
Remember the Marvel project Shadowland? It was mentioned by Joe Quesada back in August (see my post about it), and since then we haven’t really heard anything about it. Yesterday, the ever vigilant Kuljit Mithra posted the following on Twitter:
“Marvel editor Tom Brevoort hints at why there’s no DD 506 in March http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=301708“
Next thing you know, regular visitor Andrew brought the subject up in a comment to my old Shadowland post. I think Andrew is on to something here, and I even have some additional evidence to add to this fun bit of intrigue. In mid-November, I tweeted the following:
“To those in the know: What happened to the Marvel project Shadowland (working title)? Will it tie into Siege or something?”
Andy Diggle gave me an enigmatic reply, complete with mysterious smiley:
“@Chris_TOMP All good things to those who wait… ; )”
And, a couple of weeks before that, he gave us this tease:
“Plotting out a big top-secret Marvel project, I just invented the word ‘explodapalooza.’ I’m quite pleased with it.”
I know a lot of people don’t exactly love Twitter, but this is the kind of thing it’s great for. With this, I think we’ve pretty much cracked the case. Whether the name of the project is still Shadowland remains to be seen, but it looks clear to me that Diggle will indeed be writing it and that this is what’s affecting the Daredevil schedule. Comment away good readers!
Tagged as:
Andy Diggle,
Links,
Random information,
Shadowland
by Christine on December 26, 2009 in Humor
I hope those of you who celebrate Christmas have had a good couple of days with your loved ones. I’ve spent Christmas at my mother’s and ate more food than any sane person should. Oh well, it’s only once a year, right?
With the holiday season still not quite over, I thought I’d take the opportunity to look at how our favorite hero likes to spend his Christmas. Or not. As always seems to be the case with Matt Murdock, things don’t quite go as planned in this longer scene from Daredevil #206 (volume 1), by Denny O’Neil and David Mazzucchelli, where Matt and his house guest Glorianna decide to throw a Christmas party. Let’s see how they do! (Keep in mind that you can click each panel to make it zoom to full scale without having to leave the page.)
Matt prepares for his Christmas party, Daredevil #206 by Denny O'Neil and David Mazzucchelli
More Christmas madness under the cut –>
Tagged as:
Becky Blake,
Daredevil vol 1 #201-250,
David Mazzucchelli,
Denny O'Neil,
Foggy Nelson,
Humor,
The life of a superhero
Cover art by Alex Maleev, from Daredevil #43 (volume 2)
Art by Alex Maleev
Cover to What If? Daredevil vs Elektra
I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t generally pick up a What If? story and expect a lot of depth. Nor do I expect to have any kind of emotional reaction to it beyond the cocked eyebrow of “huh, what do you know?”. The What If? takes regular continuity, throws it out the window and goes on to tell the story of what didn’t happen. So, beyond the novelty of the format, there’s rarely much left to make the reader really care about what’s going on.
Considering the inherent limitations of a What If? story, this issue is surprisingly good. Writer Karl Bollers approaches the task by not trying to do anything ground-breaking, instead offering up interesting new takes on old characters such as Foggy Nelson, and making the kinds of nods to continuity that should appeal to any hardcore or longtime Daredevil fan. For obvious reasons, most of the story references events from the Miller run, but even frequent co-stars from the decades since then make guest-appearances.
In What If? Daredevil vs Elektra, Matt Murdock dies while saving the lives of Elektra and her father, and is raised from the dead by the Hand, taking on the name of the Advocate. Many years later, he comes back into Elektra’s life. Elektra is now an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. though very little of her backstory is revealed, which detracts a bit from the overall story. For obvious reasons, Matt – or, more accurately, the Advocate – is the most enigmatic character and while some of the superficial elements of the story would have his role as ninja leader seem similar to current mainstream continuity, very little of the character we know remains. Despite the lack of emotional connect with the Advocate, the final scene between him and Elektra is a beautiful moment and I must admit to being moved by it in ways I wasn’t expecting when I picked up this issue.
The art, with pencils by Rafael Kayanan, is good but feels a little uneven. Some scenes look messy and cluttered whereas others are strikingly beautiful. On the whole, it works quite well, and new takes on classic moments in Daredevil history are easily recognizable.
At the end of the issue is an extra feature by Mike Gallagher and Dave Manak called Say What? which offers a humorous look at the events of the main feature in comic strip style. While it had its moments, I must say that it would have been more enjoyable (and not out of place) if the subject for the comic strip had been the characters from the 616 continuity, rather than their What If? counterparts.
