Daredevil Vol. 1 Hardcover Review
This book is good enough that I bought the hardcover, even though I already had the same two storylines in TPB paperback form. I ended up giving the two TPBs away to friends to convince them that they should be reading this book! The storyline is good, the art is fantastic, and this book was a real deal here at Amazon.com. Is it the best daredevil story I've ever read? Honestly, no. There are others out there that I've enjoyed just as much or more, but this one ranks up with some of the finest stuff Marvel has published this century. Do yourself (or someone else) a favor and grab this book while you can!

It introduces the new love interest for Matt Murdock, whose father was once the Kingpin's right-hand man, until the Kingpin killed him because he was 'too crazy'. Maya herself has the powers of the longtime Marvel villain the Taskmaster - anything she sees done, she can duplicate. She also is deaf.

The Kingpin takes advantage of Maya's questions about how her father died by telling Maya that Daredevil killed him. He also asks her to talk to Matt Murdock at his law offices about a few things, resulting in the inevitable "you're really Daredevil?" moment. Needless to say, when Maya finds out she's been tricked, she goes to deal with the Kingpin.

High points in this collection are a autobiography of the Kingpin, rendered as his thoughts to himself; a story placed at the end that would have broken the narrative flow, but is extremely well done and, I think, part of one of the 'special event' months at about that time; and Maya's - or as she's called, Echo - plan to deal with Daredevil's senses, especially his hearing, to give herself the edge.

Overall, though, it was disappointing. The art, however, is stunning, especially the rendering of Maya's thought balloons.

This hardback is part of Marvel's new oversized line. And as I've come to expect, it's of fantastic quality. From the glossy attractive cover to the vibrant coloring of the pages, Daredevil Vol. 1 screams for a spot on anyone's bookshelf or coffee table.

As a special treat, the inspiring introduction is written by Tom Sullivan. If the name isn't familiar to you, he's a blind man that has managed to lead a very productive life despite his disability. From skiing to bungie-jumping, Mr. Sullivan has happily experienced what life has to offer, blind or not. He was also a consultant on the Daredevil movie.

Included in this hardback are the issues of Daredevil #1-11, and #13-15, the Guardian Devil (Smith/Quesada) and Parts of a Hole (Mack/Quesada) storylines. Nothing will probably ever compare to Miller's sagas (Elektra, Born Again, Man Without Fear), but these are wonderful reads, with a huge impact on recent continuity. Also, while Smith's Guardian Devil storyline seems like a rehash of the Elektra saga, there's still an incredible emotional impact, that's still being discussed today (see Daredevil: Yellow for more).

Many cameos are present, including a touching appearance by Spider-man, who is one of the few people that can truly understand what Matt has gone through at the end of Guardian Devil.

The "special features" featured after the collected issues are lacking, though that's hardly something to dock the book for. And the few sketches and artwork included are great to see. Still, comments from the writers/artists would have been wonderful.

Pick this edition up soon, or risk not being able to find it later. Besides, sales for this and Vol 2 could inspire Marvel to release the Miller sagas as oversized hardcovers. ;)

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