Daredevil and Elektra, and Punisher, Oh My!
Hey you! I hacked your Netflix account. It told me you binge-watched the first season of DAREDEVIL in less than a week!? And then you went and re-watched it…twice…before binging on JESSICA JONES in less than a damn week too! You tawdry little nerd. Oh, and I see DAREDEVIL has climbed back to the top of your queue ready for season 2 introducing Elektra and The Punisher coming to us this Friday March 18th! You go girl! See you there! Looks great!
Did you know Daredevil, Elektra, and The Punisher are all based on characters from small paper booklets called comics! Yes you did! Well, let me acquaint you with some of these said comics that I think are worth your time and hard earned mula. This is by no means a definitive list (far from it!), but rather a peek into some books I think you will enjoy if you like (or want to like) any of the aforementioned characters.
Before you do anything, make for damn sure that you read Daredevil: The Man Without Fear written by Frank Miller with art from John Romita Jr.. It basically does for Daredevil what BATMAN: YEAR ONE does for Batman. It acquaints you with the hero, the universe, and a lot of the key players. It’s great stuff and if you can only get one book I mention here, get this one.
If you already tackled that one, I highly recommend Daredevil: End of Days (8-issue mini-series) written by Brian Bendis and David Mack with art from Klaus Janson, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Alex Maleev. It’s dark, it’s gritty, it has some gorgeous artwork inside and it’s a fun all-inclusive tale about the downfall of our red-clad hero. A hidden gem if you will.
And if you are the cool trend-setting type, pick up the latest issues of the proper Daredevil comic written by Charles Soule with art from Ron Garney. It’s got a fresh energy to it that really refocuses Daredevil and serves as a reboot of sorts. There are only a few issues out so far so catching up should be easy. Plus the collected volume titled Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 1: Chinatown will be out in late May and will include the first 5 issues of this ongoing series.
While Elektra does show up in many Daredevil stories, it’s worth noting that the recent Elektra Vol. 1: Bloodlines (issues #1-5) written by Haden Blackman with art by Mike Del Mundo (Weirdworld!) is an absolute blast consisting of some of the coolest artwork around. Well worth it.
And lastly we have our man The Punisher. He has a slew of classic stories that you can find in collected volumes at any self respecting comic shop. But special consideration should be given to the most recent 20 issue arc of The Punisher written by Natahan Edmondson featuring art by Mitchell Thomas Gerads and Mitchell Gerads among others. It reeks of “classic” Punisher, was an absolute rollercoaster, and was really an under appreciated title. I can recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in the character. The whole story can be found in 3 collected volumes including The Punisher Volume 1: Black and White (#1-6), The Punisher Volume 2: Border Crossing (#7-12 plus Black Widow #9), and The Punisher Vol. 3: Last Days (#13-20).
Get excited for Netflix’s DAREDEVIL Season 2 and be sure to give your local comic shop some love by enjoying the comics they spring from. Great stuff all around.
Words by Jason Furie
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