The movie adaptation of DAREDEVIL - the story of blind lawyer Matt Murdock, alias radar-sensed vigilante superhero Daredevil - was recently released on DVD, with one of the best features of the two-disc set being an hour-long documentary entitled 'Men Without Fear', featuring interviews with some of the title's most noted creators, including Stan Lee, Frank Miller, John Romita Jr, Joe Quesada and Brian Michael Bendis.

The movie received mixed reactions from fans. Some called it a travesty; others thought it fairly faithful to the source material. All seem to agree that the best DAREDEVIL stories remain the ones on the bookshelf. To mark the movie's DVD release, Ninth Art looks at six of the best trade paperbacks for the character Kevin Smith calls the Grateful Dead of comics. He may not be the biggest hero on the block, but among those who know his stories, he's seen as one of the best.

THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR
By Frank Miller & John Romita Jr
US $15.95
ISBN: 0785100466

One of the clearest inspirations for Mark Steven Johnson's movie, Frank Miller's de facto 'Daredevil: Year One' is a quintessential origin story and a much tighter telling of the roots of the classic Daredevil/Elektra romance than you'll find in the DAREDEVIL VISIONARIES: FRANK MILLER collections.

In essence it's a remix of that story, a thematically faithful retelling that takes liberties with the actual order of events in the original. If such things worry you, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's DAREDEVIL: YELLOW sticks closer to the original script. If you're more interested in reading the best available story, however, then MAN WITHOUT FEAR is very much the way to go.

Indeed, MAN WITHOUT FEAR is one of the best superhero 'revisions' you're likely to encounter, and comes from a time back when Frank Miller was one of the only creators doing the work necessary to prune great characters of some of their clumsier baggage. It also features some of the finest work from one of the truly great DAREDEVIL pencillers (one of an impressive line-up of talents), John Romita Jr.

MAN WITHOUT FEAR perfectly establishes the key characters and themes of the DAREDEVIL mythology, including the hero's relationship with the law, as both lawyer and vigilante, and his relationships with women - in particular his stormy tango with the assassin Elektra, which remains one of the greatest love stories, and one of the greatest stories, of the genre. [AW]

LOVE'S LABORS LOST
By Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller, David Mazzuchelli & John Buscema
US $19.95
ISBN: 0785110291

Although not entirely essential reading, this collection dovetails nicely into BORN AGAIN (see below), both in a dramatic and artistic sense. Artistic, in that LOVE'S LABORS LOST showcases the leaps and bounds made by David Mazzuchelli on a monthly basis - we can bear witness as he shakes off the ghosts of prior DD artists Wally Wood and Gene Colan, and finds his own voice.

Dramatic, as one story reprinted herein - 'Warriors' - serves as a prologue to BORN AGAIN, and features the strongest of Mazzuchelli's artwork. Dennis O'Neil's stories - while adequate - tend to border on the melodramatic, but don't let that dissuade you. There's also an interesting collaboration between Frank Miller and John Buscema to close out the collection, which features a lone man (who may or may not be Daredevil) attempting to clean up a corrupt industrial town.

From Ireland, to the Old West, to the canyons of New York, LOVE'S LABORS LOST is seminal DAREDEVIL - moving like Ali and feeling like Hamlet. [BK]

BORN AGAIN
By Frank Miller & David Mazzuchelli
US $17.95
ISBN: 0871352974

If Marvel had any sense, it would have handed out teasers for this trade paperback as people left the cinema after seeing the DD movie. BORN AGAIN is the definitive DAREDEVIL story - fine and concise, and a rare example of having the writer (Miller) and the artist (Mazzuchelli) acting in unison.

That's not to say it's entirely perfect, but the flaws serve to draw attention to what does make BORN AGAIN work: a palpable sense of mood, characters that the reader cares for and identifies with, and some first-rate sequential storytelling. As Kingpin systematically tears apart the life of the man he knows to be Daredevil, Miller and Mazzuchelli ruthlessly deconstruct both Matt Murdock and his alter ego, breaking the two personas down in order to understand the whys and wherefores of the character.

