Daredevil: Lone Stranger Paperback – January 1, 2010

Next to Miller's run this might be my favorite period of Daredevil. Nocenti and Romita Jr. together are a match made in heaven, and this is when Jr's art started to really come into its own. It's too bad this run is so often overlooked and that Marvel itself seems to ignore it. Nocenti is often not the most nuanced when it comes to character dialogue and yet... even when the writing is a bit clunky or heavy-handed the overall themes and characters manage to brightly shine through. The plotting is pretty fascinating as well in such a way that characters' inner feelings become (in at least one case) literally manifested by their enemies. There's a lot of daring here in a way that even Bendis' and Brubaker's runs don't quite touch. Highly recommend to those who aren't afraid of a Surrealist take on Matt Murdock.

I was interested in the Inferno story line, but only part of the book deals with it. Most is taken up with side trips Daredevil makes, and the good and bad and really nasty people he meets. lt's worth mentioning that this volume contains the 1st appearance of Blackheart, son of Mephisto. He fights DD and Spider-Man, and loses, natch.This volume reprints issues 265-273 from the very late 80's, and the material shows its age. By which I don't mean to say it's bad, it's just a little dated in appearance and tone. Ann Nocenti is quite famous for her turn on DD, and her handling of horror-type stories. This isn't lighthearted stuff!John Romita jr is the artist, and his style is distinctive, you hate it or you love it. I'm not fond of his art, it's too angular and his bad guys tend to look the same - ugly and stringy and covered in bristles. It was his idea to turn Mephisto into a nightmarish monster, as seen here.It's a good read and I'll keep it in my collection, but it's probably not a must-have for all but the hardcore fan.

Shame on Marvel, yes, because they didn't think yet of publishing the entire Daredevil run by this great writer, that is Ann Nocenti. The art is gorgeous, Romita Jr is in his best form here. The stories are so good that even in some points they are better than Frank Miller. Marvel, wake up, hurry, and make an Omnibus of this entire run and stop publishing trash like Secret Wars II.

Everything was Ok

I'm a little mystified at this collection. I'm definitely happy to have it, as I've been a Daredevil fan for many years and have not seen these issues in other collections, but it's not the most obvious choice for a trade paperback. Ann Nocenti writes these tales, mostly single issue stories of Daredevil wandering around the USA in an emotional cocoon after the misery he suffered in the Born Again and Typhoid Mary stories. John Romita, Jr., provides the art, which is not my favorite style (he likes a lot of lines, especially long straight unnecessary lines, and his version of Mephisto is not really in keeping with other artists' designs), but I know most readers love his work, and these examples are really good by JRJR standards.The unusual thing about the collection, though, is that the stories don't really have anything in common other than Daredevil being emotionally reserved, and there's no clear start or end point. The first issue in the collection is even the last part of an Inferno crossover (which, by the way, is one of my favorite Ann Nocenti stories ever - no one writes nauseatingly surreal but purposeful horror like she does - and is a must-read for anyone familiar with Inferno). Most of the issues are decent but not great - there's a three-issue civics lesson about why overcrowding on farms is bad, and a one-issue fight with Freedom Force that paints the Blob as a sexual predator, and the introduction of Blackheart (who would eventually become a major character but who doesn't make much of an impression in this appearance, although Nocenti gets to indulge her horror strengths in writing his origin).Nothing here is key to understanding Daredevil or his supporting cast, and this is definitely a book to skip if you're on a budget, but Daredevil completists will likely be entertained by this curious little journey to a little-referenced part of the character's past.

Absolutely stunning art by John Romita Jr and Al Williamson.

Ann Nocenti deserves a special place in DD's history, continuing the dark realism of Frank Miller while being wise enough to not settle for mimicking it (which many later authors, sadly, failed to recognize as a good plan). Instead, she both brought a little of the old back (superheroes and villains, not just mob bosses!) and perhaps most dramatically, introduced the new by taking the character far from New York. Often overlooked, her run was smart and thoughtful and probably the only thing that could have reasonably followed the character- and genre-changing power of it's predecessor.

Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr. presents this dark sequel to their classic "Typhoid Mary" story that features Daredevil (torn apart after the events of "Typhoid Mary") leave Hell's Kitchen and became a drifter. This story starts with Daredevil fighting demons in the conclusion of the Inferno crossover. Then he ran into Mephisto at the bar and Mephisto was ugly. Then Daredevil went to the church where his mother lived in and confess his betrayal to his love interest Karen Page by having a love affair with Mary Walker (a.k.a. Typhoid Mary). He was so driven with guilt that he leave Hell's Kitchen and take a roadtrip (Incredible Hulk-style) where he help people along the way. Of course, Daredevil ran into the Blob & Pyro in #269. Then in #270, Daredevil teams up with your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man against Mephisto's son Blackheart. The story ends with a three-part story where Daredevil saves a farmer's daughter and a smokin' hot blonde named Number Nine from a villain known as Shotgun. The Inhumans also make a guest appearance in that story."Lone Stranger" is a classic Daredevil story that takes the Man Without Fear on a road to redemption to regain his own sanity and find the strength to forgive himself for his guilt.

Deuxième recueil compilant les épisodes de Daredevil par Nocenti et Romita, et c'est un feu d'artifice graphique. Romita est encore en pleine évolution, et n'a pas commencé à s'autoparodier comme il le fera par la suite. Le récit confronte Daredevil au diable en personne, avant de le lancer sur les routes de l'Amérique profonde. C'est un Daredevil atypique que nous voyons ici, qui a le mérite de sortir de la veine purement polar/procedural qui semble de rigueur depuis Frank Miller. Un vrai classique à recommander à tous les amateurs de la série.

Daredevil: Lone Stranger TPBFor completists only really - as this book picks up from recent events in the Inferno cross-over, & begins to lead into the Acts of Vengeance cross-over,(please see respective Amazon listings).Overall though, this quite a good read - with some "blocky" artwork, but i did feel that this helped to get across the action & realism a lot better.Recommended - but don't expect a stand-alone tale, hopefully Marvel will address this soon with another Trade..Cheers