[BOOK REVIEW] Daredevil Volume 1 by Mark Waid

Title:  Daredevil Volume 1



Author:  Mark Waid



Artists:  Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin



Genre:  Superhero / Comedy / Action / Adventure / Suspense

Year Published:  2011

Year Read: 11/21/2014

Series:  Daredevil #1

Publisher: Marvel Comics



Source:  Library



Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Fight Scenes and Violence)

Introduction:

Now, I will admit that the first “Daredevil” comic I had actually picked up was Frank Miller’s “Daredevil: The Man without Fear” comic, which I enjoyed immensely!  Now, I am diving into Mark Waid’s portrayal of the legendary superhero Daredevil and I will admit that I found this version of “Daredevil” pretty interesting so far!

What is this story about?

After the events of “Shadowland,” Matt Murdock has finally returned to New York City at his old law firm.  But due to outing himself as Daredevil, Matt is finding it more difficult to hide his secret identity as everyone at his law firm are starting to take advantage of this secret and making Matt give up various cases due to the court not supporting his secret identity as “Daredevil.”  Later on however, Matt soon discovers that there are some mysterious crimes at work in New York City.  First, the Klaw, Master of Sound, ends up returning to the city and then, Matt ends up trying to help out a blind kid who is accidentally thrown into danger when the kid overhears the plans of an international criminal organization, that involves the world’s most fearsome supervillain groups like H.Y.D.R.A, and the organization is looking to kill the blind kid in order to keep their plans a secret.

What I loved about this story:

Mark Waid’s writing: I must admit that Mark Waid’s portrayal of “Daredevil” was pretty interesting and hilarious to read since I was so used to reading about “brooding and dark” Matt Murdock!  I loved the way that Mark Waid made Matt Murdock into a more fun-loving and witty character as it had been years since we had seen a more laid back Matt Murdock and it really made reading about him more interesting and fun!  I also liked the fact that Mark Waid made some references to Matt’s past events in “Shadowland” as it does indeed affect Matt’s current life, especially with the whole city knowing that he is Daredevil and Matt repenting for his actions in “Shadowland.” But probably the best thing about this volume is the fact that even if you have not read “Shadowland” (and I definitely have not read “Shadowland” yet), this volume makes it easier to jump into the story without having to learn so much about “Shadowland” to completely understand the story.

Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin’s artwork:  Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin’s artwork are truly creative and colorful to look at and greatly complements the mood of the story!  I loved the way that both Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin detailed the sound waves and effects that Matt Murdock sees in order to sense when people are nearby due to his blindness as it was truly creative! I often wonder how the artists would be able to portray Daredevil’s senses through the art and it was done so beautifully in this volume as you can actually see the sound waves coming from the person that Matt senses which makes the reader actually feel the senses that Matt is sensing.  I also loved the way that the fighting scenes are drawn as they made the fighting sequences extremely interesting to look at!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this volume a four star rating was because I felt that the story tend to jump all over the place, mainly during the first half of the volume.  I actually felt that the second half of the volume was much more superior as we had a straight forward story than we did in the first half of the volume.  Also, I will admit that because I did not read “Shadowland” before I dived into this volume, I was a bit confused about how everyone found out about Matt’s secret or how Matt went out of control during “Shadowland.”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Daredevil Volume One” is a great volume to read if you are a huge fan of “Daredevil” and if you want to read a comic book that is full of fun and action!

 

The Sunday Post Meme (7)

Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer! The goal of this meme is to share news you have on various books and things you've read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog!  Book hauls can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books and you can share these finds with other book bloggers!

 

Cinder by Marissa Meyer Review

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems Review

Boots and his Brothers by Eric A. Kimmel Review

Little Red Riding Hood by Beni Montresor Review

• Check out Fantasy is More Fun's November Write On #Reviewathon!
• Rabid Reads has a new interesting question for this week called "What is the Big Deal With the Fifty Shades of Gray Movie?"
• Great Imaginations has a new Imagination Discussion on "NaNo Check-Up!"

 

Well, that’s the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various books I’ve read in the near future!

 

 

 

Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2014

 

[BOOK REVIEW] Little Red Riding Hood by Beni Montresor

Title:  Little Red Riding Hood

Author:  Beni Montresor

Genre:  Animals / Fairy Tale / Classic / Horror / Strangers

Year Published: 1991

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Double Day

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Some Suggestive Moments and Some Scary Moments)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I have been reading “Little Red Riding Hood” ever since I was a child and the version that was always read to me was the “sweet, politically correct, sanitized version where everybody lives happily ever after!”

BUT….

The version I just recently picked up, which is the original text written by Charles Perrault and features illustrations by Beni Montresor, IS NOT the sweet, politically correct and sanitized version that I had grown up with for many years now!  I will explain more about this book as I give my thoughts on this particular version of the classic fairy tale, because it is definitely one heck of a doozy!

 

Basically, the story starts off with a young girl who was known as Little Red Riding Hood due to her always wearing a red cape that was made for her by her grandmother.  One day, Little Red Riding Hood’s mother asked Little Red Riding Hood to go to her grandmother’s house and give her a cake and a pot of butter to make her well again.  Along the way, Little Red Riding Hood meets up with a gentleman wolf who asks Little Red Riding Hood where she was going and Little Red Riding Hood tells the wolf that she is going to visit her grandmother who is sick in bed.  While Little Red Riding Hood picks up flowers for her grandmother in the woods, the Wolf rushes to the grandmother’s house and eats her up when he comes inside the house.  Then the wolf dresses himself up in the grandmother’s nighttime clothes and lies in bed until Little Red Riding Hood arrives.  When Little Red Riding Hood finally arrives at her grandmother’s house, she opens the door and…

What will happen to Little Red Riding Hood?

Read this book to find out!

 

Alright, so I basically explained about the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” and since this was a story that was retold over and over again by different generations; I think everyone knows this story already.  The only thing different about this version of the classic fairy tale is how the story ends, but I will save that for the cons section of my review!  What I really enjoyed about this version of “Little Red Riding Hood” is that we actually get a darker and grimmer version of the classic tale since I had grown up with the “clean” version for so long and it was nice to see a different take on this tale, even though this is technically the original version of the fairy tale.  I also really enjoyed Beni Montresor’s illustrations as they are both gorgeous and creepy to look at, especially during the scenes with the wolf preying on Little Red Riding Hood as it makes him look truly scary throughout the book.

 

The reason why I took off half a star from my rating is because I felt that the ending was a little too abrupt for my tastes, even though this version is darker than the more child friendly version of this tale.

*****SPOILER ALERT!!!!*****

In other words, this version ends with Little Red Riding Hood being eaten by the wolf and we do not see the scene where the huntsman rescues Little Red Riding Hood even though it is implied at the end that the huntsman does show up eventually. 

*****SPOILER ENDED!!!!*****

Even though I like the fact that this ending is a lot darker than what we are used to, I would have loved to see some kind of closure with the characters or at least have the book end on a more completed note.

Overall, “Little Red Riding Hood” is a great book to read if you want to check out Charles Perrault’s original story and if you want to read a grimmer version of the classic fairy tale!  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the ending might scare younger children.