This is the best Daredevil storyline since Born Again.

Read Underboss before this to get the full story. In breif: Daredevil's secret identity has been outed by a tabloid newspaper (whose source is also an unconventional surprise). The repercussions are real and, no, there won't be a resolve with both Matt Murdock and someone else disguised as Daredevil appearring in the same place at the same time.

Bendis' strength as a writer of dialogue and creating memorable, vital characters is at its' peak here. Matt Murdock creates his own problems and ruins good opportunities because of his own flaws, not some super-baddie vowing revenge. Maleev's artwork is dark, gritty, moody and somber: an ideal match for Daredevil (and the colors by Matt Hollingworth and even the lettering by Richard Starkings are also well-suited and noteworthy).

Bendis and Maleev as a creative team for daredevil is so effective and evocative because they were both clearly influenced by Frank Miller. However, they are are not just aping Miller, they're embellishing. Their vision for Daredevil will forever change the character and in time may be remembered as just as important as Millers'.

The only drawback is the artwork in the last White Tiger story. It's okay, and it's a good story but without Maleev, it's just not the same, and it would have been really interesting to see what Maleev would have done with the story-line.

Pick this up. It's not just the best mainstream comic today, it may be the best thing in the entire field.


Character Driven, Intense Super Hero Tale   March 11, 2003
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, faces the worst nightmare for masked adventurer when the front page of the tabloids proclaim to the world that he is Daredevil. His life is upended, the media is camped outside his aprtment and hounding his every mood, and Foggy tells Matt that maybe he should quit. This story plumbs the depth of the character, Matt not Daredevil, and what compels Matt to put on the costume. Very few baddies in this volume, it's all about Matt and Foggy, which isn't a bad thing. Guest appearances include Luke Cage, Jessica Jones (ALIAS), the Black Widow, and Spiderman.

The pencils by alex maleev are incredible. His work constantly improves with each issue of Daredevil he draws. Buy this book. Bendis' best Daredevil story so far.

If this is your first Daredevil book, I suggest picking up "Underboss" before you read this book.


Worth reading for the first story   May 16, 2005
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

For the record, I've never read anything by Bendis that was as good as Alias, which was fantastic, all the way through. I read "Wake Up" first, and I was very impressed, although I wasn't sure that I was getting a clear idea of Bendis' Daredevil, or of Daredevil himself, for that matter, as I have never read a Daredevil book. I picked up Underboss, then, and I enjoyed it enough to want to pick up the next volume.

This trade contains two stories: "Out" and "Trial of the Century." "Out" is fantastic. The idea is daring as hell, and it's handled perfectly. The characters are all completely believable and compelling--particularly, Matt Murdock, Foggy and Ben Urich; the dialogue is fantastic, the story is engaging and Alex Maleev's artwork is perfect. It has the same gritty feel of Michael Gaydos' artwork, and it looks great; figures and facial expressions are all natural, too.

Then there's "Trial of the Century," which was fairly poor. The main problem with it is the artwork, which is ridiculously poor for all of Manuel Gutierrez's issues (parts one and two). It is distorted and ugly; the way that Murdock's hair sticks up alone shows that Gutierrez doesn't have a basic understanding of how gravity works--or how hair works. Murdock looks very much like an alien in some panels.

The third issue, illustrated by Terry Dodson, is much better. It's nowhere near Alex Maleev's artwork, or David Mack's, but it's nice and stylized, and it does have something going for it.

That said, the writing on this one was okay. It wasn't as good as "Out," I think, although I'm sure that the artwork had something to do with how little I enjoyed it, but it wasn't wonderful, either. One thing that I really enjoyed in Alias was the way that Bendis could makes ridiculous characters like Speedball, or Mattie Franklin (Spider-woman III) believable, or even idealized super-heroes like Captain America or Ant-Man (Scott Lang) feel like real, relatable characters.

That doesn't go over with the White Tiger, who seems like a stereotypical hero, most of the way through. The opposing lawyer and the judge both seem like charicatures; there's nothing really impressive here. Still, it's Bendis, and, really, the artwork is probably what hurts the story the most.

Still, four stars because "Out" is so good.


The secret is OUT   March 11, 2003
 0 out of 3 found this review helpful

Kingpin has known Matt murdocks secret since the Born Again series. But now a tabliod has found out and told everone and now the daredevils enemies know. what is next


The secret is OUT   March 11, 2003
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Kingpin has known Matt murdocks secret since the Born Again series. But now a tabliod has found out and told everone and now the daredevils enemies know. what is next