All in all, this issue wasn’t stellar, but still delivered more than I expected. It appealed to my inner fangirl and even made me care about the characters and events.
Tagged as:
Dave Manak,
Karl Bollers,
Mike Gallagher,
One-shots and limited series,
Rafael Kayanan,
Reviews
As reported previously, Antony Johnston will be co-writing the next arc of Daredevil, “Left Hand Path” (is it just me, or does that title sound a little… weird?). He talks about this collaboration, and other things he has going on, in an interview with Comic Book Resources. Here is some of what he had to say:
“In this arc, Matt goes to Japan for a summit of the Hand, to ensure its ‘five fingers’ – the regional directorates of the organisation – are working together harmoniously,” Johnston said of the arc on which he is collaborating. “And, naturally, things don’t go quite as planned. I can’t really say much more than that, I don’t want to give anything away.”
Read the whole interview on CBR.
In case you’re wondering, I will keep blogging over the holidays. My first order of business, however, is to catch up on all the comments you guys keep leaving (me like!). I will also be back tomorrow with the long overdue review of What If? Daredevil vs Elektra. I will see you then!
Tagged as:
Andy Diggle,
Antony Johnston,
Links,
Random information
Cover to Daredevil #503
Yeah, this was good. While Daredevil #502 had some of the typical qualities of a middle of the arc issue, this one sees a lot of things happening on several fronts. All good stories are driven by conflict, and in a Daredevil-leading-the-hand-while-Norman-Osborn-rules-the-world kind of setting, conflicts are all over the place, and even the regular, more grounded, cast from Matt Murdock’s civilian life are seeing the consequences of civilian disobedience.
This issue seems much longer than it is. It’s got several important scenes in it which are all given enough space to develop, and every single one reveals new layers of intrigue. We have Daredevil talking it out with Master Izo, and White Tiger airing her concerns to both Daredevil, and Black Tarantula. The Kingpin is really stepping it up a notch and Detective Kurtz (at least I think that’s him) inspecting a crime scene that doesn’t make sense to him.
The last scene of this issue struck me as being very similar thematically to some of the things we saw in Bendis’s King of Hell’s Kitchen story arc. Matt’s actions are more extreme here, but so are the circumstances of the Marvel Universe. I get the feeling that Andy Diggle has a firm grasp of, and an appropriate level of respect for, Daredevil continuity, and that’s crucial at this point considering how far away from the status quo we are. So far, this story arc really works for me, precisely because Diggle manages to mix the new developments with old themes that give the reader a sense of familiarity even while moving through unexplored territory.
Roberto de la Torre is getting help this issue from artist Marco Checchetto, and the transitions between the two are clearly visible, though not necessarily jarring. Checchetto’s art lacks the almost dreamlike qualities that we’ve become used to with the new creative team, but feels very Daredevil appropriate (and am I the only to notice how good he is at rendering hands?). Meanwhile, de la Torre is reaching new heights, and I love the look of this book right now. I also have to give him props for restoring Becky Blake to the hottie on wheels she was in her very first appearance (before Miller turned her into a frumpy wallflower). The only thing I’m curious about is how he would draw Matt, who hasn’t been seen out of costume since the Dark Reign – The List one shot penciled by Billy Tan.
All in all, this issue leaves me with a good idea of what’s going on, but no clue about what’s going to happen next, which is really exciting. What can I say, it’s a good time to be a Daredevil fan!
Tagged as:
Andy Diggle,
Daredevil #500-current,
Reviews,
Roberto de la Torre
Well, not so much a news roundup this time as list of important links, together with some general blog info. Let’s get to it!
Links
-
I don’t think anyone has missed that Daredevil #503 is out tomorrow. For those who can’t contain their curiosity, both Comics Bulletin and Newsarama have advance reviews up. These have been added to the sidebar as well, and that list will grow as other reviews become available. As always, beware of mild spoilers.
-
I already linked to the Daredevil #503 preview, but there’s also a preview of What If? Daredevil vs Elektra, which is also due out tomorrow. So, I’m including it here, for the sake of completeness.
Blog updates
As some of you may have noticed, I added a complete archives page, which can be found under the About tab in the menu or below each post. It lists – and links to – every single entry on this blog. Hopefully, that should make browsing this site a little easier.
