The origin of Uri Geller

Below are a few panels from issue #133, by writer Marv Wolfman and artists Bob Brown and Jim Mooney. They are the result of a presumably random encounter between Stan Lee and illusionst Uri Geller. Now, imagine you make a living writing comics. Next, imagine that your boss comes in and tells you "Hey, I met this great guy who can bend stuff with his mind. Let's put him into one of our comics." What you end up with is a Uri Geller cameo appearance in Daredevil. Is it forced, wacky and just plain weird? You betcha!

The scene you see here features Uri Geller telling Daredevil his "origin," if you may call it that. Daredevil has apparently been around enough weird stuff to buy all of it, which isn't surprising at all considering half the people he knows have powers they somehow contracted by mysterious means. What does surprise me is his saying "Now then, to work. We've got to make a living somehow." And here I was under the impression that he was skipping work to run around town in a devil costume...
For more information on how this unlikely story came about, I recommend the following two interviews that Kuljit Mithra did for ManWithoutFear.com, with Marv Wolfman and Uri Geller himself. Also, have a look at what Marv had to say about it in the letters' column of the actual issue, quoted below. What were they thinking...?

"Before one of our Marvel Armadillos takes over the letter column, I'd like to say just a word or three about this issue of DAREDEVIL. It began a few months ago; Stan Lee called, asking me to come up to his spacious, luxurious, carpeted office, so I picked myself off my milk-box, tripped over the file cabinets lining my broom-closet, and headed up to our ninth floor offices.
Stan said he'd like to use Uri Geller in one of our comics, and that I should find a place for him. At that time, I had heard of Geller - he was some sort of a metal-bender. That's all I had heard, and frankly, I wasn't too keen on the idea, and so I said I'd use him in DAREDEVIL (easier for me to do this than to assign it to another writer, I thought). Cut to a week or so later - I was at a party up at Paty (Cake) Greer's upstate New York home and I happened to see a copy of "Uri Geller, My Story" in her bookstand. Asking if I could borrow it for background information, I began reading it, and getting more and more involved with the reading. It was a fascinating story - and, yes, I was hooked - though still a total cynic.
It was then that Uri called, asking if he could come up to the offices to speak with me, to discuss the story. I said sure, hoping that this would be a chance to find out some things not in the book. He did come up the next day, and I found him to be a very likeable person, an avid Marvel fan, and not at all what one would expect a person with "special powers and abilities" to be like - in other words, the furthest thing from an egomaniac that you could hope to find. During the course of our talk, he asked for a key, which I gave him, then asked me to hold his fingers to see if he was pressing on the key. They were loosely around the heavy metal key, and slowly, as I held his fingers with mine, I watched the key bend.
Yeah, I may be a cynic, but I don't ignore facts - the key had bent - I was holding his fingers so I know he couldn't bend them with his hand, and it was my key. Whatever powers he had - were real. At that point, he asked me to draw a picture and not show it to him. He then began drawing his own picture, and as you can see from our two illustrations reproduced on this page, the sketches are very similar. Considering the rough drawing style from which Uri was trying to receive his psychic impressions, he was able to come very close to my own illustration - even duplicating the bizarre front view of the face on the side view of the body.
Afterwards, Uri bent another key for Sparklin' SCOTT EDELMAN, with virtually the entire Marvel staff watching. We also took a few publicity pictures; the best printed here.
As for me, I began a cynic, and now I'm a believer - of whatever abilities Uri has, and if there are any super heroes in this world, we should hope they are all as nice as Uri.
Take care, enjoy the story, and now, back to the Armadillo.

-Marv Wolfman"

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Wacky power #15 - Heat sensing and the groovy stuff you can do with it

Here's an example from Daredevil #131, by Marv Wolfman and Bob Brown (with Klaus Janson on inks), of Daredevil doing something he's presumably quite good at: detecting residual heat. We've read about it in the Marvel Universe Handbook or on DD's page on Wikipedia, the part about how he can detect changes in heat and tell how long someone's been dead or when an appliance was last used. Still, you rarely see any of this actually happen in the comic.

In all honesty, I don't find an increased ability to gauge heat to be particularly wacky. Some people are very good at judging distances, or how much something weighs. Some people have perfect pitch. I think this might be intended to work along those lines. The part that gets a little wacky is when this ability is actually put to work. Below, we see DD determine that the murderer in question (who happens to be Bullseye in his very first appearance, by the way) was wearing gloves because there is no heat residue on the pen he used to write something on the wall next to the victim.

