Frank Miller and Klaus Janssen begin their run with Daredevil in a deluxe volume published by Panini Comics.
Throughout the history of Daredevil, there have been many authors who have left an indelible mark on the character. You can talk about Brian Michael Bendis, you can talk about Ed Brubaker and Mark Waid, but without a doubt, the authors who raised the level of the characters in their work are Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen. Now Panini Comics collects his long run in four volumes, the first of which is published under the title Marvel Masterpieces. Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen 1 of 4.
Entrance to the big stage
Some unsuspecting reader might be surprised to open this volume and find a list of authors longer than Alan Moore’s hair. And some of them were famous in the late seventies: Jim Shooter, Gerry Conway, Gil Kane, Bill Mantlo, Carmine Infantino, Gene Colan, Mary Jo Duffy or George Tuska among others. But Miller and Jansen’s names are not among those primarily responsible for the voice, their role was taken to participate in a few cases (Miller in one Daredevil and two of Spiderman, Janson in nine Daredevil).
But how is this? Shouldn’t this be the start of a run of these two monsters in the original Guardians of the Galaxy series? Well, actually it is, the first issues are here, but surely there is no other way to see the essence of this content than the introduction to the legendary platform that changed the character forever.
The story is well known. The series didn’t fare the best and this was a standout in sales. It was time to make hard decisions and there was no other option but to cancel the original idea, and the only thing that occurred to the heads of the thinking of La Casa de las Ideas was to give the series to two promising young people who had already worked on it. series, and the rest is history. But to understand what this couple did with the character, you need to know where he was at that time. And it’s interesting to read these numbers and compare them and see how the level has risen to a stratospheric level.
You can only go from the bottom up
Nothing bad can be said about the numbers here in the graphics department. In many cases, not only that, but by staying true to the aesthetic of the time and like John Romita Sr. Some of the numbers that people who have not reached what they did but are still playing in that league stand out for this aspect. However, the scripts are not up to par…
Today, Daredevil is more than established and his character is expected to be based on familiar and accepted premises related to his Catholicism and his past. But before Miller and Janssen took on the character, he was more like a blind Peter Parker than the tragic hero we know today.
In these issues, mostly a series of monster-of-the-week-type chapters, we see our heroes dealing with problems that today might be seen as a bit bland. Keeping a balance between keeping a criminal from destroying half the city and being late for an appointment can be a challenge, but Matt Murdock has to deal with the complications of being blind and pretending that he doesn’t notice his surroundings any better than he does. It does, rest there are really funny situations.
Especially (worse) in this regard is when Bullseye is about to rob a jewelry store in civilian clothes with a golf ball (wtf?) and Matt tries to stop him. When the police arrive on the scene and ask him to explain why he attacked the villain if he hasn’t done anything (yet), Matt has no choice but to argue that his voice sounds scary.
The truth is, we don’t get the bright and cheerful tone of Stan Lee and Bill Everett’s original character stories, but we do get all the wit of those times. This combined with a very mature tone (the eighties were just around the corner) results in plots that are sometimes unbearable.
Bullseye starts to shine
And despite everything, we will find many reasons why reading this volume should not be wasted. Besides being an important start to what’s to come with Miller and Jansen, here we see the first appearance of a character in the legend of our protagonist, Ben Urick, a journalist. His greatest and most honorable enemies: the aforementioned Bullseye.
In the Marvel Universe (and before that scary time in the jewelry store) it will be Gil Kane’s tale in the fight against this villain in his glory days. Miller took good note of this to use good old Lester in one of his most epic moments: when Elektra is stabbed by Sai and she’s lifeless (not for long).
And the final point in favor of this volume is that Miller’s pencils, working as a guest artist at the end, are more than anything in the wall-crawler series. For the first time with Daredevil. At that time, the artist’s style had nothing to do with what we see, many years later in the works that remain in the history of ninth century art…
Published in hardcover by Panini Comics, it contains 360 color pages measuring 17 x 26 cm. and the US edition of issues #144 to #158 of Daredevil, issue #43 of Marvel Premiere and issues #27 and #28 of Peter Parker, The Amazing Spider-Man, plus issues from all covers included, an introduction by Roger McKenzie and a nice extras section at the end. It has a recommended retail price of €42 and goes on sale in March 2024.
Marvel’s masterpieces. Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson 1 of 4
The most influential author in the history of Daredevil closes the first of four volumes set to recover his debut at the end of a mini-adventure, with Klaus Janssen as the main collaborator.
A historical composition that allows us to know the state of Daredevil as it was before the arrival of Frank Miller and witness his presence in the front row.
It includes the return of the owl, bullseye or black widow. It also includes the first comic Spiderman adventure where Frank Miller had the opportunity to draw Daredevil.
Authors: Bill Mantlo, Carmine Infantino, Gene Colan, Gil Kane, Jim Shooter, Roger McKenzie, Frank Miller, Klaus Jansen, Lee Elias, Gerry Conway, George Tuska, Frank Robbins, and Mary Jo Duffy.