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Daredevil by Mark Waid #11
Daredevil, Vol. 4: The Autobiography of Matt Murdock
Collects Daredevil #15.1, 16-18.
It all comes down to this. In order to preserve the new life that he's built, Daredevil is faced with a critical decision — one that may mean the death of Matt Murdock! Daredevil must make a deal with his own personal devil — and unless he can outsmart the strongest, toughest opponent he's ever known, no one walks out alive! Is DD's time in San Francisco coming to an end? Does the new rival in town spell doom for Murdock and his friends? One thing is for sure, not everyone survives this phase in Daredevil's life — and the final chapter in the Autobiography of Matt Murdock is written by someone who may surprise you. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil opus comes to an end! Find out who lives, who dies — and who is changed forever.
It all comes down to this. In order to preserve the new life that he's built, Daredevil is faced with a critical decision — one that may mean the death of Matt Murdock! Daredevil must make a deal with his own personal devil — and unless he can outsmart the strongest, toughest opponent he's ever known, no one walks out alive! Is DD's time in San Francisco coming to an end? Does the new rival in town spell doom for Murdock and his friends? One thing is for sure, not everyone survives this phase in Daredevil's life — and the final chapter in the Autobiography of Matt Murdock is written by someone who may surprise you. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil opus comes to an end! Find out who lives, who dies — and who is changed forever.
103 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 17, 2015
8 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
About the author
Mark Waid
3,206 books1,294 followersMark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
October 18, 2016
Daredevil isn’t really known for his rogue’s gallery. There’s Bullseye – who’s awesome in a purely evil way; The Owl – who’s always been a poor man’s Penguin; Typhoid Mary – who Daredevil, that old horndog, can sleep with when she’s on her “good” behavior, and Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin - who was originally a nemesis of Spider-Man.
It seems that Daredevil is always drawn towards the Kingpin. Many of the great Daredevil stories of the past feature Fisk prominently. In the TV show, he’s the villainous hub that the other lesser evildoers revolve around; even in prison he’s a force to be reckoned with. Bullseye is Daredevil’s ultimate hand-to-hand opponent, but the Kingpin, although no slouch as a fighter, is always there to match wits with him. Although both characters can seemingly go down for the count, their resiliency always brings them back from the brink.
Because Daredevil is no longer in New York City, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee don’t have a lot to work with for the finale of their excellent run, so they transplant the Kingpin to Daredevil’s current locale, San Francisco. He’s there on “business.”
Evil, yet profitable, "business".
Daredevil has an issue that seemingly only Fisk can help him with and as you know, super hero comics like to combo strange bedfellows. What follows are a series of head games, feints, jabs, and one-up-manships, until the final conflict.
I wouldn’t call this a wholly satisfying conclusion to the series, but the last few pages, especially the final panel, will tug at your emotobox.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s sad to see Waid’s run come to a close. Although this last volume is weaker than some of the others, it’s not as if Waid, like a punch drunk fighter, hung around too long, there was seemingly still some gas in the tank. Waid/Samnee channeled together the disparate takes on this character from their predecessors into a satisfying whole and made the character their own. The addition of humor and a keen microscopic examination of his powers and what made the man tick were welcome. I’m going to miss it.
It seems that Daredevil is always drawn towards the Kingpin. Many of the great Daredevil stories of the past feature Fisk prominently. In the TV show, he’s the villainous hub that the other lesser evildoers revolve around; even in prison he’s a force to be reckoned with. Bullseye is Daredevil’s ultimate hand-to-hand opponent, but the Kingpin, although no slouch as a fighter, is always there to match wits with him. Although both characters can seemingly go down for the count, their resiliency always brings them back from the brink.
Because Daredevil is no longer in New York City, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee don’t have a lot to work with for the finale of their excellent run, so they transplant the Kingpin to Daredevil’s current locale, San Francisco. He’s there on “business.”
Evil, yet profitable, "business".
Daredevil has an issue that seemingly only Fisk can help him with and as you know, super hero comics like to combo strange bedfellows. What follows are a series of head games, feints, jabs, and one-up-manships, until the final conflict.
I wouldn’t call this a wholly satisfying conclusion to the series, but the last few pages, especially the final panel, will tug at your emotobox.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s sad to see Waid’s run come to a close. Although this last volume is weaker than some of the others, it’s not as if Waid, like a punch drunk fighter, hung around too long, there was seemingly still some gas in the tank. Waid/Samnee channeled together the disparate takes on this character from their predecessors into a satisfying whole and made the character their own. The addition of humor and a keen microscopic examination of his powers and what made the man tick were welcome. I’m going to miss it.
