Hell’s Kitchen
Frank Miller is responsible for a number of the most beloved comic book stories ever placed on the printed page. The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, and 300 are just some of the titles that Miller wrote and illustrated. He is also responsible building up one of Marvel’s most popular characters, Daredevil. The character was created in 1964 by Stan Lee and Bill Everett, with possible influence from Jack Kirby. Miller took the reins on the character in the early 1980’s, with Daredevil: Born Again (1986) being one of the his best known story arcs during that time. He also created the character of Elektra, who has been both a love interest and a thorn in the side of Daredevil ever since she made her debut in 1981.
Miller left the Daredevil title in the late 80’s, but would return in 1993 with a retelling of Daredevil’s origin story in the five issue arc, Daredevil: The Man Without Fear. Penciled by John Romita, Jr, inked by Al Williamson, colored by Christie Scheele, and lettered by Joe Rosen, this story gave us a grittier, more violent vision of Matt Murdock and his journey to become the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.
The first issue was released twenty five years ago this month in 1993. The series would run through February of 1994. This story is the one that made me a fan of Daredevil and it’s the reason that I still read Daredevil books to this day.
In the series’ run, we get to see a young Matt Murdock train with Stick, watch him meet Foggy Nelson, and encounter Elektra for the first time (again). We also see just how powerful the mighty Kingpin is and how far his influence reaches. He’s a despicable character, to say the least, and he manipulates things from a distance in the story.
The death of Matt’s father is brutally written and illustrated, and gives the reader incite into why Murdock would eventually become the hero that he is known and loved for being today. John Romita, Jr. does an excellent job of bringing Miller’s vision to life, and the color and tone of each panel in the books does a great job of engaging the reader.
This is, in my opinion, some of Miller’s best writing. I’d go as far as saying that this is better than The Dark Knight Returns.
I still own all five issues in this run. It has been released multiple times since 1993, including trade paperbacks and hardcover editions, but I’m still hanging on to the original run of books that I have.
If you’re a fan of the Netflix series featuring Daredevil, especially the first season, you’ll notice the influence of Miller’s story on the atmosphere and overall look of the show.
It’s hard to believe that the first issue of this series was published twenty five years ago. Of course, that means that I’m twenty five years older as well. If you aren’t a fan of Daredevil but want to know a good place to start your journey to Hell’s Kitchen, Daredevil: The Man Without Fear is a great place to start.
As always, thanks for reading my posts. This particular Throwback Thursday was a fun one for me to look back on since I love Daredevil so much. Who are some of your favorite comic book superheroes? Let me know in the comments.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 