Daredevil: Yellow

Last week I told you about sorting through my comics in Comics, Comics, Everywhere…, and my dilemma whether or not to buy some of the issues I was missing to finally get to read my collection from a decade ago.  Well, I did buy some and this morning finished reading the first batch, the 2001 mini-series, Daredevil: Yellow.  It’s not exactly topical, but I thought I may as well write about it.

The 6-issue series is by renowned writer\artist team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.  For the non-comic book readers amongst you, Loeb worked on TV series such as Lost and Heroes; Sale provided Isaac’s artwork in season one of Heroes.  For the comic-book readers amongst you, I’m sure you’re aware of the highly-acclaimed Batman series they created; The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.  I was a fan of both those books and so I had high hopes of this.

Sadly, it was a disappointment.  The story centres on the early career of Matt Murdock\Daredevil (when he wore a predominately yellow costume, and hence the title), from the murder of his father to the kidnapping of his future girlfriend, Karen Page.  My problem with the series is that not only does not enough happen, we also don’t learn anything new about the character or his motivations.  The plot is a “Year: One” tale, rather than an origin story; a device used in comics to tell the early exploits of a character rather than the circumstances of their creation.  That’s fine, but the origin aspects are completely ignored here, making this totally baffling for any new readers.  Murdock is blind, but his other senses are at a superhuman level as a result of a radioactive spillage (isn’t it always?); he was also trained in martial arts by his mentor, Stick.  None of this is referenced, so anyone new to the character will be left scratching their heads as to why this blind lawyer is jumping out of windows.   It all feels a bit rushed.

The artwork does lend an air of classiness to proceedings – although it’s not up to the standard of his Batman work – especially through the retro styling.  It feels like your watching a cool, 1960s gangster movie, with a superhero in the middle of it.  Hmmm, the “vintage” look is slightly problematic, though, as it’s not entirely clear when it was set.  Is the story supposed to be part of the “official” Daredevil history or not?  These things are important to your average comics geek, but I think if I had enjoyed the tale more, then I could have ignored it.

Anyway, let’s get onto the most important matter: what was it like to read an actual comic again?

Over the last few years, I’ve not entirely given up on comics, but have read exclusively graphic novels and paperback collections.  Because of this, the thing I really noticed most was just how intrusive the advertisements were within the regular monthly comic book. It almost drove me to distraction.  I think it did actually take away from my enjoyment of the story and it completely took away any immersion in the world.  What made it worse was the completely incongruous products that were advertised.  The book follows the plot of a grief-stricken man looking back on the tragic early events in his life – wow, I really need to go out and buy some Juicy Fruit chewing gum and a Gameboy Advance.

Other than that, it was a nostalgic ride, and one I’m happy to repeat. I wonder what I’ll be reading next…