Book Review: Daredevil vs. Bullseye by M. Wolfman et al.

Daredevil vs. Bullseye written by Marv Wolfman, Jim Shooter, and Frank Miller and pencils by Bob Brown, Gil Kane, and Frank Miller

This book has separate stories of Daredevil fighting one of his iconic villains, Bullseye.

In the first story, Bullseye makes his first appearance. He show up killing a rich man who won't pay a ransom to be spared. Prepared for this, Bullseye starts a media campaign to support his extortion/murder campaign in the hopes that future victims will pay up immediately rather than face his infallible aim. Bullseye is an expert marksman using virtually anything--guns are okay, but he can use bricks, pens, trash, virtually anything, as a lethal weapon. Daredevil has enough enhanced abilities to dodge the attacks, but can he take down a ranged enemy when he (Daredevil) is more of a melee guy? Bullseye goes for the jugular and the exposure when he fights Daredevil at Madison Square Garden while the circus is in town. The story is exciting but the dialogue is voluminous and slows down the action a bit. Also, it was clearly written in the late 1970s, with a lot of the hip and trendy lingo of yesteryear. It was an entertaining introduction for the iconic character.

In the next story, Daredevil is trailing an incognito Bullseye, hoping to corner him and find out who hired him to assassinate Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson a few issues back (and not in this volume). Daredevil switches to street clothes and follows Bullseye into a gun store. He foils the robbery but gets beaned when Bullseye throws a golf ball at him. The injury causes Daredevil to lose his radar sense. Daredevil is called out by Bullseye to a TV studio for a duel to the death on air. If Daredevil doesn't show, he'll kill the three daytime talk show hosts. Even without his radar sense, Matt heads off to the confrontation. The battle features a lot of on-again-off-again moments of Daredevil's radar sense, which seems more tied to making the fight more dramatic than to any actual physical cause. I found this less interesting than the first story.

The next story has Bullseye on the verge of a surgery to remove a brain tumor. When the tumor becomes painful, he sees everyone as Daredevil and wants to slaughter them all. He kills the hospital staff and wanders Manhattan, vacillating between trying to keep control and trying to take down Daredevil. Daredevil shows up and has a chance to kill Bullseye but his better nature kicks in.

After the surgery happens, Bullseye is in prison planning to kill Daredevil. Bullseye finds out that he's been replaced as Kingpin's main assassin by Elektra, so Bullseye targets her too. When he makes his escape, lots of fighting ensues. Bullseye's inner monologue is fascinating (Frank Miller wrote it) as he works his way through all his problems. More problems happen as he fights Daredevil, who has a very hard time not killing Bullseye.

The final story has Daredevil giving the extended monologue while he plays Russian Roulette with Bullseye, who is completely paralyzed in a hospital bed. Daredevil is pulling the trigger for his enemy as he tries to make sense of the situation, especially after dealing with a legal case where the son of his client is obsessed with Daredevil. It's another poignant moment in the narrative.

This is a mixed bag of stories, some being more interesting than others.

Mildly recommended, though more strongly if you are a Daredevil fan.

Book Review: Batman: Year One by F. Miller et al.

Batman: Year One written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, and colors by Richmond Lewis

A twenty-five year old Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City at the same time as James Gordon arrives, taking a lieutenant's job with Gotham's finest. Only the police force can hardly be called "the finest" since it is rife with corruption. Gordon left Chicago after blowing the whistle on a corrupt cop there. His new co-workers are less than enthusiastic about his righteous ways. Gordon is also under stress since his wife is pregnant with their first child. Meanwhile, Bruce is trying out various ways to fight crime on the street, often winding up injured and having a hard time keeping his anonymity. He finally hits on a way to strike terror into criminals (including organized crime elites in Gotham), dressing as a bat and using special gadgets to instill fear in his enemies. Gordon's and Wayne's stories easily collide as they both fight crime and corruption in Gotham.

