Daredevil: the man without fear Vol 1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev

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Daredevil: the man without fear Vol 1
by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev

I can't seem to find Volume 1 in my library's system, unfortunately, so I felt like I was coming into this storyline in the middle (because I was).

The art is dark in style but lends itself well to Daredevil and this storyline in particular. In this volume, there's a bit of a shakeup on the side of evil and one of the results is someone leaking to the press Daredevil's secret identity. Matt is targeted and nearly killed, then he's hounded for the rest of the book by reporters and others wanting to know if blind Matt Murdock really is the superhero Daredevil. How terrifying for a superhero to have his cover blown in this way. And Matt spends a long time trying to figure out what to do--does he lie? Does he tell the truth? None of his options are good. Some could get him killed, others imprisoned. Moreover, he's filled with angst over the matter and even contemplating giving up the title altogether. Perhaps this means his Daredevil days are over and he can no longer save the city he loves? That seems like the worst option of all, especially to us comic book fans.

Other character try to give him advice--reporters, ex-girlfriends, Spider-man, Foggy--but in the end, Matt makes his own decision and, thankfully, it all works out for the best. So it's a little convenient in that way, but it's definitely a satisfying enough conclusion.

I enjoyed seeing Daredevil's angst-filled struggles with his nature and identity. I enjoyed less the presence of Natasha (Black Widow) because it's not the Nat I know, but a crazy ex-girlfriend version of her I'm not so fond of (especially as I didn't get to see how they became what they are to each other because, again, I came into this in the middle of the storyline/series). That aside, I did really like this volume and am glad I read it, even though I couldn't get ahold of Volume 1.