Goodbye Daredevil...

This is my letter to the 'Letters Without Fear" column of Daredevil:

Dearest DD Team,

What a bittersweet day it was when I read that this run of Daredevil will be coming to an end. It's one of those things that I knew was going to happen eventually, but chose to blissfully ignore. I remember when I glossed over the cover of issue #1 several times while looking over the racks at my local comic shop and dismissing it. Admittedly, I've never been a regular reader of Daredevil, and when took a closer look at this particular cover observed that Daredevil was covering his eyes with his club, and the background was entirely composed of sound effects, I knew that this was something special.

I bought that issue, and it started a journey into remembering why I love the comics medium. This book has been so inventive. So engaging. So spectacularly pure in it's approach to its visuals and character moments. It has changed the way I look at a panel. It is a masterpiece in every sense of the term and has been consistent for every single issue.

My wife and I have recently welcomed our first child into the world, and while it has been the most wonderful experience of our lives, as many parents know, it also is an expensive experience. I had to cut my comics budget quite a bit, and am down to only 3 books a month. If I could only afford one comic a month, Daredevil would have been the one.

I have been reading Marvel comics since I was 8 years old, about 23 years ago, and it is with a tearful eye, that I bid goodbye to the best batch of comics that I have ever read. I know that there's more people responsible than just the writer and the pencilers, but to Mark, Chris, Paolo, Marcos, Marco, Khoi, Mike, and Jock I want to thank you for your contributions to our love of comics. I adore you and you will be missed.

With Love,

Greg Deaner from Colorado

So we bid farewell to this fantastical adventure that we embarked on nearly three years ago. Good night sweet princes. May we always look back on this run with the enthusiasm that we first looked upon it with.

Dardevil #7 - Blind leading the blind

Mark Waid is writing his heart out with Daredevil. I'm guessing that the layouts are mostly under his direction, because both Marcos Martin and Paulo Rivera seem to be very consistent with their visual storytelling. Not to discredit them both. They are an integral part of why this book is so enjoyable.

So, Matt is riding on a bus to a retreat with eight blind children. In the mountains. In a blizzard. Well, the driver is nervous (we know, because Matt senses his heart rate), and they end up crashing horribly. The driver, who is the only one who could, is dead, and Matt and his eight blind mice have to navigate on foot.

Throughout the issue, we are treated to the usual brilliant use of tiny panels placed here and there to demonstrate the sounds that are being heard by our hero. That alone makes these books a step above, but Waid takes it further. We watch Matt (in DD garb, because the children can't see him) lead these kids through the wilderness and try to keep them calm by asking them what they want Santa to bring them and making small talk. In the past two+ decades, you never would have guessed Matt Murdock to be the guy that's good with kids. He keeps up the banter, even though the inner monologue becomes more and more bleak as he desperately soldiers on with the children.

There are a few times when I get choked up. First, Matt realizes that he is down one child. He starts to lose it and yell for him, frightening the other children. Then he stops yelling for a second and we see a tiny word balloon in the far corner "the lord is with thee" He finds Javi in the snow praying and they share a brief moment.

Another moment that touched me was when Matt finally hears the sound of a snow plow and discerns that they are about to leave. He tells the kids to yell, and when the guy getting into his truck doesn't hear them, he tells them to run, not realizing that the kids don't know why and that he just scared the hell out of them. They scatter and he panics and falls on the leg that he injured in the crash. He's laying there in the snow thinking that he has failed the kids and they are lost, when they all return with branches to make a sled for him in which the proceed to drag him to the house that the owner of the snow plow lives in. It's just a very touching scene in which he realizes that he hadn't given those children enough credit.

If you haven't been reading Daredevil, just pick up any of the seven issues that have already come out. You will love them. I've never read DD comics, and had no investment in the character of Matt Murdock, but I am hooked on this title and continually find myself in awe of the beautiful way in which this writer and these two artists weave their craft. Flawless.

Thank you Mark, Marcos, and Paulo.

Comics that I am reading - Looking back at 2011

Since everyone who blogs or has a podcast has already gotten together their year-in-reviews for 2011, I decided to look at my current comic-reading habits and compare it to the same time last year. Since my blog is just over a year young, it should be pretty illuminating.
Here's a cross-section of my currently continuing comic conundrum:

Reading monthly:
DC
-Batwoman
-Animal Man
-Swamp Thing
-The Flash
-Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.

Marvel
-Daredevil
-Uncanny X-Force
-X-Factor
-Invincible Iron Man
-The Mighty Thor
-Venom
-The Defenders
-Wolverine and The X-Men

Other Publishers
-Chew (Image)
-Sweet Tooth (Vertigo)
-The Unwritten (Vertigo)
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW)

Considering reading in trade:
-Batman
-American Vampire
-Irredeemable
-Incorruptible
-The Boys
-Fables
-Amazing Spider-Man

On the chopping block:
-Uncanny X-Men
-Journey Into Mystery
-X-Men Legacy
-Wolverine
-Avengers
-Justice League Dark

 Flashback to a year ago. I was on the verge of completing my complete run of X-Men Vol 2 (Legacy) and now I'm about to drop the title unless something grand happens. I had recently subscribed to several Marvel comics, all of which are about to expire. I did not read any DC comics, and never thought that I would, but now I read several.. I pretty much exclusively read X-Men related books. I was ruthlessly opposed to digital comics and now I am starting to understand a place for them. I preferred to collect single back-issues as opposed to trades, and now I love buying trades. I blogged at least every other day, and now I save it for books that I really want to talk about.

