Bendis' run might be living up to the hype for me. I've made it to the White Tiger trial arc.
Bendis' run might be living up to the hype for me. I've made it to the White Tiger trial arc.
AKA FlashFreak
Favorite Characters:
DC: The Flash (Jay & Wally), Starman- Jack Knight, Stargirl, & Shazam!.
MARVEL: Daredevil, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), & Doctor Strange.
Current Pulls: Not a thing!
^^ Hmm. Think this is a tough one. Not sure I can agree to that.
To be fair though you're right, you can't read (well appreciate) Brubaker's run if you haven't read Bendis' run.
I actually just take it as one myself - Daredevil Vol. 2.
I would however suggest @Crossfit stops just before Shadowland (The Devil's Hand).
I mean I would agree that Brubaker's run is lower quality than Bendis' run to the extent that if Bendis' run is a 10/10, Brubaker's is a 9.9/10.
I would certainly argue that he didn't keep it simple just based on the fact of where his run started. Plus some of the things he did later with the likes of Matt, Foggy, Milla and Dakota certainly sparked a reaction from me as a reader.
I do agree 100% with skipping Shadowland and just going straight to Waid's amazing run.
“Now faith, hope, and love remain, and the greatest of these is love.”--1 Corinthians 13:13
“You had a dream; I have a plan”--Cyclops
“There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes.”--The Doctor
I think if you're a Daredevil fan and want to see him when his heart was the blackest, then Shadowland is worth reading. It is a major chapter in his life. Overall, it's not great but it's not decidedly bad. There is some decent art and some good moments. We also need to remember that Andy Diggle had to follow two acclaimed runs (Bendis and Brubaker) as well as the shorter well received runs by Smith, Quesada & Mack. Everyone was expecting even more and better. No one wanted to take the Daredevil gig after Frank Miller because they knew big things were expected and ultimately, they would be compared to Miller's work. Denny O'Neill finally took it and IMHO, did a great job. Diggle was in a similar situation.
If you're not in need of reading all of Daredevil and just remember he was in a very dark place when jumping into Waid's run, fair enough. Personally, I would read it if you can. You can avoid the tie-ins to cut down on the reading material and just read: Dark Reign: The List - Daredevil #1; Daredevil Vol. 2 #501-512; Shadowland #1-5; Shadowland: After the Fall #1 and Daredevil: Reborn #1-4.
Just finished issue 56. The conversation Matt has with the other heroes in the park is so good!
So I see Shadowland like Indiana Jones 4. 1-3 were so good and came along and left a bitter taste. In fact for the most part it doesn't exist.
Same with Shadowland. I've only read it once (while I've read the previous arcs in the volume several times) and that was enough.
I've also only seen Indiana Jones 4 once.
Truth be told I'm tempted to give it another shot based on some of the comments here.
But nah. I've managed to scrub it from my mind so much so that the only thing I remember when I thiink of it is the famous re-created scene.
Agreed, it just keeps getting better so enjoy!
Also, issue #56 has a special place in my heart as I am from Pittsburgh and I'm also a huge hockey fan so the fact that Bendis made reference to my city and my favorite athlete scored some major points with me! Aside from that I loved the conversation as well. One of the things I thought Bendis did really well in his run was to build Matt's connections to the other heroes in the Marvel Universe (and their connection to him) while still keeping Matt grounded to Hell's Kitchen.
I think this is the fastest I've read something in a long time. It's a pageturner.
I appreciate this. One of the things I love about Born Again is that it becomes a good "Marvel universe" story (rather than just a Daredevil story) once the Avengers and Cap show up. I like cameos in my books but Bendis uses them really well here for the story. Seeing Spider-Man and DD team up never gets old but you also get good drama, like the park conversation or when Luke calls Matt out earlier in the series.
Also, I think Maleev draws my favorite DD. It's all good so far.
This. So much this. It isn't my only problem with The Hand, but it's the biggest one. The group needs some kind of face. Whether a leader or an agent we can get familiar with as an antagonist and actually respect. It's my biggest problem with Netflix DD S2. If they bring Nobu back earlier in the season, and establish him as the face of the threat, I think you can make the season stronger. But "evil mystic ninjas" are just kind of there. They make good foot soldiers for fight scenes, but they aren't a great main threat.