Having achieved that, the creators then undertake the task of putting Daredevil back together again - like a spandex-clad Humpty-Dumpty - revitalising the character and his reasons for being. BORN AGAIN demonstrates why Daredevil remains one of the most enduring of Marvel's starred pantheon - and one of the most human. [BK]

TYPHOID MARY
By Anne Nocenti & John Romita Jr
US $19.99
ISBN: 0785110410

As with the work of Chris Claremont on UNCANNY X-MEN, Anne Nocenti's florid prose can be somewhat hard for modern audiences to swallow. If you can get past that not inconsiderable stumbling block, you'll find TYPHOID MARY an essential part of the DAREDEVIL story, and another great showcase for John Romita Jr's powerful, dynamic pencils.

Not only does this volume present one of the key battles in the ongoing feud between the vigilante hero and his gangster nemesis the Kingpin, it's also an important story in the much stronger running thread of Daredevil's adventures; Matt Murdock's love life. Of all the superheroes, Matt is the greatest tragic romantic, as is ably illustrated by the way the villainous Typhoid Mary plays with his heart and breaks it in two.

The trade collection is an odd beast, as the X-MEN crossover 'Inferno' throws some ill-fitting supernatural elements into the final chapter, but ending the story any earlier leaves it on an unsatisfying cliffhanger. TYPHOID MARY is an unhappy reminder of what a millstone on creativity the crossover used to be. [AW]

GUARDIAN DEVIL
Released as DAREDEVIL VISIONARIES: KEVIN SMITH
By Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada & Jimmy Palmiotti
US $19.95
ISBN: 0785107371

Before the series was recently revamped, DAREDEVIL had become a second-rater, a book with a fondly remembered past, wallowing in an indifferent present. Letting it fade out of memory long enough for people to forget those low points, Marvel then handed the reins to Kevin Smith, noted director of CHASING AMY and MALLRATS.

Matt Murdock's life is torn apart when his girlfriend leaves him, his best friend - Foggy Nelson - is accused of murder, he's left looking after a lost baby, and worse is still to come. Is this the workings of a higher force? Or the sick machinations of a more human agency?

Smith brings DAREDEVIL's Catholic symbols and anxieties to the fore in GUARDIAN DEVIL, and though his style is overly wordy, his first shot at writing mainstream comics leaves an indelible mark on the hero. The heaped tragedies build to a crescendo that's all too typical of Murdock's life as he loses another loved one. The fact that GUARDIAN DEVIL occasionally demonstrates a lack of follow-through on certain points belies Smith's heartfelt emotions in the rest of the piece.

Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti's visuals are never short of stunning, with intricate panel borders, sumptuous colours, and plenty of in-jokes for Smith fans. Overall, a gorgeous package that brought a character back to his rightful stately position and influenced the eventual film more than just a little. [JF]

LOWLIFE
By Brian Micheal Bendis & Alex Maleev
US $13.99
ISBN: 0785111050

Continuing and building upon the rejuvenation that Smith, Quesada and Palmiotti enacted with GUARDIAN DEVIL came the genre-redefining and utterly innovative run by comics' busiest man, Brian Michael Bendis. Given free reign to do whatever he pleased, he showed that the mainstays of the genre - and this character in particular - need not be a crutch, but could be something to build upon.

His secret identity in tatters after being outed in the paper, Matt Murdock attempts to impose some order on his life. With the Kingpin seemingly dead, others step in to fill the breech. The worst of which is the psychopath known as The Owl. But in the new environment in which Murdock finds himself, he'll have to fight not just physically, but mentally to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

The neat premise of compromise and how far it can be taken reaches its highlight in this collection of the excellent Bendis/Maleev run. Bendis' dense scripting works wonderfully in this collection, with time for characters to go on dates, to flashback to past New York, to argue with friends. It's all held together with a fascinating twist on the dichotomy between legal beagle and urban vigilante that's never seemed so interesting.

Alex Maleev's scratchy artwork has come to define the character in the present, and it's a testament to his ability with everyday situations that the superheroes are the weakest link. Working with Matt Hollingsworth's sombre colours, the artwork excels at the everyday situations and emotions on display. Another character revolution for one of the most complex characters in the superhero pantheon. [JF]

This article was written by John Fellows, Brent Keane and Andrew Wheeler, and compiled and edited by John Fellows.

John Fellows works in the television industry providing assistive services to the deaf community.

This article is Ideological Freeware. The author grants permission for its reproduction and redistribution by private individuals on condition that the author and source of the article are clearly shown, no charge is made, and the whole article is reproduced intact, including this notice.