Another thing I added is a nice zoom effect to all images (though if the image is already shown at full scale it won’t zoom further). Just click the image to see it pop and click it again to close the zoom. If it won’t work for you, it’s probably because your browser isn’t Javascript enabled. If you want to open the image in a separate window, the old-fashioned way, just right-click and go to “view image.” Easy!
Well, this being a Daredevil week is a guarantee that I will see you again very soon!
Tagged as:
Blog updates,
Links,
Random information
by Christine on December 13, 2009 in Humor
Because you asked for it (well, @kevbot217 did on Twitter), here’s the natural follow-up to the post about Foggy’s mustache: Foggy’s tattoo. Apparently, the mustache wasn’t edgy enough, so he had to go for the more permanent statement of getting a tribal tattoo more commonly seen on 20-year-olds. Was it deep enough to stay in continuity? I’m not sure. When we see Foggy shaving in Daredevil #82 (vol 2), only his right arm is visible. These panels, from Daredevil #59 (vol 2), by Bendis and Maleev, are part of a longer scene that is quite funny, also featuring Matt’s “It’s red? I thought it was yellow” joke, which I’m sure those of you who have read it remember.
Foggy shows off his tattoo, from Daredevil #59 (vol 2) by Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev
Tagged as:
Alex Maleev,
Brian Michael Bendis,
Daredevil vol 2 #1- 100,
Foggy Nelson,
Humor
Christine is a thirty something Daredevil fan from Sweden who spends way too much of her free time writing posts for this blog. Check the
Still a great time to be a Daredevil fan
by Christine on December 31, 2009 in Commentary
Hey there boys and girls, and welcome to the mandatory end of the year retrospective! This could have been a great time to sum up possibly the best decade of Daredevil ever. However, since the decade (unlike “the 00’s”) doesn’t end until December 31, 2010, I’m going to have to put that one off until next year. If you think I’m just being anal, think of it this way: holding off another year might actually bring the total score up a notch. It all depends on what Andy Diggle, Roberto de la Torre and the rest of the team cook up for next year. It looks like it’s going to be a big one for Matt Murdock and gang.
Panel from Daredevil #501, by Andy Diggle and Roberto de la Torre
So, what happened in 2009? Aside from such major events as Disney’s purchase of Marvel Entertainment, those of us with a particular fondness for Marvel’s very own scarlet swashbuckler saw a lot of changes. After more than three years, and 39 issues, the Brubaker/Lark era came to an end. After a couple of skipped months – unusual for the famously on-schedule Daredevil – their last issue finally hit the stands in August. It turned out to be worth the wait, and the following month saw Diggle’s first take on the character in the one-shot Dark Reign – The List: Daredevil, penciled by Billy Tan. Having Daredevil be involved in a major event, however marginal the involvement, marked a departure from status quo of the last few years which saw Matt Murdock pretty much occupy his own corner of the Marvel universe. If I’m right (see the Shadowland post below) we might see much more of this kind of thing in 2010.
Aside from the change in creative teams, 2009 also saw two Daredevil anniversaries with the 500th issue and subsequent return to the original numbering, as well as the 45th anniversary of the first Daredevil issue which came out in April 1964. The latter wasn’t given any special attention, but I still find it worth mentioning.
For me, 2009 also meant finding a new home for this blog. Fortunately, the move to self-hosted Wordpress worked out fine, and I hope I didn’t lose anyone in the process. I also passed 300 posts and have now been online for over two years. Over the next year, I hope to continue to post two to three times a week, and I hope that you guys will be around for it. I also want to take the opportunity to thank the team at The Weekly Crisis for giving me a guest spot to celebrate the 500th issue of Daredevil. I had fun doing it, and am glad that my efforts were well received.
With this site growing in scope – and I have some new additions planned for the next year as well – it’s an ongoing challenge to try to make it as easy as possible for a new visitor to browse, and I expect you guys to let me know if you run into any problems in this regard. As you’ve probably noticed, each post now has a related post listing, as well as a link to a random post, and there is a page listing the complete archives of the blog. New since last week is an extended list of the most recent comments, which you can find near the bottom of the sidebar. As The Other Murdock Papers is becoming increasingly social, that should make it easier to keep up with new comments.
In closing, I’d like to ask you guys what you’d like to see happen in Daredevil, as well as the greater Marvel U, in the next year. Make it as crazy as you want. I’ll see you next year!
Tagged as: Andy Diggle, Ed Brubaker, Meandering musings, Michael Lark, Random information, Roberto de la Torre
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