Guardian Devil

Whenever the subject of Daredevil comes up, it's always the Frank Miller/Klaus Janson run that gets the attention - and of course that's synonymous with the Elektra saga. It was that run that allegedly rewrote the rules of the superhero genre of comic books, by making it possible to tell dark, gritty and more realistic stories (at the time still within the purview of the Comics Code Authority.)

But that wasn't enough to keep Ol' Hornhead in the comic buying public's psyche. Miller left Marvel, and other writers took over the book and had notable runs - but our favourite Man Without Fear languished in the late 1990s while Marvel comics went through its own crisis, and it took an extra-ordinary run by Kevin Smith (yes, he of Jay and Silent Bob) and Joe Quesada to not merely rescue the Daredevil franchise, but to give it a complete overhaul and effectively reboot it. For me, Guardian Devil is the most important episode in the history of the DD franchise.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Daredevil the brief facts are this: As a teenager, Matt Murdock, son of boxer Battlin' Jack Murdock was blinded in a freak accident whilst saving an old man, and a canister of radioactive material blinded him. However in some kind of fatalistic karma, Matt's other senses were massively enhanced - his hearing is hyper sensitive, and he has some kind of "radar" that allows him to sense his surroundings. By day he is a successful lawyer and by night, he fights crime as Daredevil.

There are many parallels with Spider-Man, and Stan Lee, creator of both characters also uses his favourite theme of "with great power comes great responsibility" but it took the Miller/Janson run to really put some clear blue water between the two characters. Miller's run however was arguably more about a vehicle for launching his pet project, Elektra - a female ninja assassin and Daredevil almost became secondary to Miller's plot devices in his own book.

Smith's run, by contrast - gives Daredevil three things that Miller and other writers never really quite pull off: It proves that Murdock really IS the Man Without Fear, gives him religious space by not shying away from his Catholic faith, and also demonstrates that he has a hard edge that no foe can stand against, be it Bullseye, the Kingpin or in this case, Mysterio. Combined with the iconic art from Joe Quesada - which I genuinely believe is some of Joe Q's best - and the enduring image of Daredevil hunched around the stone cross he has entangled in his billy club.

Yet despite all this, the story itself is a strange one: Matt Murdock's life is thrown into chaos and even his allies and closest friends begin to doubt his sanity. It's a plot and his foe is not one of his mortal enemies but one of Spider-Man's: Mysterio - hell bent on revenge but too weak to fight his old adversary. As a story it's surreal, involving religion, demons, more than one former romance and a fight to the death with one of his deadliest foes, Bullseye. To tell it sounds disjointed and in some ways it is - but it closes a chapter in Matt Murdock's life and opened a new one that was to provide a springboard for Brian Bendis to show some of his finest work.

In terms of writing, the story is ok. I'm not naturally a fan of Kevin Smith - I never really got Jay and Silent Bob, but he does have some good pedigree. But even without his cameo in the Daredevil movie, it's clear he's a fan. The series was launched as the film went to production and the trade paperback had a (slightly insincere) preface by Ben Affleck - who actually did a pretty good job in the movie.

There are cameos from other characters too; notably Black Widow and Dr Strange, but there's an undercurrent of fear throughout the tale that is a constant. It's disturbing from start to finish - Matt cracking up, the devil child and the other characters who appear in Daredevil's life after an absence show some interesting concepts. My first reading - several years ago now - left me stunned and thinking "why?" but I guess real life is like that. With Elektra, there was always the undercurrent of "what might have been" whereas with Karen it clearly becomes "that was the moment." It redefined Matt and Daredevil - and that story still continues. I've complained in the past of how brutally his writers treat him - most men would be ruined by half the events that happened to "the man with most names" and yet he perseveres. He perseveres and prospers. Daredevil is one of Marvel's guaranteed picks month on month these days and it's down to this run I believe. At the time of writing the author's baton is passing from Matt Brubaker to Andy Diggle (of 2000AD fame) and there's a weight of expectation on his British shoulders. However, he will doubtless be able to take comfort from the fact that a succession of writers put Daredevil through the wringer and he remains a Man Without Fear.

This mini-series relaunched Daredevil back in 2002. It could never be an ongoing series with Smith on words and Quesada on pictures - both have far too many other pressures on their time. However it was an opportunity to bring back the DD franchise (initially under the sadly missed "Marvel Knights" mature label) into the Marvel conciousness. Yet, paradoxically this relatively short arc became a huge turning point in the Daredevil saga and the echoes of the events in that eight-episode run still reverberate through the current arcs and have coloured every subsequent writer's actions, more so, I believe than Miller's run ever did.

The art of this arc deserves a mention too. If you've read previous reviews, you'll know I'm a fan of Joe Quesada's art and this is some of his strongest. It's highly stylised (but then most comic art is) and Jimmy Palmiotti's inks give it a hard, gritty edge. Don't forget, Daredevil hunts in Hell's Kitchen NYC, and we never quite lose the smell of those streets throughout the story. The edginess of the art compliments the darkness of the tale and in it's worst moments it's what we don't see that breaks our heart. The colours too are rich and lush and give the illustrations an intensity that enhances the tale.

Daredevil: Guardian Devil is written by Kevin Smith, illustrated by Joe Quesada, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti.