Daredevil Yellow
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale
Publisher: Marvel
My only exposure to Daredevil so far has been the wonderfully dreadful movie put out. My knowledge of the character is extremely limited, and therefore was surprised when tasked to read and comment on Daredevil Yellow. Long-time fans will understand when I say this book is not the best introduction to the series. While it gives a good overview of the character, much of the emotional impact requires prior DD knowledge.
Daredevil Yellow is a look back of Daredevil’s adventures so far. In it Matt Murdock pens a letter to one of his ex-girlfriends, trying to find some closure. It teeters on the line between being humorous and being deathly grim, yet also covering all of what makes Daredevil so… Daredevilish.
The first thing that struck me throughout this book was that Daredevil wears Yellow – hence the title – and not the more recognisable red costume he usually wears. This colour is a tribute to Matt’s fathers boxing robe. He is the inspiration behind what Mr Murdock does in both day and night time. Despite not being the straight arrow he claims to be, the book does a great job of making Battling Jack Murdock, and the rest of the characters extremely likable. Each being happy go lucky but still maintaining the depth underneath. All of the characters at one point or another make mistakes, or decisions and it humanizes the cast and gives the book a feeling of realism that shouldn’t exist.
One of the cool things I learned about Daredevil from this book is that he’s what’s known as a street level superhero. To define it means he only deals with villains within his small corner of the globe. However, it also means that he gets outwitted and beat up a lot easier compared to other heroes. It’s kind of cheeky how they play this up with the constant references to Spiderman. This was a refreshing change from your usual run of the mill superheroes.
The other interesting thing I learnt about the character is that is horrible at keeping his identity a secret. This is another interesting and comical twist on the standard super hero affair.
Whilst I certainly shared some great time with the book, dinner and the movies, long walks on the beach. I wasn’t a fan of everything. I mentioned before, because of a lack of prior knowledge I’m not exactly sure what happened to Ms Page, and this is largely glossed over using the Seinfield famed “Yadda yadda yadda and that’s what happened to her.”
The other thing that was largely ignored was the relationship between Karen and Foggy. It’s for the most part non-existent, until about three quarters through the book when Foggy pulls out an engagement ring and tells Matt that he’s thinking about popping the question. It might just be me but I’ve always assumed that you need to have a romantic relationship with a woman before you ask her to spend the rest of her life with you. Then again maybe I’m just old fashioned like that.
I haven’t mentioned the art yet because it is a Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale book, meaning the art is always going to be fantastic. Though this time I have to pay particular dues to Sale as he does a masterful job of making Daredevil’s acrobatics come alive. Also I’m a massive fan of how expressive all the characters are in both face and body.
The colouring matches the tone perfectly, with some pages filled with bright and vibrant colours. Other pages are dulled and have a grimier, dirty feeling about them.
Overall, Daredevil Yellow was a great experience. Even though I missed out on some of the emotionality of the piece I still had a great time, and recommend it to anyone who wants to find out more about the character. For me, it introduced a new superhero to throw money at, and I couldn’t be more hyped for this weekend.
Artist: Tim Sale
Publisher: Marvel
My only exposure to Daredevil so far has been the wonderfully dreadful movie put out. My knowledge of the character is extremely limited, and therefore was surprised when tasked to read and comment on Daredevil Yellow. Long-time fans will understand when I say this book is not the best introduction to the series. While it gives a good overview of the character, much of the emotional impact requires prior DD knowledge.
Daredevil Yellow is a look back of Daredevil’s adventures so far. In it Matt Murdock pens a letter to one of his ex-girlfriends, trying to find some closure. It teeters on the line between being humorous and being deathly grim, yet also covering all of what makes Daredevil so… Daredevilish.
The first thing that struck me throughout this book was that Daredevil wears Yellow – hence the title – and not the more recognisable red costume he usually wears. This colour is a tribute to Matt’s fathers boxing robe. He is the inspiration behind what Mr Murdock does in both day and night time. Despite not being the straight arrow he claims to be, the book does a great job of making Battling Jack Murdock, and the rest of the characters extremely likable. Each being happy go lucky but still maintaining the depth underneath. All of the characters at one point or another make mistakes, or decisions and it humanizes the cast and gives the book a feeling of realism that shouldn’t exist.
One of the cool things I learned about Daredevil from this book is that he’s what’s known as a street level superhero. To define it means he only deals with villains within his small corner of the globe. However, it also means that he gets outwitted and beat up a lot easier compared to other heroes. It’s kind of cheeky how they play this up with the constant references to Spiderman. This was a refreshing change from your usual run of the mill superheroes.
The other interesting thing I learnt about the character is that is horrible at keeping his identity a secret. This is another interesting and comical twist on the standard super hero affair.
Whilst I certainly shared some great time with the book, dinner and the movies, long walks on the beach. I wasn’t a fan of everything. I mentioned before, because of a lack of prior knowledge I’m not exactly sure what happened to Ms Page, and this is largely glossed over using the Seinfield famed “Yadda yadda yadda and that’s what happened to her.”
The other thing that was largely ignored was the relationship between Karen and Foggy. It’s for the most part non-existent, until about three quarters through the book when Foggy pulls out an engagement ring and tells Matt that he’s thinking about popping the question. It might just be me but I’ve always assumed that you need to have a romantic relationship with a woman before you ask her to spend the rest of her life with you. Then again maybe I’m just old fashioned like that.
I haven’t mentioned the art yet because it is a Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale book, meaning the art is always going to be fantastic. Though this time I have to pay particular dues to Sale as he does a masterful job of making Daredevil’s acrobatics come alive. Also I’m a massive fan of how expressive all the characters are in both face and body.
The colouring matches the tone perfectly, with some pages filled with bright and vibrant colours. Other pages are dulled and have a grimier, dirty feeling about them.
Overall, Daredevil Yellow was a great experience. Even though I missed out on some of the emotionality of the piece I still had a great time, and recommend it to anyone who wants to find out more about the character. For me, it introduced a new superhero to throw money at, and I couldn’t be more hyped for this weekend.
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