Superhero Noir

Prior to the recent Netflix series starring the delightful Charlie Cox, my only exposure to the character of Daredevil was the truly awful Ben Affleck movie. That movie probably set back the superhero/comic book movie genre by a few years, yeeee. Anyways, the series is just excellent, and so I decided to pick up this Frank Miller trade paperback from the 90s, which expands upon Daredevil’s origin story. I have to admit, I was a bit cynical about it, because Frank Miller gets a lot of press for reimagining superheroes as NOT superheroes, setting them in a grim, noir setting. This is more of that, certainly, but it wasn’t quite as dark as his work with the Batman character.

My reading of this book is inevitably coloured by my enormous regard for the series. This version of Matt Murdock does not dwell too long on his childhood, and seems to move quickly through his life to where he begins to assume the mantle of his early vigilante behaviour. The story introduces us to Foggy Nelson, but doesn’t seem to show us the deep love that these two friends have for each other, which I thought provided the framework on which the series rests. It does of course show Matt’s initial relationship with Elektra, which I did not love. I don’t know much about the character, really, but the book refers to her hearing voices telling her what to do. I am not enamoured of hinting at a character choosing to become an assassin as a result of mental illness. However, Matt begins his superhero career rescuing children who were likely kidnapped for trafficking purposes, although book-Matt is also driven by a desire to defend himself from childhood bullies and guilt over an (strange seeming) accidental killing of a prostitute. It’s a bit messy.

The art is ok – it seemed to me a much more traditional version of comic art, which makes sense given it is probably over 20 years old. It didn’t dazzle me, but I enjoyed Matt’s need to actually help people as a motivation for his behaviour. I like this character in general, actually, and would be likely to pick up another of Daredevil’s books should one come across my library’s shelves.