Okay, let's back up a minute here... Just how long does someone's heat residue stay on something they've touched? Not very long. Also, what kinds of gloves is Bullseye wearing? As long as they're not mittens, wouldn't the outside of the glove be almost the same temperature as Bulleye's hand? The surface would most certainly be hotter than the surrounding air temperature. But, you say, it may not be as high as if he hadn't been wearing gloves at all. Possibly. The only problem is that we don't know what kinds of gloves he was wearing. Also, we don't know where his hand had been just before he wrote that note. Wrapped around a cold beer? Could be.

Okay, I won't nitpick too much, but being able to gauge temperature just doesn't strike me as a very useful skill considering all the other factors involved. That didn't keep this skill from being featured in the director's cut of the Daredevil movie where Matt reaches up to touch a lamp, presumably to determine how long it's been out. Again, this would depend on how quickly the surface of the lamp cools down and even the wattage of the light bulb. And, once it's gone cold, that's it. Yes, I know I'm a geek. It's just that the things Daredevil can do with this dubious skill of his strike me as a little, well, wacky...

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Review: Daredevil #112 (8.5/10)

Well, boys and girls. It's another month until Daredevil #113, which means it's time to review #112. This one sure packed a punch in some unexpected ways. I think a really good way of judging a comic book writer is by how many developments they can cram into one issue without any of them feeling rushed. There are certainly lots of other factors in play (the plot has to actually be good, and sometimes you don't want a lot of things happening), but I thought this issue was perfectly paced and really satisfying all around. Brubaker adds to the mystery without giving too much away regarding what Lady Bullseye is up to, and we see the introduction of a new character who apparently likes beer. No, I don't think that qualifies as a spoiler.

I'll admit that I didn't think the new kink in Matt's personal life would be addressed in this issue to the extent that it is. In fact, while there is plenty of action - involving other players than Daredevil, Matt's troubles are still very much at the center of attention. I will return to this development later, under the cut.

So, what about Lady Bullseye? Well, this issue takes us back into the recent past and the fall-out of Elektra, then leader of the Hand, being revealed as a Skrull. This ties the book neatly into the rest of the Marvel Universe and works as a perfect alibi to keep it as far away from anything Secret Invasion related from now on - or so I hope. As a consequence of this revelation, the Hand breaks into various factions and Lady Bullseye is called in to bring order to the chaos. We learn that she is a relative outsider and we learn that the answer to what she seeks is in New York. With Daredevil indisposed due to events revealed in the last issue, she and her associate go about "testing" Carlos LaMuerto (the Black Tarantula) and Danny Rand (Iron Fist), by having a horde of ninjas pay them a visit. What all this is for remains unknown. All we know is that it's some form of ritual and it appears to be an attempt to bring them into the fold. Or over to the "dark side," if you will. Both of these fight scenes are nicely choreographed and drawn and they highlight the different styles of the two heroes.

Meanwhile, Matt is in more legal trouble, though he's quickly let off the hook thanks to Dakota who finds herself receiving a little less gratitude than she was hoping for. The dialogue and interplay between the two characters make perfect sense in light of what just happened between them and what we've come to expect from them as characters. It's nice to see such a wonderful blend of out-of-this-world action and superheroics and down to Earth personal drama in one issue. Once again, it's that reality next door thing I like so much.

We get another cliffhanger ending as Matt and Dakota are introduced to a new mysterious player. I already have a pretty good clue of just who he might be. Time will tell if I'm right or not.

In closing, two thumbs up to the art team. The scene with Iron Fist is one of the nicest fight scenes I've seen in a while and the rest of the issue is stellar as well.

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Kesel moments - part 2

Okay, back with the second and final part to this orphaned "double post." We'll be looking at some more panels from Karl Kesel and Cary Nord's run on the book. I'll just let the panels/pages themselves do most of the talking. Kesel moments -part 1 is HERE. The first page below is from Daredevil #361 in which Matt gets a guide dog. Sort of. It's really a retired police dog that Foggy decided to get for Matt to use as a partner in crime fighting...



In case you don't remember what happened to Deuce "the devil dog," Foggy lost him in a poker game in the Daredevil/Deadpool '97 annual. He apparently went to live with Blind Al.