March 22, 2016
This marks the end of this particular era of Daredevil with the departure of the creative team and the title getting the All-New, All-Different Marvel makeover, and that depresses me a little. On the other hand it was well timed because the second season of the Netflix TV series just released. So as a Daredevil fan this is a real best-of-times/worst-of-times scenario for me.
Matt thought that coming out publicly as Daredevil would prevent enemies from striking at him through his private life, but a complex hacking scheme involving the Shroud using the Owl has put every scrap of electronic data he has on the web including his client’s confidential information and that he faked Foggy’s death. The city has turned on him, there’s an arrest warrant out on him, and he may have inadvertently destroyed his friends’ careers. So who can Matt turn to for help? The Kingpin, of course. What could possibly go wrong?
Waid waited a good long while to use the Kingpin, and he doesn’t waste DD’s archnemesis. The hatred of the two men is at a low boil even when they’re trying to negotiate, and there’s a particularly great and chilling panel that capitalizes on Matt’s blindness to show just how much Wilson Fisk would like to see him dead. This end run only takes three issues so it’s fairly short, and it does seem a bit late in the game to introduce Kingpin as a major player to resolve what’s been going as far as the overall story arc. However, the long history of two rivals is used as a good shortcut do it doesn’t feel like a cheat.
In the end what Mark Waid and this creative team managed to do for Daredevil is nothing short of remarkable. Matt Murdock was a character who had been so beaten down and abused that he seemed to occupy his own patch of noirish hell that existed as its own little bubble of misery in Marvel comics. Not only did they break Daredevil out of a seemingly endless cycle of having his life destroyed over and over again and dwelling in depressive angst, they did it without rebooting or retconning the character’s history. Instead, they told us a story about how Matt resolved to make his life better and then made it happen with a lot of work and determination. They managed to make this title fun again, and they did it without sacrificing emotional stakes and drama.
It was a fantastic run that made Daredevil a superhero again, and I hope that future writers and artists use it as the template for the character going forward.
Matt thought that coming out publicly as Daredevil would prevent enemies from striking at him through his private life, but a complex hacking scheme involving the Shroud using the Owl has put every scrap of electronic data he has on the web including his client’s confidential information and that he faked Foggy’s death. The city has turned on him, there’s an arrest warrant out on him, and he may have inadvertently destroyed his friends’ careers. So who can Matt turn to for help? The Kingpin, of course. What could possibly go wrong?
Waid waited a good long while to use the Kingpin, and he doesn’t waste DD’s archnemesis. The hatred of the two men is at a low boil even when they’re trying to negotiate, and there’s a particularly great and chilling panel that capitalizes on Matt’s blindness to show just how much Wilson Fisk would like to see him dead. This end run only takes three issues so it’s fairly short, and it does seem a bit late in the game to introduce Kingpin as a major player to resolve what’s been going as far as the overall story arc. However, the long history of two rivals is used as a good shortcut do it doesn’t feel like a cheat.
In the end what Mark Waid and this creative team managed to do for Daredevil is nothing short of remarkable. Matt Murdock was a character who had been so beaten down and abused that he seemed to occupy his own patch of noirish hell that existed as its own little bubble of misery in Marvel comics. Not only did they break Daredevil out of a seemingly endless cycle of having his life destroyed over and over again and dwelling in depressive angst, they did it without rebooting or retconning the character’s history. Instead, they told us a story about how Matt resolved to make his life better and then made it happen with a lot of work and determination. They managed to make this title fun again, and they did it without sacrificing emotional stakes and drama.
It was a fantastic run that made Daredevil a superhero again, and I hope that future writers and artists use it as the template for the character going forward.
July 15, 2016
15.1 - While working on his autobiography with Foggy and Kirsten, Matt tells the story of two early cases, one of a man he was sure was guilty, and another battling Diablo.
The two under-experienced Daredevil tales show how far Matt has come as both a super hero and a lawyer. It did kill the momentum from the last story, though.
16 - To protect his loved ones, Daredevil tries to make a deal with the Kingpin! And he's found the Shroud's missing girlfriend.
Things are quickly boiling over. The pieces are all on the board. Kingpin! Ikari! The Shroud! The Owl! I don't see how Daredevil's life won't be in ruins again after this run.
17 - Ikari vs. Daredevil, one last time. If Matt winds, either Foggy or Kirsten dies!
Waid and Samnee have upped the tension to an unbearable level in this one. The Kingpin shows his true colors and The Shroud shows up just in time to shit on everyone's parade. I won't blame Daredevil for going back to his darker ways after this.
18 - The End is upon us!
In their swan song, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee give us one of the most brutal fights I've ever seen as Daredevil and the Kingpin duke it out. Most of the loose ends are tied up and Matt's autobiography is due to be published.
Closing Thoughts: Over the course of his run, Mark Waid has taken a character many of us dismiss as a poor man's Batman or Spider-Man and made him one of my favorite Marvel characters, giving him an identity of his own and playing up his uniqueness. His run on Daredevil is up there with Hawkeye as one of the best super hero comics of the past ten years. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The two under-experienced Daredevil tales show how far Matt has come as both a super hero and a lawyer. It did kill the momentum from the last story, though.
16 - To protect his loved ones, Daredevil tries to make a deal with the Kingpin! And he's found the Shroud's missing girlfriend.
Things are quickly boiling over. The pieces are all on the board. Kingpin! Ikari! The Shroud! The Owl! I don't see how Daredevil's life won't be in ruins again after this run.
17 - Ikari vs. Daredevil, one last time. If Matt winds, either Foggy or Kirsten dies!
Waid and Samnee have upped the tension to an unbearable level in this one. The Kingpin shows his true colors and The Shroud shows up just in time to shit on everyone's parade. I won't blame Daredevil for going back to his darker ways after this.
18 - The End is upon us!
In their swan song, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee give us one of the most brutal fights I've ever seen as Daredevil and the Kingpin duke it out. Most of the loose ends are tied up and Matt's autobiography is due to be published.
Closing Thoughts: Over the course of his run, Mark Waid has taken a character many of us dismiss as a poor man's Batman or Spider-Man and made him one of my favorite Marvel characters, giving him an identity of his own and playing up his uniqueness. His run on Daredevil is up there with Hawkeye as one of the best super hero comics of the past ten years. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
August 7, 2024
Mark Waid's Daredevil ends, on a rather successful note. Waid is one of the best superhero writers ever, and it was refreshing to read his take on Daredevil with a swashbuckling attitude instead of the usual brooding grim that has defined the character for so long.
The second half, with Matt Murdock in California and no secret identity, wasn't as good as the first but still had iconic art and surprisingly smart legal drama plotlines. So, Kingpin even shows up in the finale in what seems like a reference to the show, and after a no-Kingpin policy after such a long time it's interesting to read even if 3 chapters feels too much of a rush to wrap things up.
I for one would enjoy if Waid came back to Daredevil one day.
The second half, with Matt Murdock in California and no secret identity, wasn't as good as the first but still had iconic art and surprisingly smart legal drama plotlines. So, Kingpin even shows up in the finale in what seems like a reference to the show, and after a no-Kingpin policy after such a long time it's interesting to read even if 3 chapters feels too much of a rush to wrap things up.
I for one would enjoy if Waid came back to Daredevil one day.
September 29, 2022
Just finished this: wanted to find a nice story arc to get back into DD. Not sure why - but he kind of dropped off my 'radar' for awhile. This was the perfect storyline to read; one of the most brutal DD Kingpin (KP) fights ever! Each individual issue has been broken out and reviewed as a single issue.
May 2, 2016
I now have to say goodbye to Mark Waid's phenomenal four year run on Daredevil. I'm big enough to admit that I'm doing it with tears in my eyes.
This run has been... perfect. I've been reading DD since the mid-’80s and that means I've seen some incredible highs (Miller, Nocenti, Bendis, amongst others) and some quite dubious lows (I'm not naming any names; you know who you are). Waid's DD, for this longtime fan, is the pinnacle of the book to date.
Mark Waid created the perfect balance between the 'trendier' grim 'n' gritty DD introduced by Frank Miller and slavishly copied by... well, almost everybody... and the original swashbuckling adventurer as envisioned by Stan Lee and Bill Everett. He unified both sides of the character in a way that was respectful to everything that came before... not just the 'cooler' parts... and he did it in such a way that made perfect sense.
He also introduced some great new characters and breathed new life into some who were either overused to the point of self-parody or had been all-but forgotten.
Oh, and lest I forget, Chris Samnee's artwork was absolutely incredible. Gone are the dark, moody, muddy images that characterised Bendis' run (and the runs of those immediately after Bendis, who had all obviously been told to slavishly copy Bendis' style by editorial). They have been replaced by the clean, crisp, confident lines of an artist who really knows how to draw and doesn't need to hide his shortcomings with an excess of moody shadows. Samnee obviously delights in drawing backgrounds too, which was so refreshing. I was getting so tired of backgrounds that were just photocopied photographs with Photoshop filters applied to them.
I will obviously be following Mark Waid to the Avengers (squeeee!) but, boy, am I going to miss him on Daredevil. Thank you for four years of top notch comicbook storytelling that was absolutely second to none, guys. Seriously, thank you.
This run has been... perfect. I've been reading DD since the mid-’80s and that means I've seen some incredible highs (Miller, Nocenti, Bendis, amongst others) and some quite dubious lows (I'm not naming any names; you know who you are). Waid's DD, for this longtime fan, is the pinnacle of the book to date.
Mark Waid created the perfect balance between the 'trendier' grim 'n' gritty DD introduced by Frank Miller and slavishly copied by... well, almost everybody... and the original swashbuckling adventurer as envisioned by Stan Lee and Bill Everett. He unified both sides of the character in a way that was respectful to everything that came before... not just the 'cooler' parts... and he did it in such a way that made perfect sense.
He also introduced some great new characters and breathed new life into some who were either overused to the point of self-parody or had been all-but forgotten.
Oh, and lest I forget, Chris Samnee's artwork was absolutely incredible. Gone are the dark, moody, muddy images that characterised Bendis' run (and the runs of those immediately after Bendis, who had all obviously been told to slavishly copy Bendis' style by editorial). They have been replaced by the clean, crisp, confident lines of an artist who really knows how to draw and doesn't need to hide his shortcomings with an excess of moody shadows. Samnee obviously delights in drawing backgrounds too, which was so refreshing. I was getting so tired of backgrounds that were just photocopied photographs with Photoshop filters applied to them.
I will obviously be following Mark Waid to the Avengers (squeeee!) but, boy, am I going to miss him on Daredevil. Thank you for four years of top notch comicbook storytelling that was absolutely second to none, guys. Seriously, thank you.
April 5, 2016
A spectacular end to a spectacular run. Waid did some incredible work with this character, and I'm so glad this caught my attention. He drags poor Matt through the wringer over and over, which is, as far as I can tell, where Daredevil lives, and he does it in a way that somehow keeps from being too depressing or overwhelming. It's a great balancing act. I'm really sorry to see Waid leave this book, but I definitely feel like he left the character better than he found it.
May 2, 2025
A very solid end to Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil run. I'll be sorry to see them go. They've created a fun, interesting read that I look forward to every month.
December 15, 2015
After four years, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee step away from Daredevil with one final storyline that ties everything in this second incarnation of their title together with the return of the Kingpin and Ikari, two of Matt Murdock's greatest foes, as well as the culmination of the Shroud subplot which has been going on since issue #1 or so.
It's as close to a happy ending as Daredevil ever gets; it's the first time I think in about a decade that DD hasn't changed creative teams with a cliffhanger ending, but instead everything Waid has done comes home to roost and it's immensely satisfying to see all their hard work paying off. Some stuff is left up in the air, like the Owl and his daughter, but these are minor problems on a storyline which is as quintessential Daredevil as you can get.
Now that it's over, this is a prime time to go back to volume 1 of the previous series and read all of Mark Waid's Daredevilly goodness.
It's as close to a happy ending as Daredevil ever gets; it's the first time I think in about a decade that DD hasn't changed creative teams with a cliffhanger ending, but instead everything Waid has done comes home to roost and it's immensely satisfying to see all their hard work paying off. Some stuff is left up in the air, like the Owl and his daughter, but these are minor problems on a storyline which is as quintessential Daredevil as you can get.
Now that it's over, this is a prime time to go back to volume 1 of the previous series and read all of Mark Waid's Daredevilly goodness.
September 20, 2015
Best Daredevil run ever after Frank Miller's one. Excelsior!
February 9, 2022
Shakespeare said, “Parting is such sweet sorrow,” and that’s exactly how I feel upon finishing Mark Waid’s run on Daredevil. There’s something so magical about the way Waid is able to combine both the fun and action-packed sides of a comic book hero with the angst that inevitably follows a life of risk. Chris Samnee’s art is bright and beautiful, with a great visualization of Matt’s radar sense that really allows the reader to put themselves in Daredevil’s shoes. While the Bendis run was consistently gritty, I felt like the Waid run had a much better balance between light and dark. Matt Murdock is far from perfect, but he tries his hardest. He’s insanely passionate (to a fault sometimes) and puts himself at risk because he’s fighting for the greater good. I liked the focus on the merging of Matt’s life as Daredevil and his life as Matt Murdock. He’s out in the open and he’s vulnerable in a new city, which presents more danger than when he still had his secret identity. He is fiercely protective of the people he loves and despite all of the hardship that Daredevil brings, they love him back. This second half of Waid’s Daredevil pulled right at my heartstrings. I laughed, I cried, and I never felt like the story was running out of steam.
May 31, 2020
This wrapped up a great run of Daredevil, and surprisingly we got a nice conclusion before the next run kicks off. Overall the Mark Waid run was a high point.
September 5, 2017
One of my favorite runs of DD.
World: The art has been amazing throughout the series. I love the thick black lines, the facial expressions and the sense of motion. It's amazing. The world building comes full circle for Waid's run. All the pieces he's been playing with and created since his run are all used and it's great. This is a very different world compared past DD runs and this feels all his own.
Story: The Shroud stuff is still very meh for me but with the inclusion of Fisk this arc it's a perfect end for Waid's run. The pacing is good, the tone fantastic and also the character work amazing. I don't want to say anything else but as much as I don't like the Shroud and how the end was a bit janky I do love this story and this run. It's so bright and positive that I want this to be the DD norm now...but I guess that's not going to be the case as we are going back to the DD of old I hear (which I also enjoy but Waid was just so good).
Characters: Matt is good, he's complex and he's flawed and I love him that way. McDuffie is the best thing to come from Waid and I wish we see more of her and have more stories for her in the future. I dread what will happen to her with a new creative team. Foggy is such an anchor, awesome. Fisk was used well, best when in small doses and menacing, Shroud is zzz and Owlsey storyline with daughter and all is still janky and tacked on.
I love this run, one of the best, a good, but not perfect ending.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art has been amazing throughout the series. I love the thick black lines, the facial expressions and the sense of motion. It's amazing. The world building comes full circle for Waid's run. All the pieces he's been playing with and created since his run are all used and it's great. This is a very different world compared past DD runs and this feels all his own.
Story: The Shroud stuff is still very meh for me but with the inclusion of Fisk this arc it's a perfect end for Waid's run. The pacing is good, the tone fantastic and also the character work amazing. I don't want to say anything else but as much as I don't like the Shroud and how the end was a bit janky I do love this story and this run. It's so bright and positive that I want this to be the DD norm now...but I guess that's not going to be the case as we are going back to the DD of old I hear (which I also enjoy but Waid was just so good).
Characters: Matt is good, he's complex and he's flawed and I love him that way. McDuffie is the best thing to come from Waid and I wish we see more of her and have more stories for her in the future. I dread what will happen to her with a new creative team. Foggy is such an anchor, awesome. Fisk was used well, best when in small doses and menacing, Shroud is zzz and Owlsey storyline with daughter and all is still janky and tacked on.
I love this run, one of the best, a good, but not perfect ending.
Onward to the next book!
August 8, 2023
a nice little conclusion to this daredevil series
Read
January 14, 2021Admittedly, I was skeptical of Waid at first. I thought that he was another one of those 'nerds who pretend to be writers' (ala Dan Slott), and certainly he can fall into those cliches at times. Yet I was surprised to see that he was capable of spinning a good yarn, offering a more optimistic bent to superheroes in Alan Moore's shadow without seeming contrived or silly with his seminal work Kingdom Come. But sadly, there comes an age where a creative mind reaches his peak, and Waid has clearly passed his.
I understand that Waid was attempting to bring a lighter tone to the Daredevil world, but so was Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale with Daredevil: Yellow, and I found that story was more heartfelt, while not losing the tragedy that defines Daredevil's world. Waid certainly attempts to achieve a similar effect, but he seems to have no understanding on what makes Daredevil so compelling, instead making him into a snarky, wisecracking jackass no different than Austin Powers. I found awkward jokes, cringey moments, and the contrived, hokey storytelling that he had spent his career quietly subverting.
Now one might think of me as one of those angsty fanboys who can't accept change to an established character that I like. But I found that Andy Diggle's run and Shadowland, which is quite the opposite of Waid's take on the character, to also become unintentionally silly and ridiculous with how dark and intense that it got, with none of the mastery of tone that Bendis and Brubaker would take with the character, and one that Zdarsky would also take when approaching the character. But Waid proves that going in the complete other direction doesn't do much to help things either, and it only becomes more disheartening once you begin to see
Certainly, there were the good moments, there are times that Waid attempts to give more depth to Matt and the other characters and attempt to explain his reasoning as Matt attempting to hide the constant pain that he struggles with with humor and laughter, and admittedly that would be an interesting direction for the Man Without Fear to go, but I find that it falls flat for two major reasons. For starters, I found that there wasn't enough emotional investment to really grab me, most moments where it attempted to make a connection either became a cheap punchline or they went right back to snarky obliviousness. Secondly, there hasn't ever been a time in Daredevil's history where he's attempted to use humor to cover up emotional pain (that I know of, to be fair). Now, I'm not one who harps too much on continuity, but it has its importance where it allows the stories and runs on characters to come together cohesively, and I don't find that Waid stuck to it or even cared to get a grasp on the character. One could make an argument for Stan Lee's original run with the character or Daredevil or Loeb and Sale's Yellow, but I found that they were fun while also keeping the tragedy of the character intact.
