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Rating:  -
We all know the contents of this book are superb. Brian Michael Bendis won an Eisner Award for the 2003 portion of this work.
I accidentally ordered one too many copies of this book and "Captain America Omnibus Vol.1" while deployed. I came home to visit my parents and was way past the 30-day return policy window. I emailed customer service and was granted an exception-to-policy.
I left the books with my parents in Kansas, returned to my Army unit overseas, and was going to send my father a shipping label with instructions. However, amazon.com beat me to the punch and had the UPS driver at my parents' house asking for the returning merchandise.
This was more than I could have asked for and meant a lot to me because my mother is having health problems right now, and my father doesn't have the time or energy to be running errands to the post office on my behalf.
The funds were refunded to my credit card promptly and all was well. Actually, all was perfect. So to all you fine folks at amazon.com, my family and I would like to say THANK YOU.
Rating: -
To begin this review, readers perusing this review section should be aware (and, doubtless, many have already noticed) that a number of the reviews here are not for the Ed Brubaker "Daredevil" Omnibus, but for an earlier one written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Alex Maleev. It would be nice if Amazon would correct this. Incidentally, spoilers are to be found in this review.
Anyhoo, this Omnibus collects the first 24 issues of Ed Brubaker's run on "Daredevil" (#82-105) (another fifteen would follow), all but one or two of those illustrated by artist Michael Lark (who collaborated with Brubaker on "Gotham Central" at DC). This was Brubaker's second major Marvel project, after his landmark ongoing run on "Captain America"; "Daredevil" presented its own unique challenge. Whereas Cap's book had been a creative wasteland for at least a decade when he took over, on "Daredevil" he was following immediately after the landmark work of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, who wrote and drew the title for more than sixty issues. Brubaker's run on "Daredevil" does not redefine the character in the way he did on "Captain America", largely because Frank Miller beat him to it; like Bendis and other writers before him, he furthers the Miller interpretation set down more than two and a half decades ago.
Brubaker picks up immediately where Bendis left off, with Matt Murdock exposed as Daredevil and locked up in Ryker's Island maximum security prison. It's quite a tight corner to be written into, as Bendis himself acknowledges in this volume's introduction, but Brubaker was interested in telling this story, hence, Bendis wrote it. Loosely, these 24 issues consist of two 12-issue mega-arcs (further broken up into two six-parters each). The first of these, consisting of "The Devil in Cell-Block D" and "The Devil Takes A Ride", sees Matt Murdock in and out of jail, clashing with several of his most notable villains while on the trail of the mastermind behind the ruination of his life. The second, "To The Devil His Due" and "Without Fear", sees Murdock attempt to reclaim his life as a lawyer in Hell's Kitchen (taking into account the 15 following issues, the broad course of Brubaker's time with the character could be said to be Matt trying to go back to how things used to be but finding that isn't possible).
"The Devil in Cell-Block D" stands out as one of the finest "Daredevil" stories ever told; its followup, "The Devil Takes A Ride", is less successful (probably the single-weakest story in his whole run), though it ends well. "To The Devil His Due" and "Without Fear" dragged somewhat in monthly publication, but read much better in collected format. Overall, Brubaker demonstrates a superb grasp of Matt Murdock as a character. Supporting cast such as his estranged wife Milla Donovan, longtime best friend Foggy Nelson, newcoming supporting cast member Dakota North (a PI hired by the law firm; her part in the story only grows in issues subsequent to this collection), and reporter Ben Urich are all characterized excellently. Matt's rogues, from big players like Kingpin and Bullseye (the latter gets a brilliant two-page introduction at Ryker's) to minors like the Enforcers are likewise handled with precision. All of this is superbly illustrated by Michael Lark, who may be my favourite Daredevil artist.
All in all, an excellent collection well worth the attention of any fan of Daredevil and noir superheroes.
Rating: -
Ed Brubaker's Daredevil run is just as excellent as his stint on Captain America. The innovation here is that Matt Murdock spends a good portion of the book in prison (suffering abuse at the hands of guards and villainous inmates) while another mysterious martial artist dons the Daredevil costume. The theme of Matt's loved ones being endangered is played up throughout the entire book, to the extent that it becomes a bit depressing at times. A little levity would have been nice, but these stories are all business. Still, it's compelling drama. And of course the art and action are fantastic. The Punisher, another favorite character of mine, makes an understated but enjoyable appearance too. Any fans of Daredevil or Ed Brubaker should get this book ASAP, before it goes out of print. Hopefully the issues after Daredevil #105 will be collected in an Omnibus too, as a few things remain unresolved at the end of this book.
Rating: -
Read the reviews carefully. Almost every review printed here is for the Daredevil Omnibus by Brian Michael Bendis, the volume that was published before this one, which is by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. A listing error on the part of Amazon is causing the reviews to be merged.
So, let me get into the Brubaker book. Daredevil has always been something of a bleak and tragic series. You don't need me to rehash the history- it's full of death and suffering. The arcs in this volume continue that fine tradition of torturing poor Matt Murdock. The symbolism of DD in a upside-down cruciform on the cover is not an accident. Matt is first in prison, then on the run, and finally caught in a devastating conflict with an old enemy. The book ends in a horrible and soul-crushing finale that rivals many other DD stories for sheer depressive power.
The writing and art style in this book is a bit more "old school" than the previous years by Bendis and Maleev. In fact, Mr. Lark seems to deliberately conjure and earlier age of comics storytelling by using smaller panels and very restrained compositions. Mr. Brubaker channels film-noir plot stylings of films such as The Maltese Falcon or Touch of Evil, as well as the comic books of the 1970s and 80s.
I considered the previous years by Mr. Bendis to be a major effort to challenge the boundaries of the genre by combining typical comics conventions with the idea of real-world consequences--that is, what would REALLY happen if someone was a lawyer trying to hide a secret identity as a crime fighter? (The inevitable answer, of course, was that JAIL would happen.) The Brubaker stories certainly rely on the new concepts and territory that Bendis laid out. But he doesn't deliberately try to push any envelopes himself. There's nothing particularly challenging about the style, concepts, or other storytelling techniques he employs. Rather, he spends his energy trying to craft a solid, highly detailed, nuanced narrative, inspired by noir and 70s comics.
The result is a gripping, intense, and suspenseful story, one that may work for some fans better than the envelope-pushing Bendis work. In fact, this run by Mr. Brubaker is so old-school, I'm tempted to see it as an effort to win back those who might have been alienated by the extremes of Mr. Bendis. This is a worthy change-of-pace for DD. While not reaching the artistic heights of the Bendis years, the book is extremely rewarding and is definitely one of the best Marvel comics of the past few years.
Rating:  -
Don't get me wrong this is comics at its best, my only worry is this omnibus runs to just 24 issues and the the Brubaker/Lark run only has 15 issues left after this - let's hope marvel charge 40 bucks for it ala Mutant Massacre Oversized but I fear it will come with a 75 buck price a la Secret Wars Omnibus volume 1 with 16 issues and just a cent shy of a hundred dollars.
Back to the content - just great, from the two page spread at the start of the first issue this is a pure rollercaster of a run. Lark pencils are the best on daredevil since JRJR. Shame Brubaker/Lark have left the title, if you like this then I wholeheartedly recommend Scene of the Crime and Gotham Central for the same culprits.
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