The next panel I wanted to share is a really nicely drawn action scene. Considering that I prefer my Daredevil just a little more grounded in reality than he was during these issues, it might come as a surprise that I liked Kesel's run as much as I did. On the other hand, I also enjoy a really good and spectacular Daredevil scene like the one below, from Daredevil #364. Matt taking a daring dive off a building to save someone he loves, you gotta love it.



Below is a page from Kesel and Nord's last issue, #365. I included it here to remind us of just how messy (thought interesting) Foggy's love life was during this time. It also shows us just how evil Rosalind Sharpe really is. I doubt he'd be the overly sweet and insanely loyal friend he is today if she had been the one to raise him.

Well, Kesel's run ended quite suddenly, and so does this post. I'll be back later on (yes, I know my time estimates are always off, but this one won't be) with my review of Daredevil #112. I'll see you then!

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Random Reviews - Out part I (vol 2, #32)

The first issue of Bendis's seminal arc Out begins with this issue and follows directly from events occuring in the preceeding arc, Underboss. It is interesting that this is the second issue from Bendis's run that I'm reviewing on this blog, and the title character doesn't appear in either one of them. Since people obviously put up with seeing neither Matt nor Daredevil on a semi-regular basis, and did so gladly, it still baffles me that Brubaker couldn't keep Matt out of costume during his trek through Europe. Although that' s entirely beside the point of this review. I'm just saying. Of course, I've always been of the opinion that the story needs to be told the way the writer wants to tell it rather than be forced to follow a particular formula with a particular amount of time given to each character.

In this case, we get to see what happens behind the scenes at the FBI before Matt's secret identity becomes a thing of the past. And, it's a very good issue. The issue is almost entirely driven by dialogue which, of course, requires that the dialogue is good, and feels natural. In this case it does, and the entire issue reads like a detective movie where you can hear the words being spoken in your head and see it all play out in your mind, expertly guided by Maleev's art which is highly competent though not quite as amazing as it became later on during his and Bendis's tenure.

As already mentioned, most of the events are related through dialogue with two scenes from two different time points being interwoven to tell the story of gangster Sammy Silke trying to save his ass after the hit on Wilson Fisk has backfired, and the FBI agents in charge of his interrogation feeding the information they gain to their boss. The information, of course, it the one pertaining to the true identity of Daredevil. After all is said and done, the agents are told to sit on the information and leave Murdock alone. Through events which become clear later on in this arc, this doesn't happen, and the issue ends with Foggy Nelson staring at the image of Matt's face on the front page of the morning paper.

Many people will talk about Bendis's outing of Matt's secret identity as if it were unique in the history of the character. This is far from true. What was unique about it was that he outed Matt and then just let it sit there, allowing events to unfold in the aftermath of the disclosure in a way that felt unusually true to real life. Matt didn't have the Black Panther save his ass, and he didn't fake his own death. He had to live with it, and deal with it. He is still dealing with the consequences today, which the latest storyarc, by Brubaker, makes very clear. There is no closet for Matt to go back into, and that was what was unique about Bendis's outing. That was what was so gutsy about it and why it will always be a milestone in the history of the character. It all began with this one issue. So, go check it out if you haven't already. But, you're obviously reading this, so my guess is that you already have.

My score? 4.5 out of 5.

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Billy club time!

This is the sequel to The cane and the billy club - part I, which I posted on Wednesday. At this point you may wonder why I've chosen a completely different title for the billy club post. Well, I just felt like it, okay?

Before getting to the specifics of Daredevil's weapon of choice, I'd like to take you on a little detour to a different comic that few people have ever heard of. For those who don't know it, I'm Swedish. That means that I have an unhealthy interest in ice hockey and can pronounce all the names of the furniture at IKEA. It also means that I grew up with a children's comic book called Bamse. Bamse is a cuddly bear who lives with his wife and four children in a peaceful valley and combats evil in his free time with the aid of something called thunder honey which makes him the strongest bear in the world. Don't ask me what this is supposed to teach children about the unregulated use of performance-enhancing drugs. Anyway, Bamse's two best friends are a jittery bunny called Little Hop and a turtle called Shellman (Swedish: Skalman). Shellman is one of those rational turtles who takes his time, but always comes prepared. Whatever he needs, he can just pull out of his shell. I contains the specially built alarm clock he uses to micro-manage his meals and his sleep cycle, as well as some really strange objects which you would never think you'd actually need. I've seen him pull inflatable helicopters out of that thing, as well as first aid kits and large tools.

