Rating: - Upon rereading, the weaknesses show
I have already read much of what makes up this book, and I was eager to reread it and get back to what got me started reading comics in the first place.

Well, the results are massively uneven, given the gold standard that many people give to Brian Michael Bendis' run on Daredevil.

The first arc, "Wake Up", takes advantage of David Mack's ability to create gorgeous painted artwork with a variety of media and artistic approaches, firmly placing the entire story in a sort of magically real plane. The story has such a resonant anchor in little Timmy, the little boy who lost his villain father during a fight with Daredevil. Ben Urich also gets the most face time here than he will at any other time in the omnibus, and we see a deeply conflicted, deeply passionate reporter who strives to deliver the smaller stories that get covered up by the sensationalism that permeates the news. It's a beautifully simplistic story, made all the more stronger by Bendis' character work, clearly giving each character a deep personality to match the astoundingly beautiful illustrations provided by Mack. It is easily the highlight of the book.

Afterwards, it all falls apart. Bendis was one of the leading creative voices in writing for the collected edition, where each issue feels like a piece of a story, rather than a complete unit that can stand on its own.

Here, it goes even further awry, by simply creating climax after climax with little set-up or payoff. Events and characters seem to appear and fade away quickly. The plotting is thin, and relies on overbearing exposition and recaps for events inbetween stories to get across the story. In every way plot-wise, the book is nothing more than a large set of disjointed scenes delineated by sets of contrived climaxes that simply appear. The decompressed plotting also lends itself to stories opening, having a few pertinent scenes, and ending WAY too fast.

But the scenes themselves are masterfully done. The crime influence is in full effect as Matt Murdock speaks and fights with his friends and enemies. Bendis dialog feels natural, yet maintains the rhythm and flow that you would see in super slick crime movies. He is in complete control of how his characters speak, and that skill shines through the paper thin plotting of the book.

Alex Maleev further grounds the book with his ever evolving art style that starts with regular linework, and moves into a noirish style that takes advantage of half tones and good photo reference. His layouts are clear and dynamic, and fits the book perfectly.

In all, this is a deeply flawed masterpiece of superhero comics. It was a very frustrating experience, but ultimately, it's worth buying if you're a fan or you love Bendis. More casual readers should track down the cheap single issues or the affordable trades.

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