This Weeks Comics

Daredevil #1

I've read enough shitty superhero comics by this point. Actually, I've not read too many, because I've never been the biggest fan of superhero comics. Apart from reruns of the Adam West Batman tv show when I was a kid, my first introduction to superheroes was Watchman and The Dark Knight Returns when I was a self important teenager. And Zenith, which I encountered with 'Phase IV', the story's climax, during the brief period when I was a regular reader of 2000AD. It was only through following the work of the British writers I liked - Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Warren Ellis - that I came to superheroes. Over the last 10 years I've grown to like the genre, when done well. And when drawn well. I've put up with too many badly drawn superhero comics because I was following the writing. I don't doubt that a good superhero comic takes some effort to write well, but at the same time by this point I'm not looking to superheroes for more than colourful adventure.

The writing here, supplied by Mark Waid - a writer whose name I've come across often enough, but whom I've never read apart from his collaboration on 52 - provides a perfectly serviceable plot and dialogue. It's nothing special, but at this point it's just setting up a new status quo following whatever happened previously in the title. He has fun with the fact that everyone seems to know Daredevil's identity, which is the sort of thing that could quickly become tiresome, but is okay for now.

Yes, I've heard about Frank Miller's famous run on the series, and I've read his and David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil: Born Again, another book whose strength lies less with the writing, but have otherwise never gotten into the character. I've glanced through the odd issue in the last decade. I'd dismiss it as being mired in pointlessly gloomy noir stylings if that didn't describe a fair few comics I've read and enjoyed over the years.

But what really got me to buy this was the art. The two page spread up above, which I saw in a preview, is what got me to buy. Marcos Martin's inventive layouts, creating a fully immersive world, which actually feels close to New York in the summer. The bright colours add to the mood, a stark contrast with my earlier impression. Yes, it's idealised, but that fits with the relaxed style of the story. The main story is actually drawn by Paolo Rivera, who if anything has an even better grasp of anatomy and movement than Martin, if less flashy page layouts. Honestly, all superhero comics should be held to this level of craft.

Wolves

A limited edition of 1000 copies of a story which was originally published in a Japanese anthology. Becky Cloonan is again, an artist whose name I recognise, but whose work I've never  encountered before now. A brief tale set in an anonymous medieval setting of a lone hunter's encounter with a werewolf, this works through the visceral intensity of Cloonan's art. It's beautiful at depicting small movements, the layouts and pacing creating a tragic intensity within it's brief span. A lovely little book.

Postscript:

On reflection, and this shouldn't be of interest to anyone but myself, I think I'm currently going through a period of general dissatisfaction with superheroes. Looking at the planned reboot for DC in a few month's time, there's not much that really interests me. I love a lot of Peter Milligan's work, but he can be wildly inconsistent sometimes and in any case nothing is going to make me read a Red Lanterns comic. Ho hum.