This brings me back to Daredevil. Because early Daredevil actually reminds me of Shellman in a lot of ways. This includes some of the things Stan Lee insisted on shoving into the billy club as well as his whole attitude to the more mundane details of Matt Murdock's life. Because fans won't ask how it's possible for Daredevil to land a rocket in Central Park guided only by the absence of heartbeats (as in Daredevil #2). But they will have questions about where he stashes his civilian clothes when in costume. Right? Consequently, Stan made sure to show us these details from time to time (many of them have been referenced under The life of a superhero label on this blog). In fact, some of the panels showing us the many features of the billy club read like an educational pamphlet aimed at school children. Let's have a look, shall we?


Well boys and girls, here are the panels from Daredevil #1 in which Matt conceives of the billy club. He takes that 1920's style cane and "molds it" all night until it looks exactly as it did before, with the exception of a nifty hinge. When you think about it, the whole idea for the billy club seems a little far-fetched. "It'll be the perfect all-purpose weapon!" Daredevil exclaims, but it does seem a little low-tech, even for the 1960's. Oddly enough, the use of this kind of weapon seems like a better fit today when there's a much stronger martial arts element to the character.

During the first few issues, the billy club doesn't seem to be much more than a cane that folds in the middle and he uses the entire thing as a weapon, as we can see here in Daredevil #2. Am I the only one who is reminded of an old woman beating up a couple of thugs with her umbrella? Here, we also learn that it's a non-conductor, which is great when you're going up against Electro. It's also what you would expect from something made of wood. In fact, it should probably catch fire.

In issue #3, below, Daredevil is captured by the Owl and locked in a cage. Once again, his cane/billy club comes to the rescue. It turns out that the pin Matt used to make the hinge is a perfect lock-picking device! If Karen needed a bobby pin to secure her lovely locks, I'm sure he could have pulled one of those out too. Maybe this is the moment Stan Lee decided that this thing could be full of all kinds of stuff. I mean, imagine the possibilities!

In issue #4, below, we set another use for Daredevil's billy club - the boomerang! You see, it doesn't just go from straight to folded, it can do something in between as well. Who would have guessed?


The real gem comes later in this issue, however. I'll let the panels below speak for themselves. For me, Shellman carrying an inflatable helicopter in his shell suddenly comes to mind...

Nothing much happens in the billy club department for the next few issues, until Daredevil #7 comes along and brings us a new costume and a grappling hook!

A few pages later we get another happy surprise in the form of a smoke screen! It was easy, thinks Daredevil, "just a few little gas pellets, a control button and presto--" Why you little genius, you! Of course, it doesn't help much that the smoke screen is behind DD rather than in front of him, but now I'm just nitpicking. Besides, he does sort of swirl it around in the panels following this one, effectively blinding Namor for a few seconds.

In DD #8, below, and to the left, Stan is really getting warmed up. We are shown a schematic of the billy club, and it certainly has a bunch of stuff in it. It's like the Swiss army version of everyone's favorite bludgeoning weapon. I'm surprised it doesn't come with a bottle opener. But we also get to see the famous snoopscope in action right away.


Nothing much happens to the billy club after this, but every now and again we see a flicker of the old "let's stuff it full of cool stuff" attitude, perhaps in repsonse to the readers who wrote in asking what happened to all the gadgets. Yes, there were plenty of readers who loved the gadgets. I even seem to remember one fan from the letters' column who wanted to see the microcircuitry hidden on the inside of the mask back, even though it was only featured once, in issue #8. Then again, there were also lots of readers who thought Stilt-Man was the coolest villain ever, so what does that tell you?

Anyway, below are some panels from Daredevil #25, where we learn that the billy club is battery powered. This really raises the question of just how high-maintenance you want your equipment to be. Can you imagine throwing a gadget full of expensive electronics around and expecting it not to break. In fact, can we get someone to volunteer to start using their cell phone as an assault weapon? If there's anyone out there who'd like to try, I'd love to hear from you. (Disclaimer: No, I did not just advocate hitting people with cell phones.)