Chris Samnee's art was a continual source of enjoyment throughout this series, he brings a nostalgic, cartoon like flare to the series that was reminiscent of the great Darwyn Cooke, though a bit more upbeat and 'safe' unlike Cooke, who brought an evocative and moody tone to his art work with his work on Batman: Ego and his adaptations of Stark's Parker. But I still quite enjoyed Samnee's artwork throughout Waid's run, even as my interest began to wane.
In the end, I found that what truly went wrong with this series is that they got the wrong team to do it. I find that they would have been better on an Avengers book rather than a Daredevil one. The style, tone, and themes that are usually befitted to Daredevil are not found here, and I didn't find that Waid went in a very interesting direction with his take on Daredevil. Then again, it's always sad to see a once great creator begin to lose his touch, and Waid makes the list as he goes along.
Note: I won't be discussing any of the controversies that have befallen Waid over the last several years, I am only judging the quality of the storytelling in this run alone, any other drama that he's involved with has to do with him and the other parties involved in the situation.
October 10, 2016
And so comes the end of Waid's run. I really enjoyed volume 1-3, and 4 is also great (at parts) and a very solid send off to the character.
I think the negatives here would be the big fight, or the huge event, wasn't as amazing as I hoped. With Kingpin showing up on the final pages of the last volume I expected some crazy shit to go down. I was also disappointed with the final fight, just didn't leave a impact. No "OMG" moment. The fight from before in Volume 5 of Waid's run was far better.
However let's talk the good. There were plenty of great "moments". I loved seeing a whole wall dedicated to Matt's death. I also love that moment at the dinner table. Nerve wracking to say the least. Also the ending with Foggy giving his big speech to Matt, perfect. Overall some wonderful moments and the art is still great.
So thanks Waid for a very solid second half. Yes, it was bumpy, and not as good as Ed or Bendis but still very strong. I give the whole run around a 3 or even a 3.5, so for Daredevil fans, go check this one out. On to Soule next!
I think the negatives here would be the big fight, or the huge event, wasn't as amazing as I hoped. With Kingpin showing up on the final pages of the last volume I expected some crazy shit to go down. I was also disappointed with the final fight, just didn't leave a impact. No "OMG" moment. The fight from before in Volume 5 of Waid's run was far better.
However let's talk the good. There were plenty of great "moments". I loved seeing a whole wall dedicated to Matt's death. I also love that moment at the dinner table. Nerve wracking to say the least. Also the ending with Foggy giving his big speech to Matt, perfect. Overall some wonderful moments and the art is still great.
So thanks Waid for a very solid second half. Yes, it was bumpy, and not as good as Ed or Bendis but still very strong. I give the whole run around a 3 or even a 3.5, so for Daredevil fans, go check this one out. On to Soule next!
March 21, 2018
Flashback (#15.1). Some nice historic stories [4/5].
Finale (#16-18). Waid's finale brings together all of the elements of his third and final Daredevil arc and ups the stakes by bringing the Kingpin in too. It could have been a triumphant finale. Unfortunately, it's really not earned, given the unfocused attention to plot in this San Francisco arc. So, this is a good enough story, but without the resonant weight it should have had. It's also obviously rushed with some elements, like the false-accusation trope, largely dropped [4/5].
March 28, 2016
Mark Waid's run on Daredevil was phenomenal and near perfect. I wasn't sure how he'd manage to wrap up the cliffhanger from the last book, but he did it beautifully, and I was even a little choked up as I finished. (So much love for Foggy in this!)
I feel like I need to go re-read from beginning to end on this.
I feel like I need to go re-read from beginning to end on this.
December 23, 2025
"...I'm not blind"
The perfect ending line.
Hard to put my thoughts of this one into words. As someone coming in from the tv show i was hesitant at first about getting into the happy, brightly colored daredevil comic. I thought maybe i should read something more like Bendis and Brubaker, with its dark noir tone, but that saga is like a whole 20+ volumes, which like... hell yeah, that sounds awesome, but i also want to read other comics, so maybe some other time.
