It may be the devil you know, but this nostalgic look back at the origin of “The Man Without Fear” is a daring ride worth taking.
Daredevil: Yellow is a 6-part Marvel mini-series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale that was originally published in 2001.
Daredevil: Yellow is a 6-part Marvel mini-series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween; Batman: Dark Victory), that was originally published in 2001. The story concerns the origin and early days of Daredevil as told by The Man Without Fear himself through letters to his murdered former lover Karen Page.
Daredevil: Yellow focuses on the early days of Daredevil where he’s having fun being a hero.
The series begins with the death of Matt Murdock’s father, skipping the origin of Daredevil’s powers and blindness, instead focusing on the emotional trauma that led him to his heroic destiny. The story then follows Matt as he witnesses the miscarriage of justice at his father’s killer’s trial, his graduation from college, the starting of his own law firm, and his early adventures and battles as the yellow and red costume wearing Daredevil. The main focus of the story, beyond Matt dealing with the death of his father, are the relationships that develop between Karen Page, Matt Murdock, Franklin Nelson, and Daredevil. Daredevil: Yellow concerns itself with the death of Karen Page, but this is not an event actively explored within this story itself. Whilst there’s still plenty of action, Daredevil: Yellow is deep down a love story; between Karen and Matt, and also Matt and Daredevil. Daredevil: Yellow focuses on the early days of Daredevil where he’s having fun being a hero. Importantly, the whole story is told from Matt’s perspective as he looks back at these early, happier times through rose-tinted glasses.
It’s the emotional structure that underpins the plot that truly makes Daredevil: Yellow superb.
It’s the emotional structure that underpins the plot that truly makes Daredevil: Yellow superb. There’s enough action to keep things interesting, but ultimately these moments take a back-seat to the emotional story being told. It’s more than just a love story, or a re-telling of Daredevil’s beginnings though. Daredevil: Yellow is a story about Matt Murdock coming to terms with his father’s death, and forgiving himself for Karen’s murder. Daredevil: Yellow has to be considered in the wider Marvel Universe context though; the death of Karen is referenced throughout and is the reason for Matt writing the letters through which this story is told, but is never shown in this book. It’s clear as well that the “Yellow” of the books title not only refers to Daredevil’s original costume but also the emotions explored within the book; namely fear. Although Daredevil is The Man Without Fear, it’s clear in this book that Matt has to overcome his own fears, and grief, in order to finally come to terms with what happened to his father, and to Karen. As a whole, Daredevil: Yellow is an emotional ride, that ends on a hopeful note as Daredevil, complete with red costume, finds away to forgive himself for Karen’s death and honour his father.
There are plenty of bright and vibrant colours, and the artwork depicts an age where heroes were heroes, villains were villains, and this distinction was quite clear-cut.
The artwork is similarly superb and supports the emotional content of the book wonderfully. There’s a truly retro feel to the book, both in the love-story innocence, and the artwork. There are plenty of bright and vibrant colours, and the artwork depicts an age where heroes were heroes, villains were villains, and this distinction was quite clear-cut. Despite this, there’s still an element of modern comic book writing and artwork sneaking through with both the writer and artist unafraid to hint at darker things to come for Daredevil, and painting Karen not as the damsel in distress, but as a strong woman who just happens to get kidnapped and captured. Colour is also used cleverly throughout the book. The main characters are always brightly and vibrantly coloured and detailed, but backgrounds are often greyed-out or under-emphasised. This heightens the emotional relationships between characters, whilst also helping create a dream-like quality that congruent with the fact these events are being lived out through Matt Murdock’s memories as he re-tells this story in his letters.
The 2011 collected book also contains a foreword by Daredevil creator, and Marvel mastermind Stan Lee, as well a narrated sketchbook that examines the creation of Daredevil: Yellow’s themes and characters. Both are excellent additions, with Stan Lee’s passion for Daredevil and the Universe he birthed dripping from every word written on the page. Additionally these emotional and introspective examinations of the book cleverly mimic the emotional and introspective nature of the way the story of Daredevil: Yellow is told. Furthermore, Daredevil: Yellow acts as a perfect introduction point for people new to Daredevil or Marvel. There’s a retro feel that mimics the early days of Marvel, whilst not being too old-fashioned and possibly off-putting to younger or newer readers, as well as telling the story of the key emotional moments that made Daredevil into the hero seen in the Marvel Universe today.
Daredevil: Yellow is a brilliantly written, and excellently drawn comic book, that’s a worthy addition to any Marvel collection.
The first in a series of coloured books (followed by Spider-Man: Blue and Hulk: Gray), Daredevil: Yellow offers a brilliantly nostalgic re-telling of Daredevil’s early days, which manages both to feel retro in its innocence and vibrancy and modern in its emotional structure and through the hints at the greater darkness that lies beyond the story Matt Murdock is re-telling here.
Daredevil: Yellow is a brilliantly written, and excellently drawn comic book, that’s a worthy addition to any Marvel collection.
Written by Chris Orr, an Inter-Comics writer and Hulk impersonator. You can follow him on Twitter (@Orr_Man) and check out his back-catalogue of articles at www.dresslikethehulk.wordpress.com.
Posted on October 16th, 2012
Category: PROJECT COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Chris Orr, Comic Reviews, Daredevil, Daredevil Yellow Review, Foggy Nelson, Jeph Loeb, Karen Page, marvel comics, Project Comics, Stan Lee, Tim Sale