Mark Waid // Mike Wieringo
December 2002
****
Unlike the conventional widescreen comics of this era, FF actually reflects ’00s NYC: a playground for the tech-happy wealthy. Reed computes in Times Square, Johnny wears couture suits to FF Inc., and Sue & Ben get attacked by a data-being make of SFX: T2‘s liquid form in The Matrix‘s flowing glow-font.
last issue: Fantastic Four #61
next issue: Fantastic Four #63
also indexed for Dec. ’02
Alias #15
Daredevil #38
New X-Men #133
Mark Waid // Mike Wieringo
November 2002
*****
No matter how hard a writer works to mature Johnny Storm, the next one will regress him. For Waid, that means Sue appointing her bro CFO of their fortune—a super-corporate setting! An odd take but potentially profitable. Wieringo enhances Waid’s light tone w/ his expressive, comedic cartooning.
last issue: Fantastic Four #60
next issue: Fantastic Four #62
also indexed for Nov. ’02
Alias #14
Daredevil #37
New X-Men #132
Mark Waid // Mike Wieringo
late October 2002
*****
Enchanting & light-hearted, good for all ages! #60 is a one-off, a meta-SoP for MW & MW, as an exec is tasked w/ rebranding the family after dips in popularity. His outside perspec takes in their body weirdness, the Kirby monsters that Reed makes palatable to the public under a veneer of celebrity.
last issue: Fantastic Four #59
next issue: Fantastic Four #61
also indexed for Oct. ’02
Alias #13
Daredevil #36
New X-Men #130
New X-Men #131
A-story: Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark with Klaus Jansen, Chris Samnee, & Paul Azaceta
B-story: Ann Nocenti // David Aja
October 2009
A-story: *****
B-story: *****
Like Bendis, Brubaker leaves his successor with a cliffhanger. Both Kingpin & Lady Bullseye aim to lead the mag’s ninja clan, but DD usurps them by taking the gig himself! A stellar twist, simultaneously unxpected & perfectly right. Focus also on the new mentor, Master Izo, who’d once trained Matt’s sensei. Yet Nocenti & Aja’s back-up steals the big ish: an homage to #161 & instant classic.
last issue: Daredevil #119
next issue: Daredevil #501
also indexed for Oct. ’09
Fantastic Four #570
Guardians of the Galaxy #17
Nova #28
War of Kings #6 of 6
War of Kings: Warriors #2 of 2
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
August 2009
****
Brubaker sets up his endgame in his run’s penultimate ish. Too bad, since the ninja-centric material has inspired his creativity. He’s got the Kingpin parlaying w/ the ninjas, Foggy targeted for death, & DD’s latest lover captured (disappointingly; she’s been neutered since she slept w/ him).
last issue: Daredevil #118
next issue: Daredevil #500
also indexed for Aug. ’09
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #4 of 5
Guardians of the Galaxy #15
Nova #26
War of Kings #4 of 6
War of Kings: Ascension #3 of 4
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
June 2009
****
A snowstorm adds atmo to this ish, as DD’s life goes to hell. He conspires w/ the Kingpin against the Hand, stalks women, stabs ninjas: the vigilante hasn’t been this dark since the bad days of Chichester’s run. In fact, it’s dangerously close to breaking the character like a plastic toy.
last issue: Daredevil #117
next issue: Daredevil #119
also indexed for Jun. ’09
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #2 of 5
Guardians of the Galaxy #13
Nova #24
War of Kings #2 of 6
War of Kings: Ascension #1 of 4
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
May 2009
*****
As the creators reach their final arc, they’ve set up a tight endgame. Kingpin returns to NYC, & proposes an alliance w/ Daredevil against the resurgent Hand. This iteration of the hero is dark & violent, more antihero than ever, as he loses his new gal & beats up the PI who exposed their affair.
last issue: Daredevil #116
next issue: Daredevil #118
also indexed for May ’09
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1 of 5
Guardians of the Galaxy #11
Guardians of the Galaxy #12
Nova #23
War of Kings #1 of 6
War of Kings: Darkhawk #2 of 2
Ed Brubaker // David Aja
April 2009
*****
Tho’ atypical, this may be the best issue of Ed B’s DD run. Aja subs for Lark, less cinematic & more comic in his layouts. He elevate the best-of-run script: a one-off on ninjas v. Kingpin, whose rage is as the ocean. Bru writes the villain’s voice far better than he does the mag’s mopey protag.