So, slightly reluctantly, i picked this book up instead and MY GOD has it grown on me. I only just finished and i already feel nostalgic for it. Mark Waid truly had a vision here: a story with a front of happiness and cheesiness in order to hide its sad, tragic side, much like the main titular character. The tone of the book isn´t just to distinguish itself from other daredevil books, it's also how Waid chooses to make our main character Matt Murdock cope with everything the previous writers have put him through. He puts on a fake smile in hopes it will eventually become a real one and push all the negativity away ("fake it until you make it", if you will), making Matt's journey in this run one of self love and appreciation as he realizes he doesn't need to PRETEND to be happy, he can just BE happy.
And that's just the main stuff. With over 10 volumes in the whole run, Waid brings in so many different themes and conflicts for the whole cast: Matt learns about his mother's past; Foggy Nelson beats cancer; Kirsten teaches Matt to bring down his ego; Bullseye gets what was coming to a psychopath like him and, most importantly, we get to see Daredevil beat the absolute crap out of some racist, supremacist assholes!
I wasn't convinced on the art at first, but once Chris Samnee and Javier Rodriguez come in, the book's overall lo0k really grew on me: the colors are bright and beautiful, the faces are expressive and the action scenes are SO MUCH fun. I loved it so much i get tonal whiplash whenever i look at the art from any other Daredevil book, which tend to go for a more gritty look.
Honestly this feels more like a companion piece to other comics like Matt Fraction's Hawkeye (and even his current Batman run) and Tom Taylors Nightwing, with a lighthearted look but a clear and solid emotional motivation.
If you feel like reading something fun but also something that'll make you want to be a better human being, I cannot recommend this book enough
"Ha! Funny you should ask, formerly fat man! Here's the advance check! Read it and weep!" --Matt Murdock, circa 2014
The perfect ending line.
Hard to put my thoughts of this one into words. As someone coming in from the tv show i was hesitant at first about getting into the happy, brightly colored daredevil comic. I thought maybe i should read something more like Bendis and Brubaker, with its dark noir tone, but that saga is like a whole 20+ volumes, which like... hell yeah, that sounds awesome, but i also want to read other comics, so maybe some other time.
So, slightly reluctantly, i picked this book up instead and MY GOD has it grown on me. I only just finished and i already feel nostalgic for it. Mark Waid truly had a vision here: a story with a front of happiness and cheesiness in order to hide its sad, tragic side, much like the main titular character. The tone of the book isn´t just to distinguish itself from other daredevil books, it's also how Waid chooses to make our main character Matt Murdock cope with everything the previous writers have put him through. He puts on a fake smile in hopes it will eventually become a real one and push all the negativity away ("fake it until you make it", if you will), making Matt's journey in this run one of self love and appreciation as he realizes he doesn't need to PRETEND to be happy, he can just BE happy.
And that's just the main stuff. With over 10 volumes in the whole run, Waid brings in so many different themes and conflicts for the whole cast: Matt learns about his mother's past; Foggy Nelson beats cancer; Kirsten teaches Matt to bring down his ego; Bullseye gets what was coming to a psychopath like him and, most importantly, we get to see Daredevil beat the absolute crap out of some racist, supremacist assholes!
I wasn't convinced on the art at first, but once Chris Samnee and Javier Rodriguez come in, the book's overall lo0k really grew on me: the colors are bright and beautiful, the faces are expressive and the action scenes are SO MUCH fun. I loved it so much i get tonal whiplash whenever i look at the art from any other Daredevil book, which tend to go for a more gritty look.
Honestly this feels more like a companion piece to other comics like Matt Fraction's Hawkeye (and even his current Batman run) and Tom Taylors Nightwing, with a lighthearted look but a clear and solid emotional motivation.
If you feel like reading something fun but also something that'll make you want to be a better human being, I cannot recommend this book enough
"Ha! Funny you should ask, formerly fat man! Here's the advance check! Read it and weep!" --Matt Murdock, circa 2014
March 5, 2024
Book 4.
With his dual identity out in the public domain, Matt Murdock sets out to tell the story of his life as both lawyer and vigilante. He then has to put all of his skill and cunning to the test when he confronts his most terrible enemy, the Kingpin.
I liked the flashbacks in the first half of this book, wherein Matt uses tales of his time as Daredevil to illustrate poignant moments of his double life. The best of these is where, early in both of his careers, he is forced to defend a murder suspect in court who he had captured himself as Daredevil.
This book's other strong element was how the Kingpin is used as the villain. Here we get a real sense of Wilson Fisk's cunning, ruthlessness and smug superiority, all of which makes him feel a real threat not only to Daredevil but to the people Matt cares about too.
Despite those really good elements, overall the book is solid but not much more than 'just fine'.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
With his dual identity out in the public domain, Matt Murdock sets out to tell the story of his life as both lawyer and vigilante. He then has to put all of his skill and cunning to the test when he confronts his most terrible enemy, the Kingpin.