This gritty and realistic imagining of Bruce Wayne's first year as a crime fighter has been popular and influential since its initial 1986 publishing. It opened the way for Tim Burton's films and was clearly an inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Miller does a good job keeping the action realistic while introducing fantastical characters like Batman and Catwoman. Wayne works his way up from a vigilante who is determined but not fully in control. Selina Kyle works as a streetwalker until things get too hot, then she switches to cat burglary, including the cat costume. Kyle and Wayne have less interaction here but Miller sets up their future collision just as much as he does the collision of Batman and Gordon. The art has a dark, noir style that enhances the storytelling. This is a classic for a reason.

Recommended, highly for Batman fans.

Book Review: Daredevil: Born Again by F. Miller et al.

Daredevil: Born Again written by Frank Miller and art by David Mazzucchelli and Dennis Janke

Karen Page, former secretary and lover to Matt Murdock, is down and out in Mexico. After breaking up with Matt, she tried to make it big in movies. She became a junkie and, in order to get one more fix, she reveals Matt's secret identity as Daredevil. Information goes up the underworld chain and gets to Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin. He takes everything away from Matt--his job, his bank account, his home, etc. Matt's already somewhat mentally unstable. He goes over the edge, alienating his few friends and making bad decisions. He claws his way back out of the pit in a gritty tale of conflict and corruption.

The story is written by Frank Miller, of Sin City and 300 fame, and has a hard edge that is not what you would expect from a 1980s comic book. The recent Daredevil television show borrowed a lot of elements from this storyline. The writing is so good, it's no surprise. Matt goes through a lot in a convincing and heart-breaking way, making his ultimate redemption all the better. This is a solid drama with lots of action.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Wolverine by C. Claremont et al.

Wolverine written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Frank Miller and Paul Smith, and inked by Josef Rubinstein and Bob Wiacek

This graphic novel collects the early 1980s limited series Wolverine (four issues) and two follow-up issues from Uncanny X-Men. The story follows Wolverine as he goes to Japan to find the love of his life, Mariko Yashida. She has mysteriously cut off contact with Wolverine and has returned to her family home. Turns out she's been given in marriage by her father, a wealthy and well-connect man who incurred some sort of debt, to some jerk who treats her poorly. Wolverine has more than a culture clash when he tries to find out why Mariko is choosing duty and honor over him.

The plot is more complicated than the average comic book. In the brief introduction, Chris Claremont  describes how he and artist Frank Miller discussed Wolverine as a character and how they'd like to see him develop from the berserker killer into something different--maybe better, maybe worse. They wanted him to have a character-altering experience. This book does a great job with that. Wolverine is more thoughtful and set in contrast to another character, Yukio, a female assassin who lives life to its fullest because she might die at any minute. She's vicious and feral like Wolverine. Wolverine realizes he needs to be more if he's going to be worthy enough to marry Mariko.

The story is very well-told, with good action and nice twists. Wolverine is given more depth and humanity without turning him into a sappy, angst-ridden hero. He becomes a more three-dimensional character and, if possible, more beloved by the fans.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way to Dusty Death by S. Lee et al.

Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way to Dusty Death written by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Chris Claremont, et al., with art by Steve Ditko, Frank Miller, et al.

This anthology of team-up tales featuring Spider-Man and Doctor Strange ranges from 1965 to 1999. The stories start with Spidey and Strange fighting the sorcerer Xandu, who gathers powerful mystical artifacts (and steals them from Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum) in a effort to bring his beloved Melinda back from death. In later stories, they face foes famous (Doctor Doom, Dormammu) and not so famous (Silver Dagger, The Wraith).

An anthology like this has lots of advantages. The thematic core, Spider-Man helping out Doctor Strange, makes a great blend of contrasts--Spidey's wisecracking street smarts and brawn with Strange's esoteric magical abilities. Many battles happen in a mystical dimension, putting Spider-Man out of his comfort zone and enabling exposition about the bizarre mystical mumbo-jumbo that the writers make up. The anthology also cherry-picks stories from thirty years' worth of comics, so the reader gets the best ones.

Recommended.

Parental Advisory--the book is rated T+ on the Marvel Rating System, which may be for the occultish elements of Doctor Strange's life or also for an unusual amount of scantily-clad women (Melinda's outfit gets skimpier and skimpier from story to story, eventually down to a Princess Leia bikini). The violence is pretty standard and not particularly gory.