Stan Lee, �Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 2�
Come on, you knew this was coming.
Okay, I just got back from seeing Daredevil, the movie. And it rules!
Okay, maybe it doesn�t rule, but it doesn�t suck! Oh, christ am I glad they managed not to bungle what could have been a disaster. Yes, there are deviations from the comic. Yes some things, like the introduction of the love interest are kind of forced, and possibly even lame. And yes, the soundtrack for the movie is fucking awful. Absolutely terrible. I really wish they had gone with a score.
But the people that made this film are taking a darker character that never enjoyed the popularity of somebody like Spider-man or Superman or Batman. (Side tangent - with the plagiarism that happens between comics, I�m surprised this title didn�t start out with something like Dareman or Devilman.) They have to market it to an audience that doesn�t know the subject. Spider-man, before it came out, didn�t even need to use the title in their advertisements. They just put up a picture, and everybody automatically knew who it was.
So they had to tinker with Daredevil, in my opinion, because they�re trying to do more than just impress the fans, they�re trying to make new ones. So do I wish they didn�t use such MTV inspired editing? Sure. Does it make it a bad film? No. I only wish there were more people in our theater - it would have been more fun with a better crowd.
Bottom line: 8 out of 10. Better than Spider-man. Possibly as good as the X-men, and just maybe a little better. I�ll have to review both again. Better than Superman II, which is probably to date the best superhero movie? No fucking way. Too bad.
Of course, as some have noted, I�m a fan so I�m automatically going to like it, right? Well, no. I think I can put my fanboy-ishness behind me to rate a Daredevil product. Like this book for instance. This book SUCKS. For the most part, anyway.
It reprints the issues between #12 and 21, written by Stan Lee, who also invented the character. I think Stan Lee for introducing the character. I thank him for creating the company that gave him �life,� so to speak. But more so, I thank any and all gods that he doesn�t do the writing any longer.
Man, this stuff is cornier than the popcorn I just ate at the movie theater. Everything about it screams hyperactive sugar-addled imagination with nothing to control it, seeing as he owned the company and could write whatever the hell he wanted. From stupid one-liners to soap opera melodrama between the love interests to lame remembrances of origins that happen every two pages, this thing is a big ball of crap-ola.
He shamelessly uses crossovers galore to try and peak interest in other titles. But how to nab the kids, Lee thinks. Hey! Kids like pirates! We�ll have Daredevil battle pirates! But wait! Kids like dinosaurs too! Let�s put some dinosaurs in there!
This is in the same issue! What the hell is going on?
I know I�m not the only one who thought Lee was lame. He goes on vacation for one issue, and you can immediately see the difference in the character in the hands of a better writer. After quipping off a one-liner when he bops some bad guy, Daredevil thinks to himself how stupid that sounded and promises to be the strong, silent crusader from now on. Bet then Lee gets back from vacation and we�re back in the land of corn. Feh.
So, who wants to go see the movie with me tomorrow?