I've read many comics this year, and I'd like to list a few things that made 2011 memorable for comics.

Writers of the Year:
Jeff Lemire - Sweet Tooth, Animal Man, Frankenstein
Matt Fraction - The Mighty Thor, Invincible Iron Man, Defenders, Fear Itself
Mike Carey - The Unwritten, X-Men Legacy
Rick Remender - Venom, X-Force (I know, I need to read Fear Agent)
Mark Waid - Daredevil (Haven't read Irredeemable/Incorruptible)
Jason Aaron - Wolverine, Wolverine and The X-Men (Haven't read Inc. Hulk)
Keiron Gillen - Journey Into Mystery, Generation Hope, Uncanny X-Men
Dan Slott: Amazing Spider-Man (I've missed the last 6 months)
Peter David - X-Factor

Winner: Gotta go with Rick Remender. His run on Uncanny X-Force has been unbelievable. The few Venom books I picked up were just as good. Gotta read Fear Agent, but I have a feeling that he(like Mike Carey) puts more into his creator-owned material than his Big Two work.

Artists of the Year:
Stuart Immonen - Fear Itself
Olivier Coipel - The Mighty Thor
Chris Bachalo - Wolverine and The X-Men
Jerome Opena/Esad Ribic - Uncanny X-Force
Daniel Acuna - Avengers, Wolverine

Marcos Martin - Daredevil
Stefano Caselli - Amazing Spider-Man, Venom
Humberto Ramos - Amazing Spider-Man
Francis Manapul - The Flash
Travel Foreman - Animal Man
J.H.Williams - Batwoman
Sal Larocca - Invincible Iron Man

Winner: A tough one. So many good artists, so many different styles. I'd say Jim Williams on Batwoman for realism and sense of compositional balance,  Trav Foreman Ramos for the abstract and gestural qualities of his work, and Marcos Martin and Francis Manapul are tied for incredible ingenuity and storytelling skill.

Best Series That I Started Reading This Year:
-Animal Man - Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman
-Swamp Thing - Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette
-The Mighty Thor - Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel
-Wolverine and The X-Men - Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo
-The Flash - Brian Buccalleto and Francis Manapul
-Daredevil - Mark Waid and Marcos Martin
-The Unwritten - Mike Carey and Peter Gross
-Uncanny X-Force - Rick Remender, Jerome Opena, Esad Ribic
-Invincible Iron Man - Matt Fraction and Sal Larocca
-Sweet Tooth - Jeff Lemire and Jeff Lemire
-Journey Into Mystery - Keiron Gillen and various artists

Winner: Another tough one. I'd say the series that surprised me the most was Animal Man. The series that I knew I'd have some vested interest in, but was completely blown away by was X-Force.

Worst Comics I Read This Year:
-Teen Titans #1 - Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth
-The Dark Knight #1 - Paul Jenkins, David Finch
-Uncanny X-Men #1 and #2 - Keiron Gillen and some generic asshole
-Prelude to Schism #1 - Paul Jenkins and Roberto De La Torre
-Wolverine #1-#13 and 15 - Jason Aaron and Renato Guedes
-Age of X Universe #1-#2 - Simon Spurrier and Khoi Pham
-Avengers #16-17 - Brian Bendis and John Romita Jr

Winner: I think all of these are equal losers. Teen Titans #1 was like reading a used piece of toilet paper. The Dark Knight #1 was  like reading an Image comic from 1994, or a used piece of toilet paper. Uncanny X-Men Reloaded is verily disappointing, even though Keiron Gillen, who I respect as a good writer, is in charge of this title. Prelude to Schism was entirely pointless and I don't know why it happened or what came of it. The first 13 issues of Wolverine were bad only because they were so melodramatic and it took way too long to redeem itself on issue 14 only to let me down again with that 'We love you Wolverine' story in #15. After that, the series started getting awesome. Also, the ones in which Nightcrawler was in were good, too, mostly because of Daniel Acuna. Age of X Universe was a bad 2-shot for an almost as bad crossover. Avengers #16 and 17 were too Brian Bendis-y with the 'interview style' of talking head storytelling. It's got its place, but I feel that Bendis is known for this and overuses it.

Best Trade I Read This Year:
-Vol 1-4 of the Unwritten
-Vol 1 of Fables
-Vol 1 of Chew
-Vol 2 of Runaways
-Batwoman Elegy
-Astonishing X-Men Vol 1-4

All of these were good, and I am continuing with every series.

That's the big stuff for my 2011. Hit me up with some of your favorites!