Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Single Issue Hall of Fame: Daredevil #185

Like a great number of people, I adore Frank Miller's initial Daredevil run. While many of those fans would point to the death of Elektra as being the high watermark of the era, I have to go with this issue. It fully showcases Miller's talents as a storyteller, as he breaks down the fourth wall in the framing sequence and then switches to a noirish first person narrative by Foggy 'Guts' Nelson. Daredevil helps out from the shadows, as 'Guts' hits Hell's Kitchen trying to get some information. He forms and unexpected and comical alliance with Turk. It's a terrific story, and a true collaboration between Miller and Klaus Janson. The look on Kingpin's face when Daredevil says 'Don't Mess With Guts Nelson' over a walkie talkie is priceless. It's really too bad they didn't include a better mix of action and humour for the movie. Such a missed opportunity. Still, we will always have Daredevil #185.

2 comments:

benday-dot/craig said...

That issue really did encapsulate what made Miller's DD run so special back in the 80's. It was such a fertile period for Miller and Daredevil. Thanks for the reminder of this great issue Scott!

Andrew Wahl said...

Scott:

I concur, this was a great issue. My personal favorite is Daredevil #191, where DD plays Russian Roulette with a crippled Bullseye (with incredible Austin inks and Varley colors). Masterful stuff. But then that could be said about much of this run!

Cheers,
Andrew
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