Perhaps this didn't matter much to Matt, who seemed to really enjoy tinkering with his gadgets. In fact, I think that issue #7 when he reveals that he's been working on his new costume for months, and stuffed his club full of stuff is when we see him cross the line from concerned citizen who fights crime in his spare time after avenging his father's death to full-blown superhero geek. We see it all the time in real life. I starts out innocently enough with Dungeons and Dragons, and before you know it, you see people going off to re-enact the Dark Ages and speaking fantasy languages. When you spend more time thinking of new ways to pimp a piece of wood than spending time with friends or reading a good book, you know there's a problem. I see a definite need for a Superheroes Anonymous here. Hey, maybe that's what the Avenger's Mansion was for.

From Daredevil's monologue above, it does seem as if he has decided that simplicity is the way to go, and we finally see some recovery from gadget addiction here. Be strong, Matty! You can do it!

Okay, this post has run long enough. I was going to end this with the billy club as storage container for dubious nutritional tablets panel, but I can't remember what issue that was. If anyone out there can find it for me, I'll add it to this post in an update, because it's really such a classic. I could have also filled this post with lots of modern billy club moments, but the early days were so crazy, I just ran out of steam. Another time perhaps...

I'll see you around for random reviews tomorrow!

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Random crap

Well, I'm working on the billy club special as we speak and I'll post it shortly, but I had some other stuff to post about too, and I didn't want to clog up my regular posts with run of the mill updates.

First of all, I found a no-spoiler review of Daredevil #112 at Doomkopf.com. In fact, it doesn't mention the specifics of the plot at all, only the reviewer's opinion of it, which appears to be very high. Sounds good to me!

Secondly, I thought I'd face down my inner Kevin Smith and do a brief run through of all the unfinished or temporarily discontinued "post threads" I have going so you can all see where we stand. I don't want to risk the blog version of Daredevil: Target by forgetting to follow up on such gems as:

Oh Karen!
The series that chronicles the convoluted life history of Karen Page contains three posts so far. I think I've been putting off Oh Karen! #4 simply because it got so weird and complicated after Karen found out the truth about Matt and went off to Hollywood, and then back to New York. Then they kept missing each other's phone calls, Matt was moaning and groaning, Karen was moaning and groaning and then Natasha entered the picture and... Well, I'll get to it. Definitely before Daredevil: Target #2 hits the stands, you have my word on that. If you missed this series, here are the links to it:

Oh Karen! #1
Oh Karen! #2
Oh Karen! #3 guest starring Mike Murdock


A history of the radar sense
Yes, this is my geeky effort to chronicle the portrayal of the radar sense through art and writing. It's an ongoing effort in that I am actually working on it while looking at issues for other reasons and I'm almost ready to post A history of the radar sense #3 that will look at the radar during the 70's up until the Miller run, which will get its own post. That post will also include references to Born Again and Man Without Fear. For those who want to catch up on this stuff, here are the links:

A history of the radar sense - Prologue
A history of the radar sense #1 - From the origin through the early "power upgrade"
A history of the radar sense #2


Kesel moments
Well, this was only supposed to be two parts, but I sort of forgot to do part two. Oops! My bad. It shouldn't be too hard to put something together so look for it sometime next week, after my next "random review" and before my review of Daredevil #112. Here's part one, for anyone who's interested.

There are probably lots of other things too, and I still haven't gotten to that Daredevil vs Punisher special I talked about months ago. If there are any other topics you'd like me to tackle, let me know! Write a comment or send me a message (contact details in the sidebar). I'll see you again in a little bit.

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Daredevil #112 - advance review season begins again

Thanks again to Jason of Fandomania (yes, I like writing it that way because it makes it sound as if he's the ruler of a small imaginary country) for giving me a head's up on his Daredevil #112 review. It contains spoilers as usual, so proceed at your own risk. Last month I actually went ahead and got myself all spoilered up (neologisms are allowed even for non-native English speakers, right?). It's hard to say whether I regret it or not, but it certainly lessened my shock regarding the latest developments, and that might have been a good thing in retrospect. Either way, you guys do as you wish.

It has also come to my attention that IGN has a review up as well. I clicked on the link and squinted as I scrolled to the bottom of it to see the final score - a pretty solid 7.9 out of 10 - but I can't say to what extent it contains spoilers. Well, since I was squinting and all that...