last issue: Daredevil #115
next issue: Daredevil #117
also indexed for Apr. ’09
Guardians of the Galaxy #10
Nova #22
War of Kings: Darkhawk #1 of 2
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark & Tonci Zonjic
March 2009
*****
Easily this mag’s best arc since Murdock in Paris. Not every writer can handle the Hand, but Brubaker comes up w/ a new twist: they want Daredevil to lead them! S. Gaudiano inks w/ such vigor, he erases the difference btw lead pen & a back-up. In this, he’s as key to Lark as Janson was to Miller.
last issue: Daredevil #114
next issue: Daredevil #116
also indexed for Mar. ’09
Guardians of the Galaxy #9
Nova #21
Secret Invasion: War of Kings #1 of 1
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
February 2009
****
Suddenly, melodrama! As part of Lady B’s vendetta against Murdock, she exposes his affair to his wife’s parents, who sue for divorce! In the stronger parts of #114, Iron Fist listens to the mag’s new Zen master, a legendary bad-ass who’s forgotten his own home and who mentored Murdock’s own guru.
last issue: Daredevil #113
next issue: Daredevil #115
also indexed for Feb. ’09
Guardians of the Galaxy #8
Nova #20
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
January 2009
****
Brubaker seems more jazzed than ever as he adds to his chop-socky cast. But they’re in danger of remaining colorful types (not to say stereotypes): female psycho assassin &, in #113, a centuries-old, gnomic, alcoholic Zen monk. Lark stages their combat with DD & ninjas—a draw—in a gloomy rainstorm.
last issue: Daredevil #112
next issue: Daredevil #114
also indexed for Jan.’09
Guardians of the Galaxy #7
Nova #19
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
December 2008
*****
A rare intrusion of other books’ plotlines into DD. The first pivots off an Avengers reveal of an alien impostor among this mag’s evil ninja clan. The second has the writer bring back his mellow Iron Fist, as a target of the arc’s new character: Lady Bullseye, another crazy ninja w/ a rep to make.
last issue: Daredevil #111
next issue: Daredevil #113
also indexed for Dec. ’08
Guardians of the Galaxy #6
Nova #18
Ed Brubaker // Clay Mann
November 2008
***
Some v.g. runs of serial storytelling (like this one) merely consolidate. Bru adds to his lurid noir vibe w/ PG-13 sex btw the married hero & the gal-shamus. There’s also time to give a lady ninja assassin a crazy-hooker backstory. Note that Mann fills in for Lark, cuz you’ll forget while reading.
last issue: Daredevil #110
next issue: Daredevil #113
also indexed for Nov. ’08
Guardians of the Galaxy #5
Nova #17
Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka // Michael Lark
October 2008
****
Murdock & his team keep an innocent man from frying, tho’ they also uncover an alliance btw organized crime & a Homeland Security taskforce. The writers artfully keep their hero & his small network above the moral compromise, & make a cynical observation about the post-9/11 security apparatus.
last issue: Daredevil #109
next issue: Daredevil #111
also indexed for Oct. ’08
Guardians of the Galaxy #4
Nova #16
Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka // Michael Lark
September 2008
*****
A touch of the espionage that makes Brubaker’s Cap (& Rucka’s Queen & Co) so tight & fun. A death-row super-goon is taking a fall to cover up a conspiracy among eavesdropping spooks & dockland’s ‘legit businessmen’. All in Lark’s excellent linework—his faces have remarkable expressions!
last issue: Daredevil #108
next issue: Daredevil #110
also indexed for Sept. ’08
Guardians of the Galaxy #3
Nova #15
Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka // Michael Lark
August 2008
*****
W/ Rucka adding a fresh perspec, Brubaker finally adds to this mag (having rolled back Bendis’ innovations). Model-turned-PI Dakota North has a history w/ the Heroes for Hire, & steals the focus this arc from the title char. It’s a hard-boiled procedural edging toward a neo-noir conspiracy.
