David Mazzuchelli's Daredevil Artisan Edition - a Review

David Mazzuchelli's Daredevil Born Again Artisan Edition (September 2019)
IDW Publishing

What are the comic book stories in your history that left you waiting impatiently for the next issue to arrive? In retrospect, it's probably a short list when you really consider a sense of anticipation that bordered on anxiety. For me, there are a few such times.

Notably, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns would be one. And today's fare, coincidentally (or not) also by Frank Miller, is another.

I am not going to review the "Born Again" storyline, although I'd love to converse with any and all concerning just how awesome a read it is. In putting together today's post, I found that the photographing (the book is too large for my scanner), scanning (of the reprinted story), and cropping took quite a long time - I kept stopping and reading on each sample! So if you've never read it, I'd encourage you to find a copy of the trade, or pay for the individual issues (Daredevil #s 227-233) online.

My focus today is IDW's recently released paperback David Mazzuchelli's Daredevil Born Again Artisan Edition. I was not fortunate enough to get my mitts on the Artist Edition when it was published a few years ago, but I am eternally thankful to the original art gods that IDW chose this book to reissue in the somewhat-smaller-and-much-more-affordable format. The book clocks in at a thick 9"x12" (approximately), and is published on heavy stock. I don't believe it's as heavy or the same texture as original art board - which is the composition of pages in your standard Artist Edition - but it's nice. There are also several pages crafted of vellum, which I'll discuss a bit later. Although I come from a family of printers, there were some parts of the process that I didn't fully comprehend. Suffice it to say that printing in the mid-1980s was a bit more primitive than color separations allowed by current computerized tech. That Mazzuchelli could pull off his vision - and it was a vision - is amazing (at least to this reader).

As we commence, I've chosen some interesting panels and pages from the Artisan Edition. For comparison's sake, I've also included color panels. Although remastered, I do hope they provide the impact of the story's published colors. Christie Scheele colored six of the seven issues, with Mazzuchelli himself on one.

Leading off, above, is the first page of the Artisan Edition, followed below by the Table of Contents. I love the color choices on these pages. The khaki and crimson mesh quite nicely.

Next up, the cover to Daredevil #227. I vividly recall pulling this from the spinner rack in Eureka, IL while in college. I'd recently gotten back into comics after a multi-year hiatus during which I missed 90% of Miller's first turn on DD. If my aging memory serves, #227 was my second issue. Talk about hitting the ground running! Here we have a vellum overlay featuring the Kingpin and the crosshairs images. When put together, you can see the finished product. Again, I didn't completely grasp the technicalities of the printing processes of the day, but that Mazzuchelli could figure out "if I do this, then it will look like that" impresses me.

 

Turning the cover of the first issue let us know right away this wasn't going to be any sort of standard art job. Saying that is not to denigrate any other artists' work. But c'mon... look at that initial page and tell me Mazzuchelli didn't pour himself into this project from the start. Breathtaking... And note how reliant the mood is on blacks and whites in the published version. I can't decide which version of the page I like better!

Later in that first issue, there are two really nice sequences involving Foggy Nelson and Matt's (former) girlfriend Glorianna O'Breen. I have to declare that the original art is better. The use of zipatone is impactful. The first panel is from page 9; the second sample is found on page 13.

One of the neat little extras is a DD illustration to break the end of one issue and cover of the next.

Page 7, from Daredevil #228. The black background makes both versions pop:

At the end of the book there are several extras, including some samples of Mazzuchelli's pencil art. Below is page 12 from DD #228, with the published version:

Detail from Daredevil #228, page 15. I love the lighting on this street scene.

This sequence occurs early in Daredevil #229. Say, did you know that the first several issues in the arc include a person lying in bed, or at least in some state of repose? Check it out.

Later that same issue, Ben Urich's livelihood takes a turn (page 19):

I thought it was a great reveal when Matt figured out his healer's story. If you've not read this, I won't spoil it for you. This is page 2 from Daredevil #230:

This panel is found on page 10, and may be the single best panel in the entire story. Phenomenal use of lighting, and Miller nails J. Jonah Jameson. Just nails him. This is another sample that plays better in black and white.

Daredevil #231, cover:

In Daredevil #232 we are introduced to Nuke. Man, is he a treat. Great character, and perfect for this storyline. This panel is on page 4.