In other news, The Matt Murdock Chronicles, which is the new Daredevil blog I mentioned a couple of posts ago, has seen a few updates since then so please support blogger dmstarz in his insane quest to review every Daredevil comic ever written by stopping by!

I shall return shortly, i.e. tomorrow, for a closer look at Daredevil's billy club in the riveting sequel to yesterday's post. I will also post the third installment of my random reviews series over the weekend or early next week. This time, we'll be looking at Daredevil #32, vol 2.

I'll see you later!

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The cane and the billy club - part I

Today is White Cane Day, which I wouldn't have known existed if I hadn't stumbled across a reference to it in the paper about a year ago. Either way, I thought I'd take the opportunity to write two longish posts. The first one, approproately posted today, on October 15, will look at the history of the white cane and its use (yes, I did my homework, and this post might actually offer an opportunity for learning something, for which I offer my profuse apologies), as well as how it's been depicted in the Daredevil comic. Later in the week, I will look at the billy club and its gadgets. That post will probably be quite a bit shorter since, early tampering aside, it hasn't really changed all that much over the last forty years and doesn't need its own history lesson. The cane, on the other hand, has been here there and everywhere. And, on average, about three decades behind its real life counterpart at any given time, the notable exception being most of volume 2, probably thanks to the ease with which anyone can now do basic research on the Internet. That's not to say that writers and artists shouldn't do more research, but I digress.

Before getting started, I should probably mention that I'm pretty sure that it's now generally established over at Marvel editorial that the cane and the billy club are no longer the same object, despite the assertion in sources such as the Marvel Universe Handbook that still claim that the billy club is "disguised as a blind man's cane in civilian garb." No one has ever come out and said this is no longer the case, but not only have we not seen one turn into the other in the pages of Daredevil for the last decade, we also have artists (most notably Michael Lark) who are now drawing a modern white cane, and it is clear that they are nothing alike. A white cane is supposed to be long, slender and light-weight (and made out of either aluminum, fiberglass or carbon fiber), whereas a billy club is used to inflict blunt force trauma. You get my drift.

The modern white cane has two basic puposes. The first, and most obvious, is as a mobility tool. In other words, it works as a low-resolution scanning device to locate obstacles and landmarks. It also serves to identify the user as being visually impaired. It was this second reason that prompted the supposed inventor of the white cane, a blinded man from Bristol, to paint his cane white in 1921. He simply felt that he wasn't visible enough and didn't feel safe crossing the street near his home. This innovation caught on, and the practice spread throughout large parts of the world in the 30's and 40's. However, the white color aside, these canes were usually indistinguishable from a regular support cane and provided few benefits to their users. The situation was further complicated by the fact that many agencies for the blind were against the use of the white cane, primarily due to the stigma attached.

The modern white cane, or the long cane, is a product of World War II. War is never pretty, but WWII did usher in a new era in rehabilitiation medicine when large numbers of injured soldiers returned home. It is easily forgotten today, when stories of paraplegics entering Iron Man competitions almost seem commonplace, that in the first half of the twentieth century, people with spinal cord injuries weren't expected to even survive long enough to be rehabilitated. The outlook for blinded soliders was certainly more promising in terms of survival, but it was nevertheless a field in dire need of reinvention. The job of setting up a program for blinded soldiers within the VA system at Valley Forge General Hospital fell to Richard Hoover and Warren Bledsoe who were recruited from their staff positions at the Maryland School for the Blind.

The two went about their new task with an incredible amount of passion and dedication. They rediscovered some of the forgotten work done by a W. Hanks Levy in the 1870's, brainstormed over beers at the local bar and tested their theories themselves by donning blindfolds and trying out their techniques the hard way. They decided that a functional cane needed to be both thinner and significantly longer than the one currently in use, enough to offer the user a one-step margin (these days it's two steps). They also essentially invented the modern method of actually using it. The two-point touch technique still carries Hoover's name, and was really something of a revolution. One of the most innovative things about the technique is that it's really quite counter-intuitive. Human biomechanics will instinctively lead people to swing the cane in parallel with the step (i.e. swing to the right while stepping forward with the right foot). However, it turns out that you get more "bang" for your cane by doing the opposite, even though it goes against the conditioned reflex.

