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The new Daredevil movie – Dos and Don’ts

by Christine on February 7, 2010 in Commentary

As excited as I am to hear of the new Daredevil movie that’s in the works (though I’m not really expecting anything before 2013 or so), I can’t help feeling a little nervous about it. A movie is a big deal. It will be seen by millions of people who don’t read the comic. Because it is such a big deal, we’re naturally desperate for the movie makers to get it right, and treat the character and his universe with the respect they deserve. To get the conversation going, here’s my list of what I would tell the people whose job it is to bring the Man Without Fear back on the silver screen, if I had their ear.

  • be afraid to cast an unknown in the lead

    I honestly don’t feel that Ben Affleck was horrible in the title role in the 2003 movie, but his performance was crippled by cheesy lines, an uneven script, and the fact that he really didn’t look the part. He was also a huge Hollywood star at the time, and you don’t ever want that to get in the way. Many interesting names are being tossed around on people’s personal lists of who they’d like to see play Matt Murdock, and while most of them have solid acting careers, no one seems to want to see any Hollywood A-listers in the lead. I wouldn’t mind a new face myself.

  • remember who your audience is

    Daredevil is not Spider-Man. There’s nothing wrong with Spidey (ironically, Spider-Man 3 is on TV and playing in the background as I’m writing this), but kids are not going to rest their little heads on Daredevil pillow cases. While I don’t see a specific need to have Daredevil be an R-rated movie, it needs to be targeted to adults and older teens. It needs to feel free to break every superhero cliche in the book. I’d love to see Fox approach this as a tense, character-driven movie that just happens to be about a superhero, not as just another superhero movie.

  • be a slave to the comic

    This may be a little controversial, but I don’t particularly need to see an adaptation of something we’ve already read in the comic, I just want a good Daredevil story that feels true to the character. One of the problems with the 2003 movie was that it was a jumble of elements and scenes taken straight out of canon, but assembled in a way that was new but not improved. Having said that…

  • know your canon

    Maybe it sounds like I’m contradicting myself here, but a solid knowledge of canon is vital. Don’t fudge around with the characters, the origin or anything else that you don’t need to. Like I mentioned, I’d love something new, using established characters, but that requires that the writer and director know their stuff.

  • feel like you have to do the Elektra saga

    I guess I sort of covered this already, but I’d go as far as to say that Elektra doesn’t need to be in a Daredevil movie at all, especially considering the Elektra movie that is already out there and how doing something too similar to the first movie would make it hard to sell it to audiences as something new and different.

  • try the low tech approach

    One of the things that bothered me about the first movie was the excessive use of CGI. At the risk of repeating myself, Daredevil is not Spider-Man, and he shouldn’t move like Spider-Man. Keep it down to Earth, keep it physical, and use great stuntmen. Make it look real.

  • do an origin film (necessarily)

    It seems that the first installment of any superhero movie franchise always needs to include the origin story. This makes sense, of course, but it eats up a lot of story time. I happened to love the scenes between Matt and his father in the original movie and would love to revisit that, but the events that created the hero don’t need to be told in a linear fashion at the beginning of the movie. It could be done through flashbacks or in some other way that breaks the traditional mold. I would like to see Stick mentioned in some way though.

  • your research

    The details matter, and it seems a shame to spend millions of dollars on making a movie and not taking the time to check out the small matter of what lawyers do, and what they don’t (like prosecute cases). While you’re at it, spend an hour or two checking out blindness-related paraphernalia. Or, let me just save you some time: White canes? Yeah, they’re supposed to be long enough to touch the ground when the person using it is walking!

  • put something in your movie just because it “looks cool”

    I think they’ve probably learned their lesson this time around, and I hope we won’t be seeing any flaming ‘D’s in the subway, sensory deprivation tanks or playground scenes. While I still find plenty to actually like about the Daredevil Director’s Cut, there’s no denying that both versions of the movie were flawed, and that Mark Steven Johnson would have been well-advised to kill his darlings, as the expression goes. Not every brilliant, or not-so-brilliant, idea needs to go in the movie. Keep it clean, and make every scene count and make sense, and we’ll be fine.

Well, that was my list of things that came to mind. What do you want to see and what can you do without? Let everyone know in the comments!

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Continuity: When less is more

by Christine on January 17, 2010 in Commentary

From Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do #4, by Kevin Smith and Terry and Rachel Dodson

From Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do #4, by Kevin Smith and Terry and Rachel Dodson

If you’re like me, you enjoy Silver Age Daredevil. Not “enjoy” in the sense that you consider it to be a great example of the literary merits of the comic book medium, or even in the sense that you’re reading something that makes sense. Comparing modern Daredevil to its Silver Age equivalent is like comparing filet mignon to macaroni and cheese. They both pass for food, they are both enjoyable in their own way, but they’re not really comparable in any other sense.

