Daredevil Omnibus Hardcover – January 1, 1700

Comics have a long and storied history ranging from celebrated to condemned, lauded to dismantled, loved to hated. Marvel in particular has characters that reach as far back in history as World War II, with Captain America fighting side-by-side with the Greatest Generation to combat Nazi tyranny and oppression. With the dawn of the 1960's, Marvel issued in its most well known and beloved characters, including Spider-Man, The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and a slew of other timeless characters. Amidst this parade of costume characters who were unlike anything that had come before, Stan Lee and Bill Everett introduced us to Matt Murdock, blind attorney, Catholic, born and raised in the mean streets of NYC's Hell's Kitchen, and his crime-fighting alter-ego, Daredevil.A long bit of history as an introduction, I know, but here's what you need to understand, and why it relates to this book: when Daredevil first came about, it was during an explosion of creativity at Marvel that saw all these heroes explode on the scene. But while many thrived in the decade to come, by the late 1970's, Daredevil was on the verge of cancellation. The books weren't selling, and no one really cared about the character. It seemed "Ole Horn Head" was nearing his demise. Enter Frank Miller. Miller began as a penciller on DD, and within 10 issues, began writing the character, with the amazing Klaus Janson inking. What they did next revived the character, and left an imprint on comics that would last for decades to come.What Miller and Janson did that I feel was most important was that they transitioned DD away from being a superhero book, into more of a neo-noir crime drama. Whereas before DD had battled costumed villians like Stilt-Man and The Owl, Miller brought Wilson Fisk, the notorious Kingpin of Crime, into the spotlight, as well as reinvigorating staple villain Bullseye, and formed one of the greatest hero-villain struggles in all of comics. Miller located Matt and his supporting cast almost exclusively in Hell's Kitchen, eliminating the need for Matt to battle all over NYC. The Avengers, Spider-Man, and others already had that covered. Matt was going to take care of Hell's Kitchen, the placed that made him who he is. This is important, as it changed DD's dynamic from a traditional superhero, into a devoted, sometimes violent guardian of several blocks in a sprawling city, a "backyard hero." This made Matt a character that was far more relatable and empathetic to readers. Very few of us go to save the world, but everybody understands the impulse to defend their home turf.Miller's writing is great here. His senior efforts that made him a household name were still a ways off, and this is the voice of a growing artist, not a seasoned professional. Despite this, the dialogue is sharp, the scenarios well written and engaging, and the human drama is center stage. Miller had a vision when he assumed duties on DD, and he communicates it beautifully. I don't want to spoil things, but the continuous struggle that Matt endures, not only while combating the likes of Kingpin and Bullseye, is equaled in every way by his personal struggles amidst his love for Miller-created Elektra, Matt's lover turned master assassin, his vigilantism versus his oath to uphold the law, and his deep seeded guilt for his actions spurred by his Catholic beliefs versus his determination to right the wrongs in his city. Simply put, this is a story to rival any told not only in the comics medium, but any piece of fiction.The artwork is good, though definitely a product of the 1970's. As comics have developed, the art has (mostly) gotten better, with advances in technology and, more importantly, the willingness of people to acknowledge comics as a valid medium, which in turn attracted better, more developed artists to the field. That said, Miller's pencils are tight, concentrated efforts that tell an excellent story through their visual punch. Action scenes, moments of quiet drama, and emotional explosions are all prevalent and portrayed as only Miller can. Klaus Janson, providing inks throughout and taking over pencils when Miller relinquished them to write full time, is awe inspiring, with crisp, powerful brush and pen work that adds the shadowy depth that would come to signify and define DD's world. To summarize: Miller made it plausible, Janson made it real.As for the book itself, this is one of Marvel's finest compendiums. The book is your standard hardcover fair: reinforced, high quality paper, and very durable. It's packed with pencil and ink sketches, unused covers, an extensive interview with Miller and Janson, as well as introductions by both. Simply put, you're getting an absolute deal with this book.Miller and Janson's work not only redefined and established DD as a powerhouse in comics, but laid the groundwork for Miller's future masterpieces, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Sin City, Ronin, and of course, his return to the character that made his fame with the acclaimed DD storyline, "Born Again," as well as his excellent collaboration with John Romita Jr. on the character, "Daredevil: The Man Without Fear." While Miller's work has definitely deteriorated in recent years (All Star Batman anyone?...), this is Miller, not quite at the peak of his powers, but confident and aggressive in bringing a unique voice to a unique character. After finishing this, I would also recommend the aforementioned DD titles, "Born Again," and "The Man Without Fear." If you still can't get enough DD, check out Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleevs' run on the title (collected in three TPBs as The Ultimate Collection series) as well as Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark's run (also in the Ultimate Collection series). This is an amazing book, with an amazing story, with a hero who doesn't always win, but never gives up. I encourage you to dive right into Hell's Kitchen and follow Murdock and Co. through some of the best stories that comics, and fiction at large, have ever produced. Be sure you bring plenty of gauze and a steel baton. You'll need them.

Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen's complete landmark run on Daredevil. Genuinely some of the best writing the history of superhero comics. Alternatively printed in three separate paperback volumes, the entire run is collected here in this single gorgeous Omnibus. Thick, slick pages with vibrant colors and solid binding.Also make sure to check out the Frank Miller Daredevil Companion Omnibus if you're looking for Born Again, Love and War, and Man Without Fear.

Frank Miller's Daredevil run is one of the best in all comics. If you like Daredevil, Frank Miller or stories strong in character development, this is one of the best. A lot of what happens in the Daredevil Netflix show came from these stories (my opinion, not any insight into the writers of those shows).The book contains Daredevil issues 158 thru 191 (minus issue 162 - not a Miller issue and not really needed for the storyline). It also includes What If 28 (Matt Murdock is an Agent of SHIELD).The end of the book contains some interviews, artwork, thumbnails and color guides for issue 190. Standard end of collection items.Some of the artwork is by Frank Miller. I'm not going to say he is a great artist, but he is a good artist, and his style it fits very well with his writing style. Klaus Jansen's artwork is better than Miller's, but with enough similarity that it looks like one artist.The stories involve a lot more of Matt Murdock's history (learning from Stick, meeting Elektra), Kingpin and Ninja and the Hand related stories.The book itself is nice and large. You will need to rest it in your lap or on a table to read it (large and heavy). I don't know if the pages are glued but the binding looks very stable. There is really no gutter loss at all. Most pages have a white border so none of the artwork gets into the gutter.If you own any Absolute books, this is a smaller book. But still a nice size.The only minor complaint I had was the dust jacket. No problem reading the book, but once into the middle of the book, closing it would cause the dust jacket to move and potentially get a crease. This is most likely a problem with any book with a dust jacket, I just found it annoying to adjust every time I read and I started taking it off when reading.Overall, this book easily falls into my top 5 of all time best collections.