last issue: Daredevil #107
next issue: Daredevil #109
also indexed for Aug. ’08
Guardians of the Galaxy #2
The Immortal Iron Fist #16
Nova #14
Thunderbolts #121
Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka // Michael Lark
July 2008
****
The third member of Gotham Central rejoins the squad. Rucka has a line in tough gals, so his presence adds heft to this arc. The focus is PI Dakota North, enlisted by Luke Cage to clear an innocent man from death row & potentially bring Murdock out of his emotional tailspin.
continued from Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula #1 of 1
last issue: Daredevil #106
next issue: Daredevil #108
also indexed for Jul. ’08
Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1 of 1
Guardians of the Galaxy #1
The Immortal Iron Fist #15
Nova #13
Thunderbolts #120
Ed Brubaker & Ande Parks // Chris Samnee
June 2008
****
The recent annual added a onetime super-drug dealer to DD’s cast. Now the Black Trantula (a big bruiser, impossible to kill) faces an emissary from his Argentine family of drug lords. Dark & violent, the one-shot enjoys a lurid sadism that’s pure Brubaker. His partners strongly echo the Miller/Mazz duo, tho’ Samnee already shows the dynamic skills that’ll earn him plaudits on DD in five years.
continued from Daredevil #106
continued in Daredevil #107
also indexed for Jun. ’08
Annihilation: Conquest #6 of 6
The Immortal Iron Fist #14
Nova #12
Ed Brubaker // Paul Azaceta
May 2008
****
Btw arcs, this montage issue moves time along by adopting the POVs of the supporting cast. Even the new char, tough-gal PI Dakota North, thinks Murdock has gone over the edge. Azaceta, in from the bullpen, does the dark yet cartoony late-’90s style that Lark & others evolved from the batman cartoon.
continued in Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula #1 of 1
last issue: Daredevil #105
next issue: Daredevil #106
also indexed for May ’08
Annihilation: Conquest #5 of 6
The Immortal Iron Fist #13
Nova #11
Thunderbolts #119
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark with Paul Azaceta
April 2008
****
About as grim as a comic can get—cynical, almost nihilistic. While the villain gloats from a position of power in jail, the hero has lost another woman to his violently insane life. Superb art by Lark (supported by invisible Paul Azaceta), w/ cloaked silhouettes & miasmic mists adding a Shadow vibe.
last issue: Daredevil #104
next issue: Daredevil #106
also indexed for Apr. ’08
Annihilation: Conquest #4 of 6
The Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall & the Green Mist of Death #1 of 1
Nova Annual #1
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark with Paul Azaceta
March 2008
***
The femme fatale of Bru’s run, given a super-sensual scent by the arc’s chemistry villain, schemes to drive the hero’s wife psychotic using her pheromones. As violent as a ’50s crime comic, w/ a grisly murder & a scene of the hero torturing a hostage, “justified” by a ticking clock scenario.
last issue: Daredevil #103
next issue: Daredevil #105
also indexed for Mar. ’08
Annihilation: Conquest #3 of 6
Astonishing X-Men #24
Nova #10
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
February 2008
***
The first issue of this run to feel redundant, as the hero hunts a Scarecrow wannabe while his quarry engages in a street war with a criminal outfit from the Avengers mags. This zine is taking an increasingly dark tone, with some remarkably violent scenes & a suicidal love interest.
last issue: Daredevil #102
next issue: Daredevil #104
also indexed for Feb. ’08
Annihilation: Conquest #2 of 6
The Immortal Iron Fist #12
Nova #9
Thunderbolts #118
Ed Brubaker & Ande Parks // Leandro Fernandez
December 2007
***
Brubaker steps away from his year-long arcs to plot a punchy annual, helped by a late-’90s chiaroscuro style. A super-parolee helps Murdock uncover a rentier’s gentrification-driven murder. The racial politics are dodgy—the Hispanic protag does what DD won’t (= murder) to save the barrio from gangbangers. It ain’t The Wire, but hey, it’s nice to see any non-white in a mainstream Marvel mag!