Naturally, I have a preference for filet mignon and, more importantly, I don’t want anyone trying to rub mac and cheese in my face while I’m eating my steak (or vegetarian substitute, if that’s your choice). There’s no point in dragging old leftovers out from the darkest corners of the freezer when there’s perfectly good food in the house. If you’re wondering what I’m trying to say with this odd analogy (and no, I haven’t eaten in the last few hours so I would go for either right now) is this: Not everything that’s in continuity needs to be acknowledged. In fact, a lot of the time it’s much better not to.

In the panel above, which is taken from the fourth issue of the Spider-Man/Black Cat mini written by Kevin Smith, with art by Terry and Rachel Dodson, it’s not only Matt who is uncomfortable. It has me cringing too. Yes, any hardcore Daredevil fan will know that Matt was involved in an extended storyline during which he pretended to be his own twin. It was written more than forty years ago, and, aside from the entertaining nuttiness of it all, it was quite possibly one of the most ridiculous plot developments in comic book history. It’s perfectly okay to pretend it never happened.

In this case, I suspect that Kevin Smith is trying to flaunt his knowledge of continuity and score some points with the über-geeks, but the fact remains that it adds absolutely nothing to the story. If anything, it only serves to alienate new readers who are deliberately left out of the loop.

I’m not going to suggest that awkward moments like the one above are particularly common, but I will take this opportunity to throw in my two cents on the commonly discussed topic of comic book continuity generally. My opinion is that the concept of continuity is worth protecting. As primarily a Marvel reader (not counting the odd Vertigo TPB), I like the organic feel of a natural progression that comes from the shared Marvel Universe where slates are rarely wiped completely clean and characters have a past. However, past events generally range from central to the development of the character, to altogether forgettable. Being truly respectful of continuity means knowing which events have contributed to what makes a character special while allowing the less than stellar ideas gently slip into oblivion.

It’s okay to pretend certain things never happened. Mike Murdock doesn’t need to be mentioned, and the same thing goes for all the times Matt has faked his own death. Personally, I prefer to think of Daredevil’s trip to space in Daredevil #2, his piloting the Avengers jet in Daredevil #100 and the entire Jack Batlin era under Chichester’s pen as strange anomalies that are difficult to reconcile with the Matt Murdock we see today.

So, what are your thoughts on continuity and past events? Do you have a hard time – as I do – thinking of Silver Age Daredevil and modern Daredevil as the same character? And, how do we find the best balance between tapping into the richness of continuity and drowning in its complexity?

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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

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! :D

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I love it when you guys comment on my posts. Having people engage with the content I put out on this blog is rewarding in and of itself, but it’s even more fun when the comments turn into a conversation or, as is the case here, spawn entire new posts.

So, this entry is sort of a continuation of the conversation between Aaron and myself in the comment section of A history of the radar sense #6. Before getting to that, I thought I’d also reply to a related comment of Aaron’s (go Aaron!), coming out of an exchange in the comment section of “Because I can’t just kill him” – part 7. We got to talking about comic book science, and I remarked that I thought Daredevil was the most realistic superhero. Aaron was immediately, and appropriately, on my case:

@Christine: The “most believable superhero”? Let’s not get carried away. :) I think someone like the Punisher is a little more believable: he’s a guy with lots of guns who keeps himself in peak physical condition and has trained extensively in martial arts and weaponry. Really, any of the depowered heroes fall into this camp, e.g., Hawkeye or Black Widow (unless you think whatever age-defying serum she took is a super-power).

My response under the cut –>

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“He wears the flag”

by Christine on July 4, 2009 in Commentary

Last year this time, I decided to celebrate the 4th of July by posting a panel from one of Ann Nocenti’s issues (where the story was actually set on the date in question). I thought the idea of continuing to post something with a touch of Americana might be a fun tradition, so I hereby present these classic panels from the last issue of Born Again, Daredevil (vol 1) #233.

The man wearing the flag in this case is Nuke, the well-known pill-popping and crayon-wielding crazy whose affinity for red, white and blue naturally escapes Matt’s attention. There are, of course, many ways to interpret this particular exchange between Matt and Captain America, and I love the ambiguity of this panel. Also, nice dive off the building, Matt. You make the superhero biz look so effortless.


Happy Independence Day to all Americans out there and happy Saturday to the rest of us!

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As promised, here’s a little personal anecdote from my life away from this blog that will give you some idea of why I’ve been so busy for the last couple of months. I also thought it might be fun to share this with you since it pretty much proves that reading comics has actual benefits, even though the ways in which I was able to turn my love of Daredevil into a marketable skill might seem a little far-fetched.

