Showing posts with label Daredevil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daredevil. Show all posts

Monday, 17 October 2016

Daredevil (2014) # 1-18


(I originally read these comics in mid December 2015)

So, here is Daredevil volume 4 by Mark Waid, following on the heels of Daredevil volume 3 - also by Mark Waid - which you might recall I read a few months back. 

After the events of that recent run, Matt Murdock has been disbarred from practicing law in New York so has moved out west to his old (1970s) stomping (or swinging) grounds of San Francisco, with girlfriend/new law partner Kirsten McDuffie. Matt's old law partner Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson has succumbed to the cancer that affected him previously (SPOILERS) except, no he hasn't, his death has been faked to protect him from reprisals at the hands of Matt's enemies and he's moved out west, too. 

The run is mostly made up of short stories with few overarching plots, with returns for many classic - or not so classic - pre-Miller villains including the Purple Man, Stunt-Master and... the Man-Bull. Matt forms an uneasy alliance with the Shroud to take down the Owl, leading to the latter becoming enmeshed in some cutting edge surveillance technology, vegetative but omnipotent. This has later repercussions when the Shroud uses the Owl to expose all Daredevil's remaining secrets, including his role in helping fake Foggy's death, leading Matt to the one person with clout enough to force the genie back into the bottle: the Kingpin. 

The final issue wraps up all plot lines, including the outcome of Foggy's cancer, simultaneously providing a good conclusion to the Daredevil story as a whole and a clean slate for the succeeding writer. I won't be reading Daredevil beyond this point, however, unless it's in the form of retro tales. His post-'Secret Wars' status, with his secret identity suddenly restored, is of no interest to me. 


   
   
   
   
  
 


Daredevil (2014) # 1-5/0.1/1.50/6-10 are collected in:

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Daredevil (2014) # 1-5/0.1 are collected in:

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Daredevil (2014) # 1.50/6-10 are collected in:

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Daredevil (2014) # 11-15/15.1/16-18 are collected in:

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Daredevil (2014) # 11-15 are collected in:

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Daredevil (2014) # 15.1/16-18 are collected in:

Softcover:



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Tuesday, 11 October 2016

'Acts of Vengeance' (1989) - 2


(I originally read these comics between mid October/early November 2015)

After having read Marvel's 1989 crossover event 'Acts of Vengeance' recently, this time I read all the other stories from across the line that tied into it, most quite loosely. Again, the ongoing theme is the heroes facing off against villains with whom they have no familiarity, though the original legislative attempt at a Superhuman Registration Act is a sub-plot (and one that would be returned to years later in 'Civil War'). The Wolverine issues dragged, but all the others were pretty enjoyable. Even the New Mutants and Alpha Flight issues, teams for whom I have limited interest, hooked me by using classic Spidey villains (the Scorpion and the Vulture, respectively). I'd only read the Hulk ish about six months back, but was happy to revisit it. The Uncanny X-Men issues feature Jim Lee's first extended work on the characters from when he was a hot, new up-and-comer and they sure are pretty. However, the story, where Betsy Braddock is merged with a ninja assassin, is hard to follow in parts, at least for somebody not mired in the convoluted X-Men continuity of the time. 


   
   
   
   
  
  
  


As an extra, here's Alan Davis' combined art for the two Acts of Vengeance Omnibus covers:




Fantastic Four (1961) # 334-336, Wolverine (1988) # 19/20, Doctor Strange (1988) # 11-13, Incredible Hulk (1968) # 363, Punisher (1987) # 28/29, Punisher War Journal (1988) # 12/13, Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989) # 8-10, Daredevil (1964) # 275/276, Power Pack (1984) # 53, Alpha Flight (1983) # 79/80, New Mutants (1983) # 86 and Uncanny X-Men (1963) # 256-258 are collected in:

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Fantastic Four (1961) # 334-336 are collected in:

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Wolverine (1988) # 19/20 are collected in:

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Incredible Hulk (1968) # 363 is collected in:

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Punisher (1987) # 28/29 are collected in:

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Punisher War Journal (1988) # 12/13 are collected in:

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New Mutants (1983) # 86 is collected in:

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Uncanny X-Men (1963) # 256-258 are collected in:

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Softcover:



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Saturday, 8 October 2016

'Atlantis Attacks' (1989)


(I originally read these comics in early October 2015)

I did plan to take a lengthy digression from DeFalco's and Frenz's Thor run by reading Marvel's massive 'Acts of Vengeance' line-wide crossover that took place in summer 1989 and to which three Thor issues were dedicated. However another big event, 'Atlantis Attacks,' mostly told in that year's annuals, concludes just before 'Acts of Vengeance' kicks off.

I can't be arsed providing much of a summary. It's an artificially extended tale that doesn't really reward the time spent reading it. Heroes pop in and out of the ongoing plot for just as long as their annuals last (the Surfer, the Punisher, the X-Men and Daredevil aren't seen again after their respective chapters), so there's a disjointed feel to it. The primary antagonists are the Deviant High Priest Lord Ghaur (mistakenly referred to as a 'pervert' by Ben Grimm for one of the story's few laughs) and Llyra, an underused Sub-Mariner villainess. 

The good thing about these events/crossovers is that even if one chapter doesn't appeal (for example, I have little affinity for the New Mutants characters), there are different characters to look forward to in upcoming chapters. Some of the chapters were entertaining enough in isolation. Also, a story like 'Atlantis Attacks' provides a good snapshot of where the publisher was 'at' at that given point in time. 


  
  
   
   
   
 


As an extra, here's Mike Mayhew's gorgeous original art for the cover of the Atlantis Attacks Omnibus:



Silver Surfer Annual # 2, Iron Man Annual # 10, Avengers West Coast (1989) # 56, Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 26, X-Men Annual # 13, Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 23, Punisher Annual # 2, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual # 9, Daredevil Annual # 5 (mistakely labelled as # 4), Avengers Annual # 18, New Mutants (1983) # 76, New Mutants Annual # 5, X-Factor Annual # 4, Web of Spider-Man Annual # 5, Avengers West Coast Annual # 4, The Mighty Thor Annual # 14 and Fantastic Four Annual # 22 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Avengers West Coast (1989) # 56, Avengers Annual # 18 and Avengers West Coast Annual # 4 are collected in:

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Avengers West Coast (1989) # 56 is collected in: 

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Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 26 is collected in:

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X-Men Annual # 13 is collected in:

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Punisher Annual # 2 is collected in:

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New Mutants Annual # 5 is collected in:

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X-Factor Annual # 4 is collected in:

Softcover:



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