At their disposal, Hoover and Bledsoe had large numbers of blind veterans to field test their techniques. The group they were working with was unique compared to a cross-section of the blind population in that the vast majority was totally blind while being otherwise young and healthy. They were quite eager to lead lives that consisted of more than being taken to the park on Sundays and had no preconceived notions about what was and wasn't appropriate. They had no specific prejudices against cane use. One of the first patients to come under the tutelage of Hoover and Bledsoe was a Russel Williams who had lost his sight in combat in Northern France in 1944. After spending time at Valley Forge and learning the new and innovative skills of cane travel, he was transferred to a different center at Avon, where echolocation was the method of choice. Williams managed to integrate the best of both techniques while adding knowledge gained through his own trial and error. His success was remarkable and he not only became an early role model for other veterans but eventually ended up running a new program at a different facility.

Gradually, these early efforts lay the groundwork for the modern field of orientation and mobility for the blind. The modern techniques were in place and the canes used - while still not featuring the straight handle that is the norm today - were relatively long, thin and made of lightweight metal. As far as the Daredevil comic goes, it would take artists decades to catch up to the 1950's. Not too bad for a book first published in 1964, huh?

Well, I think I've crammed everyone's head full of information, so how about we move ahead to the segment where we take a look at the actual comic. I figured that the best way to do this is in just looking at some Daredevil panels. We'll touch down about once every fifty issues from the very first one up until the present day. When appropriate, I will offer some comments. Here goes...

Above is a panel from Daredevil #4 by Stan Lee with art by Joe Orlando. Don't be fooled by the white color, it's actually brown in close-ups. Also note the temporary use of the word "unseeing" in place of Stan's personal favorite "sightless."


Here is another Stan Lee gem, this time with art by Gene Colan, taken from Daredevil #49. Note the fact that the cane isn't even touching the floor and early Matt Murdock's characteristic self-pity and obvious self-esteem issues. That has nothing to do with the cane, per se, I just happen to find it somewhat amusing.


It's hard to find any actual panels around this time with Matt appearing in his average blind lawyer guise, but here's one from Daredevil #107. The writer for this issue was Steve Gerber and the artist was Bob Brown. And, yes, the cane actually is white in this issue, taking a 1970's Matt Murdock from the 1920's to the 1930's. That's progress for you.


Above is a classic scene from Daredevil #168, with story and art by Frank Miller. Miller may have ushered in a new era in storytelling, but the cane is back in the 1920's again.



The above, as you can clearly see, is by Denny O'Neill and William Johnson. The issue in question is #201 and features something as rare as a straight white cane. It's very short, and if we didn't know that Matt had heightened senses to keep him out of harm's way, the fact that it's completely useless might explain the bandaged parts of his body.


Here's an odd one from one of Ann Nocenti's odder issues, included here because it shows at least an ounce of innovation in depicting Matt with a folding cane that is most certainly not a billy club in disguise. The issue in question is #277, and the artist is Rick Leonardi.


White, short and very 1950's (minus the length) in Daredevil #312 by D. G. Chichester and Scott McDaniel.


This is from Matt's big return from fake death in issue #353, by Karl Kesel and Cary Nord. I included both panels here just because I like the Lois Lane cameo. Do note, however, that Matt appears to have to bend over in order to reach the ground.


Moving on to volume 2, issue #11, we move back in time once more, as the cane stays short and changes colors again. Story by David Mack and art by Joe Quesada.


This is from issue #64 (vol 2), by Bendis and Maleev and included here for its coolness factor. Matt keeping a stash of extra gear is pretty cool. The cane is a little too thick however.


Now we're moving in the familiar territory of current history, with these panels from Daredevil #105 (vol 2). Matt's cane could afford to be a few inches longer, but it's not far off and he even holds it directly in front of him while walking (well, sort of). Two thumbs up Michael Lark! It appears that the comic has finally caught up with the real world. And, it only took about forty years...

I'll see you in a couple of days when we take a look at the billy club!

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Daredevil #112 and more

Yes, I'm reposting old news again. ManWithoutFear posted a link to a very early lettered preview of Daredevil #112 on Newsarama, and I'm basically just stealing it. HERE it is, go ahead and arrest me.

The other piece of news is courtesy of a fellow blogger who informed me that he just started a Daredevil blog. Wow, we have quite a trend going, don't we? Well, the more fans are out there talking about it, the better as far as I'm concerned. This guy has taken it upon himself to review every single issue in chronological order. That is quite an undertaking, and I wish him well, and promise to keep checking his blog The Matt Murdock Chronicles often.