In my everyday life, I work for a political party where my usual job is to provide “communicative support” (which in practice translates into writing articles and speeches) for two members of the national parliament. When election time rolls around, which it did recently with the elections for European Parliament last week, most of us on staff pick up additional duties as well as the whole organization shifts gears. Very unexpectedly, I was called up to my boss one day and offered a project manager position which had to do with translating campaign material into other languages as well as making it accessible for people with disabilities. I suspect the reason I stood out from the crowd when being more or less assigned to this job was the mention in my resume of having worked as a translator and the fact that I had studied no fewer than two sign languages. Needless to say, I had made no mention of being a Daredevil fan.

Now, I should say that before I started reading Daredevil, my knowledge of blind people was no better than anyone else’s. I didn’t even know you could write Braille by hand (if you didn’t know either, don’t feel bad). While I always found Daredevil’s unique trait to be an appealing and exotic aspect of the character, I had never had any specific interest in blind people. In fact, the only reason I had originally become interested in the deaf (as one might be able to deduce from my past adventures as a sign language student) was because I was a language nerd who at the age of fifteen had fallen in love with linguistics and later become fascinated with the three-dimensional grammar that characterizes languages that are signed rather than spoken. But reading Daredevil did pique my curiosity, even though the character’s blindness is rarely mentioned. Getting to know fellow Daredevil fan Alice (who sells custom-made braille T-shirts) also helped make me more aware.

So, sitting there in my boss’s office I already felt a plan forming and two years of gradual insight into everything from the demographics of the visually impaired to accessible web design suddenly find an unexpected outlet. I knew right then that I wanted to kick ass at that project. The fact that I’m genuinly interested in civil rights and liberties, which is what accessibility really comes down to, helped make me even more motivated for the job.

And, I’m happy to say that I worked my little ass off on that project. I added subtitles to YouTube videos, made high-contrast versions of web documents and kept hounding the IT department to add “skip to content” links on our website. And that was just the beginning. I was on fire. At the end of the day, I’m not sure I won us any extra votes, but I’m very proud of my efforts and I know that they were appreciated.

So, thanks to my readers for being patient for the last couple of months. I haven’t had as much time to devote to real quality content and you’ve had to contend with word balloon contests and erratic news roundups. As of now, I’m back in high gear!

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News Roundup, May 24

by Christine on May 24, 2009 in Daredevil News

Okay, time for one of these again! Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

NEWS

  • I guess the big news this week was the release of the Daredevil #500 solicit featuring 104 pages of old and new material, including a new story by fan favorite Ann Nocenti and art by David Aja. I blogged about this already so check a few entries down or go directly to the link at Marvel.com.

  • Andy Diggle was apparently introduced into the ranks of Marvel’s “Write Stuff” writers along with four other rising stars. I’m not sure what this initiative means for these writers exactly, aside from the extra spotlight, but one can hope that they at least get a free spa weekend or something. Diggle talks about Daredevil (staying impressively tight-lipped about the details) and more in his interview with Marvel. I guess the only thing we know is that Dakota North will be around to buy donuts after DD #500, unless Diggle likes to throw red herrings at his followers on Twitter.

BLOG UPDATES

Nope, no links this time. Haven’t had the time to chase anything down. In fact, right now, I’m so tired I’m actually in pain. Feel bad for me? You should. No, seriously, it’s not that bad, but suffice it to say that the last month has been strenuous and that I’m actually surprised I’ve been able to post as frequently as I have lately. Tomorrow, I’ll be heading out on work-related business for a week, but will post updates as time and Internet connections allow. For some reason, I get the feeling that they will announce the next Daredevil artist this week. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seems like the appropriate time. We’ll see about that.

Have a good week everyone!

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Art gossip, and a wish list.

by Christine on May 14, 2009 in News & Updates

So, how are you all doing? Since this was the first evening all week I actually made it home from work before 10 pm, I thought I’d check in with you guys. There is one thing you can actually do while at work, however, and that’s post and read updates on Twitter. So I must admit that I do. Well, yesterday Andy Diggle tweeted about getting his first look at the new Daredevil art, which of course had me and presumably most Twitter-enabled DD fans curious about when us mere mortals will get a look at this art. Heck, I’d take just getting a name.

As far as the latter goes, there’s a rumor going around that doesn’t appear to be completely far-fetched. A couple of interesting sketches out there (maybe Francesco would be kind enough to post the link in the comments, because I don’t have it) point a tentatively suspicious finger at a well-known collaborator of Diggle’s. If you can’t figure out who I’m talking about, you’re losers. And that’s a hint, not an insult. ;)

Regardless of who is penciling away in secrecy out there, I have a few humble wishes I’d love the next artist to deliver on. While I prefer a grittier, more realistic style, I think I’d be down for a slight change of tone if that’s the case. However, I don’t want to see any of the following;

  1. Foggy’s recent sense of style reverting to some kind of plaid disaster with over-dimensioned bowties. An occasional bowtie? Fine. Plaid bowtie? Please God, no.

