[BOOK REVIEW] Daredevil: The Man Without Fear by Frank Miller

Title:  Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

Author:  Frank Miller

Artist:  John Romita Jr.


Genre: Superheroes / Action / Adventure

Year Published: 1993

Year Read: 2013

Series: Daredevil

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 13+ (Some Language and Some Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 
 

Introduction:

Now, to be honest, I had never read a “Daredevil” comic book in all my life.  The only way I knew about Daredevil himself was through the movie starring Ben Affleck that I saw years ago.  However, after I saw the movie, I decided to check out some “Daredevil” comics and I stumbled upon Frank Miller’s version of the classic vigilante called “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear!”   First of all, this is basically a retelling of Daredevil’s origin story since Daredevil originated in 1964. Second of all, this is the first “Daredevil” comic I had ever read about, so imagine my glee at picking this comic up!

What is this story about?

This story basically explains about how Matt Murdock became the daring do-gooder, Daredevil! It also shows the relationship between Matt and his famous boxer father Jack Murdock, Matt’s encounter with the mysterious Elektra and how Matt tries to save a young girl from the evil forces of the Kingpin!

What I loved about this story:

Frank Miller’s writing: I have been reading many of Frank Miller’s works, with his work on “Batman” being the ones I had read the most, and I had enjoyed his work so far.  After I heard that Frank Miller worked on the retelling for “Daredevil,” I just had to pick this comic up!  I loved the way that the Frank Miller made this story have a dark and gritty feel to it, which is reminiscent of his “Batman” comics (though I wonder if that is where the inspiration came from). I also loved the sort of poetic way that Frank Miller narrates this story, as it gave the comic a lot more emotion.  One of my favorite passages in this comic involved a brief description of the winter weather, which went like this:

“It’s outside, everywhere outside.  It’s the wind and everything it carries; everything it touches.  It charges off the ocean, fierce, bitter cold.  It rattles antennae and shakes power lines and leaves swirling snow in its wake. It roars down concrete canyons and brittle branches clatter in combat; surrendering winter leaves that rustle and skitter like fairies, begging Matt to join the dance. The city that never sleeps!”

I also loved the character progression for Matt Murdock himself as he starts learning that he must obey the law while trying to stop criminals from hurting innocent people and it was done in a natural way that really suits the story.

John Romita Jr.’s artwork:  John Romita Jr. had done a brilliant job at doing the artwork for this comic as the characters’ expressions look truly realistic and I also loved the coloring done on each panel as it made the artwork look even more dramatic.  I really loved the way that John Romita Jr. did the shadowing on the characters’ faces, especially the villains, as it made them look truly threatening whenever they show up on the panels.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The only problem with this comic is that there is some strong violence where characters are shot and blood just spurts out in pools.  Also, there is some language in this comic, although it is not anything worse than what I usually see in some Vertigo comics. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear” is a fantastic read for anyone who is just getting into the “Daredevil” comics!  I would highly recommend this comic to “Daredevil” fans everywhere!