last issue: Daredevil/Deadpool ’97
next issue: Daredevil Annual #1 (2013)
continued from Daredevil #102
continued in Daredevil #103
also indexed for Dec. ’07
Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar #4 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Star-Lord #4 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith #4 of 4
Daredevil #102
The Immortal Iron Fist #10
Nova #7
Thunderbolts #117
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
December 2007
****
DD had been nicely partitioned from the rest of Marvel NYC; now the super-gang from Bendis’ ungainly Avengers starts a turf war w/ the dealers of Mr. Fear’s psychosis-inducing super-drug. Some fine background & character for the villain, now officially more developed than the mag’s female lead.
see also Daredevil Annual #1
last issue: Daredevil #101
next issue: Daredevil #103
also indexed for Dec. ’07
Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar #4 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Star-Lord #4 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith #4 of 4
Daredevil Annual #1
The Immortal Iron Fist #10
Nova #7
Thunderbolts #117
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
November 2007
****
To find the antidote to a fear-gas that drives the vic homicidally insane, our vigilante does some detective work, but mostly beats on the criminal underworld. The ish is tight, but neither Brubaker (nor Bendis before him) did enough work on Milla D’s character—she’s just a damsel-in-distress.
last issue: Daredevil #100
next issue: Daredevil #102
also indexed for Nov. ’07
Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar #3 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Star-Lord #3 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith #3 of 4
The Immortal Iron Fist #9
The Immortal Iron Fist annual #1
Nova #6
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
with Lee Bermejo, Gene Colan, Marko Djurdjevic, Alex Maleev, John Romita, & Bill Sienkiewicz
October 2007
***
Aside from a few pages of new action, #100 serves as an expressionistic origin recap. The mag marks its 100th ish (since the ’98 reboot) the same way as it did #50: by asking a few prior DD artists to contribute their pencils. A few sequences are lovely—Romita, Sienkiewicz—but the overall effect is a drag on the arc’s momentum. In the framework, the hero’s been dosed by a psychotropic fear gas.
last issue: Daredevil #99
next issue: Daredevil #101
also indexed for Oct. ’07
Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar #2 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Star-Lord #2 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith #2 of 4
Astonishing X-Men #22
The Immortal Iron Fist #8
Nova #5
Thunderbolts #116
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
September 2007
****
The mastermind behind this plot arc’s campaign against its title hero is revealed as supervillain Mr. Fear, inventor of the super-scent & a psychotic drug that drives DD’s wife to commit homicide-by-subway! That grisly pulp moment is one w/ Brubaker’s embrace of the violence in urban vigilantism.
last issue: Daredevil #98
next issue: Daredevil #100
also indexed for Sept. ’07
Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar #1 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Star-Lord #1 of 4
Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith #1 of 4
Nova #4
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
August 2007
****
Incredible execution of that fundamental adventure trope, the St. George: the hero saves his wife from a monstrous villain. Specific to the mag, Gladiator has been driven homicidally mad, a victim of another vendetta against Daredevil. Lark’s classical 3×4 layouts stage a brutally violent fight.
last issue: Daredevil #97
next issue: Daredevil #99
also indexed for Aug. ’07
Annihilation: Conquest: Prologue #1 of 1
The Immortal Iron Fist #7
Nova #3
Thunderbolts #115
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
July 2007
****
Matt Murdock’s problems multiply as the femme fatale w/ a super-seductive scent returns, further unraveling his shaky marriage. This mag, like Whedon’s concurrent X-Men, is excellent but not exceptional, a retrenchment of tropes & earlier approaches, not breaking ground the way Bendis did.
last issue: Daredevil #96
next issue: Daredevil #98
also indexed for Jul. ’07
The Immortal Iron Fist #6
Nova #2
Thunderbolts #114
Ed Brubaker // Michael Lark
June 2007
****
Beginning to suspect this arc is yet another Born Again-style web of intrigue spun to ensnare the hero. Someone’s driving the Gladiator, a simpleton brute, into a rampage. But, aside from tough-guy internal monologues, there’s nothing generic about the craftsmanship of this creative team.
last issue: Daredevil #95
next issue: Daredevil #97
also indexed for Jun. ’07
The Immortal Iron Fist #5
Nova #1
Thunderbolts #113
Index Indigo 