I liked the flashbacks in the first half of this book, wherein Matt uses tales of his time as Daredevil to illustrate poignant moments of his double life. The best of these is where, early in both of his careers, he is forced to defend a murder suspect in court who he had captured himself as Daredevil.
This book's other strong element was how the Kingpin is used as the villain. Here we get a real sense of Wilson Fisk's cunning, ruthlessness and smug superiority, all of which makes him feel a real threat not only to Daredevil but to the people Matt cares about too.
Despite those really good elements, overall the book is solid but not much more than 'just fine'.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
July 23, 2018
Final del run de Waid y Samnee. Un episodio autoconclusivo que indaga de manera amena en el pasado del personaje, y tres episodios que cierran de manera más que satisfactoria la historia que el equipo creativo venia contando hace varios números. Un buen tomo que pone punto final a una buena etapa.
April 30, 2020
3.5/5 Stars
October 28, 2024
End of Mark Waids run on Daredevil and it’s good ending but doesn’t directly tie into next run which is my only complaint. Good run overall definitely the early issues were the best of the bunch.
August 30, 2019
Oh the cringe!
September 29, 2016
You really have to read all the previous volumes to appreciate Mark Waid's and Chris Samnee's run with the man without fear. This the swan song on probably one of the best comics being publish by Marvel. Mark Waid just really knows how to tell a great story. I also enjoy Samnee's retro but unique style of drawing. It really fits the noir style of storytelling featured in this book. So Matt Murdock after outing himself to the public to protect his family and closest friends finds himself ready to publish his autobiography about his life. This volume picks up where the last volume ended perfectly. The stakes have been risen and now Matt must come face to face with his arch nemesis the Kingpin Wilson Fisk. The dialogue is perfect and the pacing really creates some tense moments. Fans of the Daredevil character must read this whole series.
Read
September 17, 2016Concluding Waid's run - which, crazily, was apparently the longest unbroken one the title's ever had - with the now fully unmasked Matt Murdock prepared to make a deal with the devil in the wake of a Wikileaks-style revelation of far more than just his secret identity. The character work is all great, even if that inevitably means several infuriatingly dumb decisions from Matt, and the series ends on a real note of catharsis. Which of course then gets totally shredded as soon as you move to the terrible post-Secret Wars run that undoes pretty much everything here. Yes, I know corporate comics will always suffer from a degree of perpetual reset, but sometimes it's especially galling.
February 3, 2017
Really good final volume of Daredevil by Mark Waid. This trade focuses on his rivalry with Ikari and Kingpin, and it plays out in an entertaining way with a unique proposal from Matt, but only to have Kingpin counter with his own lethal ultimatum. This was probably my favorite of the four trades in this run of Daredevil, and it is too bad it is the last because Waid went to work on another book afterwards and Daredevil got rebooted yet again.
March 9, 2016
I liked this, but it was mostly a 3-star arc, but I bumped it up one star for the sappy bits at the end. Hey, Daredevil kind of won, which might be one of the few times you'll ever see that. This was a solid end to a great run by Waid and Samnee.
P.S. I've read the first couple of issues of the Soule/Garney run, and it's way different, definitely not as upbeat as Waid/Samnee, but still solid. I have hopes that Soule/Garney will continue the tradition of consistently high quality DD stories.
P.S. I've read the first couple of issues of the Soule/Garney run, and it's way different, definitely not as upbeat as Waid/Samnee, but still solid. I have hopes that Soule/Garney will continue the tradition of consistently high quality DD stories.
November 1, 2021
Here's the conclusion of a great run by Waid, Samnee, et. al.
First story by Marc Guggenheim is ok, too, but the main event is the Waid/Samnee stuff.
Just reread: I miss the charm of their approach, the elan of the pre-Frank Miller DD. That said, there is more Miller-era tributing (sillhouetted figures and the setup with a ninja-esque bad guy) in this face-off between, natch, Kingpin and DD.
Ah, well.
Highly recommended.
First story by Marc Guggenheim is ok, too, but the main event is the Waid/Samnee stuff.
Just reread: I miss the charm of their approach, the elan of the pre-Frank Miller DD. That said, there is more Miller-era tributing (sillhouetted figures and the setup with a ninja-esque bad guy) in this face-off between, natch, Kingpin and DD.
Ah, well.
Highly recommended.
March 2, 2017
Sad this run is over, but it feels like the right time for it to wrap up (def lost some steam and some fans moving to SF, although personally I kinda liked the change of locale if not all the storylines), and a perfect note to end on -- almost a happy ending, even!
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