#4 - Top 12 Comic Book Characters

4. Daredevil

Yup – this list is very heavily populated by the mainstream superhero crowd (and it’s only going to get worse). When I sat down and thought of who I really loved, that’s just the way it turned out. Daredevil appealed to me from a very young age, and he’s the reason I became a lawyer. Actually, that’s not true – but he and Foggy made the legal profession look pretty interesting.I was 8 or so when Frank Miller got his hands on this title and I loved it. Many of my favourite issues were published when I was 10 years old (I’m talking issues #179-191 or thereabouts). Even though they were quite sophisticated, I understood that this was groundbreaking stuff. Most of those issues seem as fresh today as they did back then.

Some people see Daredevil as Marvel’s version of Batman. He fights crime at the street level and is pretty far from omnipotent. I’ve never really bought into that comparison, but if that’s how people see DD, I’m cool with that. You could do a lot worse than a second rate Batman. There is much more to DD than that, though. Sure, he has risen from tragedy – but his style and surroundings are very different. Daredevil operates in a very small neighbourhood and, although he is part of the Marvel Universe, seems to keep it at arm’s length. He has a circle of friends and colleagues, but never lets anyone get too close. His love life has been a mess – and who can’t relate to that?

Miller’s run is the finest in my mind, but I truly appreciate almost all of Daredevil’s eras – even the Mike Murdock lunacy. That is fun, fun stuff to read. I had my doubts when the title was relaunched in the late 90s, but was pleasantly surprised. I haven’t picked up a DD book in a few years now, but I have heard very good things about the past few arcs and will look for TPBs.Matt Murdock is probably as well developed a character, as you’ll find in superhero book. Over the course of years, writers and artists have really made sure that readers get a feel for the world his inhabits. His friends seem real and some of his enemies even plausible. All in all, it is hard not to root for the guy.

I love Daredevil – always have and I always will.