Daredevil has been gaining critical acclaim since the first issue hit the stands, and after reading this collection of the first six, I can see why, and so should you. Sure, that might be happening too, but he's taking it with a smile on his face rather than a grimace for a change. Part of the appeal of the series is that it's a departure from the Miller influenced superhero, taking Daredevil back to his swashbuckler roots. The story follows Matt Murdock/Daredevil after a truly awful time in his life when his secret identity was revealed and his life was destroyed. Mark Waid, a New York Times bestselling author, has written for a wider variety of well-known pop-culture characters and franchises than any other American author, from Superman to Star Wars to the Justice League to Archie to Spider-Man and many, many others.

It's a fantastic change after so many dark and dingy storylines and rings true to character as well; it's nice to see Matt having fun again, instead of worrying about the world ending. While Waid is shouldering the writing duties as well as infusing a new attitude into Daredevil, Rivera and Martin apply golden age visuals as well as their own style to create something altogether unique. Was it the fact that Daredevil was blind, but had super senses because a radioactive canister fell on his noggin when he rescued Stan Lee from getting hit by a truck? It's got some Tim Sale mixed in with some more classic John Byrne style stuff, and comes across a little more classy than previous rough, noirish Daredevil art.I'm fascinated by the MacGuffin that Waid introduces at the end of this book, an having seen it show up in Punisher vol. Which he still denies whenever asked, something that becomes a sort of running gag as the book goes along. But, as size-changing scientist Hank Pym enters Matt Murdock's head to destroy robots implanted by Doctor Doom, will saving Daredevil's brain cost him his mind? The former are great little "where's Waldo" moments of tracing all the little cues that accompany tangential dialogue.

Foggy said and did things to Matt that can't easily be taken back (and likewise, Foggy's arguments about Matt's mental health aren't entirely wrong). I would like to read the story arc of when his identity got exposed leading into him dealing with the aftermath in this and the next Waid story. Everyone's experience with the comic is their own, there are fans out there who've read and enjoyed all/both.I loved the way that Mark Waid made Matt Murdock into a more fun-loving and witty character as it had been years since we had seen a more laid back Matt Murdock and it really made reading about him more interesting and fun!

I hate the way he draws faces and postures - I don't know if he *can't* draw realistic or he refuses, but the faces especially look warped through a funhouse mirror - to the point where they go beyond emphasising expressions to obscuring them. The entire run has been reprinted in three different editions, the normal trade paperbacks, the two-in-one deluxe HC edition, and the omnibus.It's reached the point where the term "swashbuckling" is almost as abused as the term "gritty" has been disparaged.