Roger McKenzieBesprekingen

Slow to get started when Miller is just doing the artwork, but he immediately floors it once he takes over scripting. Klaus Janson is great on art, too, and draws some magnificent shady meetings. Great overall.

This was probably my least favorite of the three Visionaries volumes collecting Frank Miller's work on Daredevil. Mostly because, well, Frank Miller didn't write any of these stories. He just drew them. I've read in an interview that Miller nearly quit because he hated Roger McKenzie's writing and Marvel placated him by firing McKenzie and letting him write his own stories (beginning with Volume 2). Well I can see why they did it. Some of these story arcs are just embarrassing to read.

I recommend reading this volume only to juxtapose with Frank Miller's actual writing so you can see why he was considered so important.

This was probably my least favorite of the three Visionaries volumes collecting Frank Miller's work on Daredevil. Mostly because, well, Frank Miller didn't write any of these stories. He just drew them. I've read in an interview that Miller nearly quit because he hated Roger McKenzie's writing and Marvel placated him by firing McKenzie and letting him write his own stories (beginning with Volume 2). Well I can see why they did it. Some of these story arcs are just embarrassing to read.

I recommend reading this volume only to juxtapose with Frank Miller's actual writing so you can see why he was considered so important.

Grabbed this one from a newly opened branch of my local library as I've been researching Daredevil and Elektra for a personal project. Seeing as this volume includes the first appearance of Elektra and the start of Frank Miller's defining run on the series, I knew I needed to read it.

The only downside to this collection is that it doesn't do a great job of filling in the gaps like many collected comic volumes do. While it starts appropriately enough with Daredevil's appearance in two issues of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, it takes us too far into the next story arc of that book before jumping uncomfortably back into Daredevil's own. Now I want to know what happens between Spidey and Carrion, but instead I'm thrust back into DD's story. I feel like the Spider-Man issues should have been cut short after DD's appearance or left out entirely, as they don't really affect the rest of the story arc being featured here.

This does, as I stated, include the first appearance of Elektra, the build-up of Daredevil's wild rivalry with Bullseye, and brings the Man Without Fear into the sphere of the Kingpin, up until now a Spider-Man villain, but most notably one of Daredevil's because of what begins in these very issues.

Definitely a worthwhile addition to any collection featuring Ol' Horn-Head, as it begins some of the biggest moments of the hero's career.

So I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! I wasn't sure how I'd feel about earlier Daredevil stories, since I'm so used to seeing Matt inked/colored in newer styles. To be honest though, this was pretty amazing.

Frank Miller's talent for penciling is evident, from the first issue contained in this volume. He brings this gritty noir style to the story that I really ended up liking. I think my favorite part is the way that he drew Natasha, or Black Widow as you might know her. She has this distinctly curvy body, and I loved that she wasn't this stick figure of a character. Too often now that's more the style, and so I was completely enamored with her womanly physique. Plus, well, Natasha is a bad-ass.

Story wise, this was pretty solid too. The dialogue absolutely screams "Early 80's comic!" but it's pretty easy to sink into. It was cool to be able to see where Daredevil's roots came from, and by the time that Elektra came on the scene, I was sold.

This is pretty amazing! I haven't read a lot of older comics, so I'm greatly enjoying this journey.

For a long time, I've been hearing how great the Frank Miller run on Daredevil was, but I've only just now gotten around to checking it out for myself. Have to say the hype is true! This is a fun but gritty series and it's very evident why it's considered such a classic. As the first volume, I could tell Miller was just getting started, transitioning from the storylines of previous creators to his own. That holds back this volume from getting five stars for me, but it's a nit-pick. In the end, this left me eager to check out the next collection of Miller stories!

Marvel were never shy about hyping up their books, a trait derived from the carny hucksterism of Stan Lee himself. The first issue reprinted in this collection announces a newcomer who will ‘explode upon the Marvel scene like a bombshell’. It’s fair to say that, if anything, that undersells Miller’s eventual impact.

Miller’s most significant works lie a long way off at this point, and this run has him almost exclusively on artistic duties – he gets one just credit as co-writer across the nine issues collected here. That’s not to say that this isn’t a pointer to the future though – main writer Roger McKenzie is very much in tune with the darker fare Miller’s more at home with and Miller, in conjunction with inker Klaus Janson, enhances the darker mood. Miller’s use of shadow to enhance scenes is exceptional as are the visual tricks he uses to represent Daredevil’s hypersense. It’s of a piece with the likes of The Dark Knight Returns and Sin City.

It’s clearly Miller’s presence that lends these issues their significance. McKenzie’s a decent but not exceptional writer and most of the tales here are standard superheroics. Only David Micheline’s single issue really breaks that pattern, caustically commenting on big business, corruption and the onset of the computer era. Overall though it’s hard to shake the suspicion that the artwork provides both style and substance to this collection.½

This collects the first character-defining Frank Miller DAREDEVIL comics. Lots of fun, well-written and well-drawn.

This compilation of Frank Miller's earliest work on "Daredevil" was my first introduction to him, from the original comic books. I knew quickly that here was a special talent, still learning and developing at this point, but definitely someone to watch. Frank Miller transformed the "Daredevil" line from near-irrelevancy to one of Marvel's best comics. This collection of his early work primarily showcases his artwork, although by the end of the compilation he was getting some writing credits, and the stories seem to show that. The best stories in here are the one with the Hulk ("Blind Alley"), and the one retelling his origin ("Expose'").