The Avengers show up in DD #233 to take down Nuke. Captain America is particularly interested in this rogue soldier. Note Iron Man's Silver Centurion armor. The first sample is page 9, followed by a couple of panels from page 22.

And to wrap things up today, another one of the extras at the back of the book is the original art for one of the trade paperback collections. This happens to be the cover of the edition I own. I read this story a few months ago, in anticipation of getting the Artisan Edition. As I said at the top, it's a great story. And I'm just a lover of original art and of seeing the creative process. This book did not disappoint.

Silver Surfer 8 from the IDW Artist Edition - a Review

Silver Surfer #8 (September 1969)
"Now Strikes the Ghost!"
Stan Lee-John Buscema/Dan Adkins

Raise your hand if you have a love/hate relationship with the Silver Age Silver Surfer. He's a cool character - to that we can all agree. But if you've ever sat and read a lengthy stretch of his solo series, you may have needed therapy. It is one of the most annoying, even somewhat depressing, runs of any comic I've ever read. In the hands of Stan Lee, the Surfer is moodily over-written. I think if I'd purchased the books off the spinner racks when they were bi-monthly I could have put up with it. But reading from an Epic Collection, Masterworks, etc. is just too much. Am I wrong?

So what we have here today, friends, is a bit of a twofer. I read from the softcover Silver Surfer Marvel Masterworks, volume 2, and used a few scans from it to place alongside photographs from IDW's John Buscema's Silver Surfer Artist Edition. Who doesn't need a splash of color every now and then? Let's get after it...

100-Word Review:

Always seeking a way to torment the Silver Surfer, Mephisto schemes a new plot to win the hero’s soul. Finding a human through which to create a conduit to Limbo, the demon is able to summon a once-dead ship’s captain from centuries ago: the Flying Dutchman! After hearing how the Dutchman had lived a hateful, self-centered life and had made a deal with the devil, Mephisto imbues him with power enough to battle the Surfer. But will this new Ghost prove up to the task? And what of the Surfer’s continued quest to reunite with his love, Shalla Bal? Will the Ghost ruin that wish?

The Good: I love it when characters behave just as we'd expect them to. But wait, you say - above, it was stated that the Silver Surfer could be a tired character. Yes indeed - and that's not who I am staring with. I want to focus on Mephisto. You know, for most folks the Surfer is so closely associated with Galactus, and then perhaps Dr. Doom. But you know who turns up continually in the Surfer's solo mag? The Prince of Darkness himself. I'd go so far as to say he should get a supporting-actor credit. I'm not sure his whole angle about having to find the devil-worshipper in order to create a gateway to bring the undead back to life (wait...) made sense, but then I suppose the supernatural doesn't have to make sense. Probably better just to roll with it.

The backstory of the Flying Dutchman and the creation of the Ghost was well done. I liked the rationale for the character, growing from his past motivations. The Ghost was enough different - and super-creepy - to be an effective updating of the former ship's captain. I even thought it was interesting that he'd get around on his former watercraft.

John Buscema's splash page as the Dutchman is revived was powerful, both in the original art as well as the colored version. It might have been a bit more effective, however, with more blacks in the background. But what do I know. Buscema did a marvelous job of taking this dead body and reanimating it in such a way that the two characters looked similar.

The half-splash when the Ghost is revealed, with a little Kirby Krackle in the first panel, was also pretty awesome. One can almost smell the brimstone from all that swirling smoke!

Lastly, that the Silver Surfer hardly appeared in his own mag, but it was still a fun issue, was the mark of an effective plot and execution.

The Bad: I don't have much to say here, as usual. I think I'd just reiterate the vibe I was sending above when I remarked that sometimes this series just wore on a reader. If there was one thing we could count on, it was Norrin Radd's incessant pining for Shalla Bal. And guess what? We got a 2-page vignette of just that in this story! Thank goodness Shalla is so beautifully rendered by Big John. In the hands of a lesser artist, I'd have annoying words and a less-pleasing lady to look at.

The Ugly: I don't even know what to call what happened at the end of the story. It's sort of the opposite of the Dreaded Deadline Doom in that we didn't get shorted an original story - instead, we got a cut-in-half tale with the promise of a big finish in the next installment. I tossed this out on Twitter a few weeks ago and asked readers if they thought this was a) crafty marketing or b) a way to draw attention to a magazine with sagging sales. Most respondents scored those choices a tie. I've included all the particulars on the last three art samples, which will enlarge for your perusing enjoyment.