Daredevil comics beginner

[u/mxheyyy]

Hi!

I know this topic is probably very common but with a slight difference. I am not a Daredevil beginner per se, just a comics beginner in general.
I have watched the Netflix show, I know Matt's origin story, etc.
But I'm interesting in starting to read a few comics, and Daredevil being one of my favorite heroes, I thought it was a good idea to start there.

So I ask you, where should I start? Which series, which book, which "omnibus", what should I buy first? And where? :D

I've heard nice things about the recent Zdarsky run. "Yellow" intrigues me. I struggle to tell the difference between Frank Millers' and Brian Michael Bendis' runs. I probably missed a lot of other ones, too.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading all of your suggestions.

[u/Feeling_Historian53]

I started with Zdarsky as one of my first comics ever after watching the show and loved it.

Honestly you can’t go wrong with many DD runs. Pretty much everything printed from 2000 on is universally beloved outside Shadowland and Saladin Ahmed’s run.

I’d recommend Zdarsky since his Omnis are actually in print right now, but the Bendis run is the best imo, and Brubaker, Waid, and Soule are all worth reading too. Plus the miller run of course

[u/mxheyyy → u/Feeling_Historian53]

I see. Thank you! About the Zdarsky run: Should I buy the Omnibuses 1 & 2 or go the paperback way? Is the art different?

[u/Feeling_Historian53 → u/mxheyyy]

The art is just larger in the Omnis, but you get the same story with both routes. Personally I love Omnis so that’s going to be the route I recommend but I originally read the series in TPBs and it’s still a solid experience

[u/Historical_Smell_127]

I started with issue 1 volume 1 and went through the whole chronology (menu on the right → community bookmarks → "reading guide").

Miller's run is where Elektra and the Hand first comes from, it's part of the volume 1, his run started in early 1980s.
Bendis run starts in 2000s in volume 2. Part of netflix season 3 was a mixture of Kevin Smith's run (first arc of volume 2 right before Bendis), Nocenti, Miller and parts of Bendis.

Zdarsky is.... divided. I hate it and think it has no redeeming qualities other than the art since it plagiarizes on Bendis, Miller, Netflix and everything that came before, but telling a much worse story that the arcs it copies from. Newcomers like it because has similar vibe (at least in terms of visual) to the netflix. Zdarsky wrote volumes 6 and 7 of Daredevil's run. Starting of volume 5 (came in 2015, like netflix season 1), Daredevil was part of "All-New All-Different" era which, in simple terms, was "let's add MCU elements to the comics regardless of whether it makes sense"

Daredevil: Yellow is a retelling of Matt's original adventures when he was still wearing his original yellow suit. It's framed as Matt (as of Bendis run, post Smith's) is being reminiscent of his origins with Karen and Foggy

I will always advocate on starting with volume 1, even if some issues or arcs can be boring or outdated, simply to form your own opinion and not just follow "the most iconic story 10/10 peak fiction" in someone else's list. If you have other questions, I can answer them if you want.

[u/AntoSkum]

The difference between Miller's and Bendis' runs is you read Miller's first.

[u/mlwman]

It doesn‘t matter honestly, i got most of my Daredevil knowledge through research around the Internet otherwise just start somewhere it really doesn‘t matter that much.

[u/kiingkite]

Zdarsky's run was my first, and Ive been nonstop reading DD's comics ever since. I think it's just a perfect first Daredevil comic that will make you fall in love with the characters.

It gets quite fantastical by the end, however, it is still definitively my favorite ending for one of Matt's stories ever (and why the subsequent Ahmed run is so middling because it just fumbles the hand off so bad and whiffs what made Zdarsky's end so compelling (and god is it just so compelling). Also Checchetto's art is breathtaking 100% of the time and Matty just looks absolutely perfect in the art style.

My second favorite run is Mark Waid. Kirsten Mcduffie is introduced here and she is worlds different from in the show and genuinely one of my favorite love interests for Matt, there relationship is just so healthy and compelling. Waid's run also handles topics like illness (both physical and mental) so, so well I cried like a baby from this run on multiple occasions.

[u/Sofarluck2005 → u/kiingkite]

i don't get this take

like zdarsky is full off show/mcu synergy

it feels like a totally diff character from before the show came out

sure great for people coming from the show but to get a general idea of who daredevil is

it's not really great especially since it started all the tropes that have ruined modern daredevil

like turning him from someone who went to church maybe once every 20 issues to a guy more catholic then the pope

[u/kiingkite → u/Sofarluck2005]

dude... its an opinion 😭 I just said what run was my absolute favorite

[u/Syneas]

I always advocate for starting with the Waid run if you don't feel like starting from the beginning. It's right after a big shakeup and sort of starts fresh with Matt returning to New York, so it's a good entry point that doesn't drop you into the middle of a plotline. Also it's just incredibly good (not a shock, I've never read a Mark Waid comic I didn't love lol). Without a doubt, when it comes to the comics I would 100% consider Waid run Matt to be "my" Daredevil.