Posted in
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Jimmy Palmiotti
Joe Quesada
Kevin Smith
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Genre
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Media
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Graphic Novel
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Publisher | Panini (UK) Ltd | ||
ISBN | 978-078513438 | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Synopsis
A tragic accident took his sight - but in return, enhanced Matt Murdock's remaining senses far beyond human limits. An accomplished attorney by day, by night Murdock seeks justice outside the law as Daredevil, the Man Without Fear! When Marvel Knights took hold of this classic Marvel Comics character 10 years ago, the fledgling imprint redefined Daredevil for a new generation. In famed filmmaker Kevin Smith's series debut, a scared teenager on the run places her baby in Matt Murdock's hands. She claims her infant is humanity's newborn savior, a true miracle child. Yet an elderly stranger soon confronts Murdock with some shockingly different news about this infant. While Daredevil attempts to separate fact from fiction, the deadly assassin Bullseye enters the fray, determined to capture the baby and leave the hero dead in the process! Collecting Daredevil #1-8.
Review
This is the story that helped re-launch the Daredevli franchise and was ably written by Kevin Smith - yes, that Kevin Smith!
For those living in a cultural vacuum, Kevin Smith is the successful writer and director of several films (Clerks; Mallrats; Dogma; Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back). All of which are hilarious, not to mention crass and sometimes even thought provoking (well, one of them is... almost). Smith's comedy can be very child-ish at times (one only has to listen to any Jay's monologues for evidence of that) but with films like Dogma Kevin Smith can come across as quite intelligent and well read.
So it was interesting to read his take on Daredevil.
In some ways Smith was successful - he was able to re-launch Daredevil and made him more accessible to audiences - but in other ways, I feel that Guardian Devil lives too much in the shadow of the greats.
Let me explain: without the Frank Miller story "Born Again" and the Spiderman epic "Kraven's Last Hunt" I feel Guardian Devil would not exist. It borrows a lot from both stories. The plot to destroy Daredevil is a watered down version of the Kingpin's (more successful) ploy in "Born Again" and has strong ties to "Kraven's Last Hunt" (especially the ending) -and Smith is probably the first person to admit this. The script is extremely wordy and, in some cases, top-heavy but for some reason the story hangs together extremely well. (There are welcome cameos by Dr Strange and The Black Widow and a very touching scene at the end with Spiderman.)
The artwork is extremely good, but that is to be expected from Joe Quesada. I've been a fan of his work from early on -from "The Ray" through to "Sword Of Azrael" and "X-O Man O'War". In some ways his artwork reminds me of Berni Wrightson's early comic-book work - there is a certain fluidity to his line, a hallucinatory dreamyness which draws the reader in.
On the whole "Guardian Devil" is a good read and an interesting angle on the Daredevil mytho's -even if it's slightly too heavy handed on it's religious overtones. It's not the most original of stories, but it is entertaining and certainly worth re-reading.
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