Daredevil : Guardian Devil (HC)

This is the 10^th anniversary edition of the first Marvel Knights series featuring The Man Without Fear and it’s one hell of a trade. Blind man Matt Murdock aka Daredevil lives a double life in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen. One as a successful defence lawyer and the other as a rooftop-jumping, spandex-wearing crime fighter. In the past, “easy” has never been a word to describe Matt’s life and It’s not about to get any easier. He gets a visit from Karen Page, a troubled ex-girlfriend with a terrible burden. That’s the least of his problems as his partner & friend Foggy Nelson gets arrested for the murder of a client/lover and a teenage girl drops her new born baby in his care who she claims will be the redeemer, humanity’s saviour. You with me so far? Then a mysterious organization claims the very opposite, that the baby will instead grow up to be the destroyer of mankind, the antichrist and should be put down immediately lest the world burns. As Daredevil slowly starts to lose his grip on reality, he soon realizes that someone or something has gone to great lengths to destroy him, physically & mentally. The outcome will change his life forever. Featuring Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Kingpin & Bullseye.

Aside from the classic Frank Miller run, this is one of my favourite Daredevil stories for two reasons:

1. It’s written by film maker Kevin Smith, I believe this is Smith’s first foray in the world of comics and it fits him like a glove. Being a comic book fan since childhood, this was the next logical step. His movies always had an abundance of snappy dialogue & witty humour and the same can be said for this series minus the dick & fart jokes of course, this is still Marvel Comics after all. He also gives his characters, including the villains, plenty of humanity & raw emotions.
2. It’s incredibly illustrated by Joe Quesada, with the help of inker Jimmy Palmiotti (ok three reasons). The images burst with every page & panel. I first noticed Quesada’s illustrations in Batman : Sword Of Azrael and I liked his style right away.

This is clearly a book you should own (understood Stephen?), right next to your Frank Miller & Mark Waid collections. I’m giving it a perfect score. Written by Kevin Smith (Batman : The Widening Gyre) & illustrated by Joe Quesada (Ash, Painkiller Jane). Originally published as Daredevil #1-#8 & #1/2 under the Marvel Knights imprint. From Marvel Comics.