The Comic Book Group 2011 Awards – Character of the Year

CBG’s Character of the Year  (2011) — Daredevil

(Check the other full list of the CBG Awards Winners here)

Upon hearing that ye ole horn-head won this award, I immediately thought that the idea was preposterous. Upon much thought, I realized that I couldn’t exactly figure out why it seemed that way to me. So in times of comics-y doubt, I turned to the archives and did a little bit of back reading on what Matt Murdock’s been up to in the last decade and even his newest arcs like Shadowland and Daredevil Reborn. Cause you know, we gotta know the context and stuff… Yeah.

In my opinion, the best thing that happened to Matt Murdock in the 2000’s was the fact that he’s been established as a top-tier street-level superhero. Daredevil comics finally had a feel to it and for a while, it was the right one. Issues like Ed Brubaker’s run on Daredevil were phenomenal. It was dark and gritty. There was so much amazing story in there but I felt that they were burying the hatchet in the character a little too much. They just kept throwing shit on this guy. It just kind of felt that his title of “Man Without Fear” was a little less fitting compared to something like, let’s say, “Man Overcome with Survivor’s Guilt.” That was how the Daredevil comics were then, at least it seemed that way to me.

LET’S JUMP TO 2011.

Matt Murdock had a rough start. Shadowland just ended but Andy Diggle, who penned “The Losers” in Vertigo, did something that the character needed. He gave it a chance to have a new direction. He tore down every single thing that had been recently established. Fine, he kind of had a really out of character and awkward story that had Matt Murdock walking into Mexico and stopping this drug/weapon cartel, all while sporting a really rugged yet very gauche beard. It’s not going to be a run that I’d remember in the later years of my life, but I do understand the need for it.

With four issues down the drain, it wasn’t really looking like a good year for Daredevil BUT THENMarvel does something amazing. Marvel does magic and just shocks the bejeezus out of us by letting 2 creative teams get a hold of Matt Murdock; Mark Waid’s and Brian Michael Bendis’.

Let’s start with Bendis. Despite how crazy and underwhelming Fear Itself has been, it gave us something wonderful in the form of Fear Itself: New Avengers #16. This issue asks the readers and the characters themselves, “Who is worthy of being an Avenger?” Pretty big question. Their answer? Daredevil. I thought the issue was an intense form of hero worship. Every scene and most of the illustrations drawn by Mike Deodato just shows how badass Matt Murdock really is; He jumps INTO explosions, collects giant Nazi robot scalps, Fires a giant machine gun, and rescues the shit out of Squirrel girl and the Cage baby. Luke Cage sums it all up nicely…

“Daredevil. I know him pretty well actually. Well, as well as he let’s anyone know him. End of the day, without question, he’s one of the best. EVER. I’m not going to get into who he is and how he became who he became and I know there are a lot of people who think they know all there is to know about Daredevil and all of his secrets but I can tell you from personal experience that the information that’s out there is pretty much crap. Let’s just leave it at that. All you need to know about Daredevil is that this man has sacrificed EVERYTHING to try to make this city safer. He has lost more and suffered more for his dedication to you than, well, anybody I know and I know some people who’ve suffered and lost. He ain’t the strongest of us and he ain’t the flashiest but Daredevil CANNOT be brought down. It cannot happen. He is driven by demons deeper than anything anyone you know has ever been driven by and I’m telling you; in this business, ALL OF US, are demon driven. And even on THAT level, he still defines himself by his drive and dedication. People gonna ask: is Daredevil “Avengers material”? In my opinion, and I don’t mean to be all corny, but to me the question is… Are the Avengers “Daredevil material”?”

The issue concludes with Daredevil being rewarded with an Avengers membership and a personal call from both Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. THIS is the moment Daredevil fans have been waiting for! Just imagine all the situations Matt Murdock could end up in. He won’t be subjugated to street-level thugs and super villains anymore. Never has a Guardians of the Galaxy/Daredevil crossover been more plausible. THIS is one ground for saying that Daredevil had a good year. Zero to Avenger.

Now let’s talk about 2011’s stand-alone Daredevil title called, “Here comes… Daredevil”. This series is amazing. Let’s talk about the creative team first. The artists that do both the interiors and the covers like Marcos Martin, Jock, and Paolo Rivera are utterly amazing. I love how the comic is very much visually appealing in both its illustrations and in its usage of colors. Despite the title not having “Man without fear…” tagline on it, I think that the images and the warmth of the colors establish that this isn’t an emo guy and we can thank initial colorist Javier Rodriguez for that I suppose. This is guy who isn’t afraid of anything. Brilliantly done. I also found myself enthralled by how Paolo Rivera illustrated Daredevil’s Radar Sense. I haven’t seen something like that done in a Daredevil comic before. Extremely well thought out. Especially that fight with Spot in Daredevil #1. That got me hooked. The drawing style reminded me a bit of Mike Alred’s work but I can’t really explain what similarities I see.

2011 has made me a Daredevil fan. Character wise, Matt has got his mojo back. He’s got the cool cranked up all the way to 11. He could yell out “I AM A GOLDEN GOD” on a roof and no one would give him shit for it. In fact, people would be so excited for what he does next. This is a character that has just been given a new lease. Murdock shows us that he’s capable of being a completely fun guy to read about. He’s got his sense of humor back. He’s doing all kinds of crazy flips and tricks. Getting into all sorts of fights. Fear does not exist for him. Anything is possible. Anything can happen now. Daredevil DESERVES to be superhero of the year because of the fact that he has not been tied down by past stories and creative mistakes. Despite how heavy the chains of continuity were, he was capable of tossing them aside. Rarely can a hero so established and cemented in his own continuity perform such a strong and beautiful reboot.