Fearless From the Start...

I remember when we got the first trailers of Daredevil, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the series was going to take ideas from one of my favourite Daredevil stories of all time. And that story is of course, Daredevil: The Man Without Fear by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr. An origin story that fits like a glove with all the stories penned by Miller in the past before he released this, and it makes sense as well to have him write it. For years he had reshaped Matt Murdock into the gritty tough hero we all know and love today. And drawn by the legendary John Romita Jr, drawing a character who was drawn by his father for years as well. An absolute full circle here. For really big fans of the series, I would say this is the most important of all the books to check out, mainly for how much influence it takes on the show. But it also happens to be one of the best origin stories ever told for any superhero ever, learning responsibility and what to do with his abilities, highly suggest this book to everyone.

Originally released in the early 90's, the book collects all five issues of this mini series. We follow the Daredevil story all the way from the beginning as a trouble maker kid in Hells Kitchen, growing up with his boxer dad and the accident that robbed him of his sight. We see him learning how to fight and how to move in the darkness by his mentor, Stick. It follows Matt through college, his first meeting with Elektra, Foggy Nelson and a clash against the operations of the Kingpin. And you get a great build up to the climactic showdown in the last issue, you see a young and reckless Murdock who makes mistakes and ends up hurting himself and others. I remember reading when I was just starting up my Daredevil collection, I will never forget the image of Matt standing in the rain over the apartments of two parents hopelessly trying to figure out how to save their child. "There's nobody who can help us" they say as Matt listens and knows what needs to be done. That was a Daredevil moment if any, I still to this day love that image. It says everything you need to know about him in one page.

Perfect.

Another important note, the black home made costume he has in the series, came right out of this book. You get to see it in issue 4 and 5 in action against the bad guys, and it works really well for the series as well. Especially since he is mainly dealing with thugs and goons at the moment, he just needs to kick some ass and save people. Although kudos to the Netflix series on updating the look and making it look really good, I almost forget sometimes that he should be rocking the crimson red and horns. I am interested to see if they use the Elektra origin story that was told here in the second season, hopefully, because she is a kick ass character who could even run her own show. And after the success with Daredevil who isn't looking forward to seeing Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Personally I would love to see Moon Knight, Thunderbolts and maybe if they can get him back, Ghost Rider.

I can't recommend this book enough to all newcomers to the Daredevil universe, this is perhaps the most noted origin story when talking about Daredevil now in days. There are others like Season One: Daredevil or Daredevil: Yellow as well serves as telling of his early days in the crime fighting business. But what do you think? Did you see all the connections to Man Without Fear? What is your favourite origin story? Leave a comment below or follow me on Twitter (@ChileanStorm) and let's talk some Daredevil. My next book this week is going to be one that is probably debatable but to me is one that is dear to me, actually that could be said for the next two books on Daredevil week. But have no fear, just keep chasing the storm!

Died Once...

Blackhawks won tonight! :D

Okay, let's get dark.

So think of the worst day you have ever had, maybe even worst week or month. It sucked and maybe it was your darkest moment, your rock bottom. Welcome to hell on Earth for Matt Murdock in the classic Born Again run in Daredevil by at the time one of the biggest name in comics, Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli. The influence and shape that Miller brought to Daredevil is uncanny, and after watching the series you can see all the different pieces he has brought to Hells Kitchen and the Daredevil universe. Arguably his best work ever, what we have here is the most painful moments for Matt Murdock, the lowest of the lows. A hero is not defined by his moments in the sun, but how he escapes the darkest moments that would break most of us. What do you do when you lose everything? Can you start over?

The Born Again collection contains issues 226-233 of Daredevil, released during one of the best times for comic books, in the mid 80's. To me, I was told to read this series by several different comic book shop owners and old school fans, remember my comic days started in the mid 90's...which was a pretty bad time to start apparently. I remember when I first read this book, I was blown away. Because living in poverty, growing up in a bad neighbourhood and dealing with addictions is a reality a lot of us have had to face, and if you haven't, honestly count your blessings. Seeing Daredevil dealing with all these elements was eye opening. Generally all our favourite heroes are well of as millionaires or have a pretty decent job, here we see Murdock living in shelters and churches. We see his old flame, Karen Page, dragged down by her own addictions. And we see the Kingpin taking in all of this misery and enjoying it. It's an incredible story of redemption and perseverance, one that I could relate with growing up and a story I feel I need to read, to understand why Daredevil is more then another guy in tights with super powers.

I feel like what Born Again was able to accomplish was something that all comic book fans should read and quite possibly one of the best works ever created. A study of real struggles, understanding the idea of redemption and of forgiveness, the ability to start again. It's honestly sad Frank Miller has fallen off over the years, because after the work he did here with Daredevil and even over on Batman, he could have called it a day and never looked back. Regardless this book still stands the test of time and is an absolute classic for every fans collection. Obviously it goes without saying, I wouldn't suggest this book to younger readers, but one that eventually everyone should read once. A story that captures a lot of the essence of pain and misery, perfectly matched with the art of Mazzucchelli. If you want a comic that will make you think and you can talk about for years to come, look no further.

So no matter how dark it gets, just remember to always fight back and never give up on yourself and those who love you. But what do you think about Daredevil Born Again? A masterpiece? Over rated? No wrong answers here, leave a comment below and let's get the conversation going. Coming up will be another of Frank Miller's work on Daredevil and one I feel has had the most influence on the current series. So stay tuned, be sure to tell your friends and share this page. Until then, keep chasing the storm.