Originally announced in 2006, Brian Bendis and David Mack’s long gestating Daredevil story telling about the final days of the horned hero was finally released last year to various shades of critical acclaim (including a massively positive review of the first issue from yours truly). But now that it is wrapped and collected for all of us to enjoy in a single sitting, was it really worth over a half decade’s wait?
Written by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack
Illustrated by David Mack, Klaus Janson and Bill SienkiewiczRevealed at last…how it all ends for the Man Without Fear! In the near future, the Kingpin and Daredevil have been murdered – but that’s just the beginning of the story. Investigative reporter Ben Urich has one last story to write…what was Matt Murdock’s final secret? Ben digs deep into the seedy underbelly of the Marvel Universe, tracking down Matt’s buried sins and past loves to discover the secrets behind his death – but who is the new Daredevil that’s tracking Ben? You won’t believe your eyes when the mystery behind Daredevil’s final days stands revealed! It’s a story years in the making, brought to you by some of the greatest creators in Daredevil history!
$39.99 / 216 pages
When I first ever read a Daredevil comic, it was marked with a certain atmosphere. Daredevil lived in a nightmare variation of Hell’s Kitchen, emphasis on the Hell, and his comics always reflected this with cynicism and darkness abound. It had remained this way for years, marking Daredevil as one of Marvel’s grimmest characters (if not on occasion the grimmest).
Yet, with recent years and the Shadowlands event, it appears that this was taken too far. Daredevil became the host of The Beast and in turn became a villainous murdering overlord to the Hand. It was a natural downward spiral to this point, but it put the character and his comics into a scenario that there was no further depth to explore. He was at the lowest of lows, in a story that found little to no redemption available — and what we were given in terms of redemption was just a misguided attempt to round out the saga (involving DD driving a truck which still to this day confuses and bothers me).
As such, Daredevil was replaced with a critically acclaimed run full of his version of sunshine and rainbows. It’s the optimists version of Daredevil, bringing him back to his swashbuckling origins and appeasing fans all around.
Except for me.
Cue “End of Days,” the long-delayed swan song to Brian Bendis’ legendary run on the character finally seeing the light of day. Conceptually it’s a powerhouse of a book, featuring David Mack on both words and art alongside Bill Sienkiwicz and Klaus Janson (not to mention gorgeous Alex Maleev covers). It is, in so many words, the nihilist/cynical Daredevil fan’s wet dream, brining back an all star line-up of talent in order to tell the story of Daredevil’s death and the world he leaves behind.
Starring Ben Urich as he explores Murdock’s impact on New York and his legacy, “End of Days” has it all. Every character that ever mattered to Daredevil’s life stops by, all in a slightly altered version of Marvel continuity. The team on the book clearly has a lot of love for the type of character that Matt Murdock had been developed into, an ode to Miller’s landmark run and dark era of Matt’s life. “End of Days” isn’t just an apocalyptic overtone but rather a path illuminated in the grit and grime of Hell’s Kitchens dark streets and alleys; it’s a looming menace that hovers over Urich’s journey to discover the unsolved mysteries Daredevil left behind and it informs the tone of the narrative.
So when I say that this is a return to the Miller oeuvre that Janson and Sienkiwicz both had a hand in and that Mack and Bendis both reveled in during their mutual time in the book, it’s not an understatement. Each creator brings a beautiful retro tonality to the title that is completely different from what Waid is working on in the book, a throwback to what I’d call better times. This is “Daredevil” comics at their finest, seen through tinted windows and covered in shadow. While we’ve certainly all grown accustomed to the new way (or “new,” anyway) that Daredevil’s stories are told, “End of Days” exists as a loving homage to what came before from a team who brillliantly know how to deliver, and do just that.
Continued belowIt’s Sienkiewicz and Janson that truly sell the book, honestly. Here’s the thing: Bendis and Mack are great, and both have told truly evocative and memorable stories in the “Daredevil” canon. However, it’s the art that truly resonates and evokes the specific ideal that the mini embodies. The old style of “Daredevil” books have such a specific look to them, as do the new “Daredevil” stories, and “End of Days” visually plays out like a Greatest Hits record. Janson’s character work is on fire in the book, full of edge and wonderful details that truly sell you on the dusty apartments and trash filled streets Urich walks down, and when Sienkiwicz takes over its hard not to view his art as absolute mastery of the universe.
That’s why “End of Days” works so well: these artists helped define this universe, Janson in particular. It only makes sense that they return to show us what it’s supposed to be like.
Suffice it to say, as someone who mostly read “Daredevil” when his world was teetering on the edge of insanity, “End of Days” is a wonderful return to form. The book has some slight missteps in the story and believability, but getting the completed package of the mini delivers a story that reads just as well in one sitting as it did individually over the months it was released. It seems fair to refer to “End of Days” largely as a labor of love, more of a tribute to the character than anything else, and for that it’s worth the read for any hardcore “Daredevil” fans who pine for a different time,
That said, as this is the Tradewaiter column and the very definition of it is to talk about the package of the book, it is worth noting that the book is a bit overpriced. It’s a great story, but at $39.99 for what was a $3.99 a pop book (thus “worth” $31.92), those extra dollars you pay don’t really go to extras worth the deal. You get a cover gallery and a few behind the scenes deals, but you’re basically paying for roughly two issues worth of extra content (give or take) and not being given that in return.
The hardcover then becomes a tricky deal. It’s a nicely bound book but incredibly thin, and I can’t help but wonder if the trade collection will be better. “End of Days,” for my judgement, is a book that demands a few reads — one to get the story, two to really appreciate the artwork and cadences therein, and a third to sit back and more casually dig into the throwback nature of it all. I would guess that a trade would make the multiple reads easier to do, because the hardcover is so thin that after a while of flipping through pages the books binding begins to show wear.
I’m torn on recommending it. On the one hand, the story is definitely worth the buy, easily my favorite “Daredevil” story of recent memory (sorry Waid fans, but I did not care for the resolution of the recent arc at all). On the other, the amount you pay doesn’t give you a lot of bang for the buck. I’d say it comes down to personal preference then: if you can find the book at a discount and like Marvel’s hardcover production, it is easily worth a buy. Otherwise wait a bit longer for the trade or see if you can dig up the issue.
No matter what you choose,though, I think you’ll be fairly rewarded. Bendis, Mack, Janson and Sienkiwicz deliver the Devil his due with this one, and it’s an excellent reminder of a bygone era that is still worth visiting, no matter how nice the new may be as well.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – 9 for the comic but 6 for the packaging