  2. Any white cane shorter than four and a half feet. Seriously. It’s amazing to me how artists will use photo references to accurately render the most miniscule of details, but messes up on one of the most common “accessories” in the book.

  3. Matt’s office (assuming he has a job) still missing a computer. Those of you who know me well, will know that this is not the first time I’m complaining about this, but the most important piece of office machinery of the last few decades has been conspicuosly absent from Matt’s office since Daredevil #25 (vol 2). Foggy has one. We know Dakota had one. Where’s Matt’s?

What is your list of DOs and DON’Ts for any new artist coming on? And, who would you like to see?

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Comics Bulletin has a review up of Daredevil #118, due out in stores in North America tomorrow. May I just first offer an opinion of my own and vehemently disagree with the following excerpt from said review:

“It doesn’t even warrant mentioning the continuous mess that Matt Murdock seems to be in any given issue. For the past few years, I’ve read (and read, etc.) as everyone’s favorite blind lawyer dig himself out of a hole only to find he’s at the bottom of yet another hole. To be fair, that’s why we read characters like Murdock and Peter Parker. It makes me feel better knowing someone else has it worse.”

Not only do I not take pleasure in other people’s misery (whether they are real people or fictional characters), but it is far from true that all – or even most – Daredevil fans enjoy seeing the character constantly depressed and in a state of emotional turmoil. In fact, much of the criticism against the title lately has had to do with the exaggerated level of misery that has plagued the character for years. It was also the top reason people gave for not reading the title in the survey I did last year.

Anyway, the issue gets high praise, though the review makes me miss Dave Wallace’s stellar reviews. It also has me worried for certain members of the Daredevil cast. I’ve loved Brubaker’s work on so many fronts, so I’d hate to see him take one final dump on the character. He’s a much better writer than that. (I should add that getting a character into trouble or challenging situations does not automatically equal “dumping” on the character.)

In other, more positive, news I’d like you guys to take a look at the Punisher/Daredevil series of posts that fellow fan JP has posted on his blog The Red Shaker (where you can also find DD themed cocktail recipes). Also, check out what blogger Robert learned so far from reviewing the first fifty issues of Daredevil. Some good points all around!

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When fanboys pout

by Christine on April 15, 2009 in Commentary

I’m interrupting my regularly scheduled Daredevil posting to offer a complaint. Ironically, I’m complaining about people complaining. I know that makes me a hypocrite, but bear with me.

The topic for this entry started brewing in the back of my mind, when I read a post on one of the CBR blogs about a week ago. The post in question was about the X-Men Origins: Wolverine leak that made the movie, or an incomplete version of it, available for download online. What struck me were all the negative comments below the post, most not really debating the morality or legitimacy of illegal downloading but whether or not the movie was any good. The vast majority of commentors had not seen the movie, but they seemed to agree: “It will suck.”

It certainly wasn’t the first time I had seen this sort of overwhelming negativity online, most comic book message boards seem full of it. For every joyfully enthusiastic fan, there seem to be two more who get a kick out of bitching and moaning, almost regardless of the topic or the point of complaint. If so many fans keep getting disappointed over and over again by what they perceive as a lack of quality and ideas, then why do they keep up the habit? It can’t be that they’re hoping to be pleasantly surprised, because half the time they seem to anticipate the inevitable let-down.

Generally, I’ve found that most of the positive quality content about comics comes from blogs where lazy two word reviews along the lines of “It sucked” simply will not be sufficient to sustain any readership for any amount of time. Bloggers are expected to at least be able to form and communicate fully realized ideas about the content they’re reviewing, something the more bitter fans probably can’t even work up the energy to do.

Not everything out there is good, and my own opinions on what I like and dislike are as firm as everybody else’s. I think Kevin Smith’s run on Daredevil is wildly overrated, I think Brand New Day was a misstep (though I generally think that Joey Q is pretty good at his job), and I think the end to Secret Invasion was a contrived mess. But those are opinions and not a symptom of a sweeping and negative attitude to life and comics. And I will even admit to sometimes enjoying seeing an issue torn to shreds – when it’s well-deserved – but I at least expect it to be done with a tongue-in-cheek approach.

I’m sad to see Brubaker and Lark leave Daredevil, but I’m expecting Andy Diggle to do a good job. I’m keeping an open mind, and that’s a policy that’s worked well for me for as long as I can remember. And as far as the Wolverine movie goes, I think I’ll wait to see it before I make up my mind.

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