I will be away on a business trip until Tuesday night, so no updates until the pre-prepared post I have for White Cane Day (October 15, on Wednesday) when we'll be looking at the history of the white cane in and outside of Daredevil comics. I'll also try to update Hell's Kitchen as soon as possible, but am sad to say that the preview for #112 ruined the one I had planned. All I can say is that it involved Dakota, a certain person's radar sense and some Cheerios. Got you thinking, didn't I?

Have a good weekend!

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Newspapers and the blind superheroes who read them

A strange post perhaps, but the idea for this one came about in the aftemath of the debate on why Matt apparently subscribes to the print edition of the morning paper and whether this endangers his extremely fragile secret identity. And, since this blog discusses everything and anything Daredevil-related, no matter how obscure, I decided that this topic would be worthy of its own entry.

I have no idea why people have suddenly noticed this since it's hardly a new phenomenon. All I can say is that it's been talked about quite a bit on message boards and in the occasional blog post. Maybe it's the new and returning readers that decided that Daredevil #111 was the perfect jumping on point who have raised a collective eyebrow. Below we'll look back briefly at Matt's relationship with the printed page.

However, let's first examine the question of whether his picking up a regular newspaper on the steps in front of his house is necessarily that suspicious. Are there natural and valid explanations for why a blind person would read a regular newspaper? Yes, as a matter of fact, there are. What he does with that paper is really nobody else's business, and shouldn't lead neighbors to call in the Thunderbolts for an SHRA-related arrest. He could hypothetically have someone read it to him, or he could use any of the modern devices that blind people use to access print.

So, the secret identity is safe for now. As for the Daredevilesque ability to read print by touch, it's definitely one of those "powers" that go back to the early days. It must have become apparent right from the start that having the hero be unable to read in a somewhat traditional fashion would simply be too inconvenient. Coupled with the stigma of Braille that sadly persists to this day, it's easy to see why early writers decided to highlight Daredevil's ability to plow through even large amounts of text at high speed. Regular readers of this blog might recall the Wacky powers installment from a while back in which I poked some gentle fun at Stan Lee having Matt read much faster than people who read by sight.

Early speed-reading instances aside, very little has been said about the extent of this ability or Matt's preferred reading mode. Modern-day common sense would suggest a strong preference for Braille over print for the same reason the average person would prefer not to read faded 4 point type in dim lighting if given a choice, even though most of us certainly could if we had to. One of very few instances of print-reading being described as something of a chore is from the first issue of Frank Miller's Born Again arc in which Matt goes through his mail, thinking to himself "The embossed [envelopes] are easy, going by the scant impressions of the ink on the others is a pain, this early in the day."

While any references to reading Braille are still exceedingly rare, Matt's print-reading ability seems to have been played down some during vol 2. He still does it, obviously, but not quite as often as in the past it seems (to me anyway). Of course, what he does between panels is up to each reader's imagination, and I suspect that imagination ran wild for many when reading Daredevil #111, for reasons unrelated to Matt's ability to read print. But that's for a later post...

Below are some volume 2 examples of Matt Murdock's multi-layered and complicated relationship with the news media. Now doesn't this post prove that you can write a Daredevil blog entry around just about any theme? What will I think of next? Stick around and you might find out. ;)

"Bad press," from issue #33 (vol 2), by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Alex Maleev

"Good press," from issue #76 (vol2), also by Bendis/Maleev

Matt reading Vanessa Fisk's obituary in issue #93 (vol 2), by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Quick question: Why does Matt hold the paper up in front of him as if he were sighted, rather than let it rest on the table? Wouldn't the paper buckle under the strain of the pressure he puts on it? And is this really good for his shoulders? Am I overthinking this?

Matt reading the news in #103 (vol 2), by Brubaker/Lark. Will he ever notice the box in the top right-hand corner where it says "Brubaker 'old as dirt' according to panel of judges"?

The final panel of #111 that indirectly inspired this post, showing Matt not quite having absorbed the content on the page yet. Click HERE to see it, I don't want to spoiler those who haven't read the latest issue yet.

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"Mommy, is the flying man naked?"

Wow, I don't know what to say about this spread, except to guess that it was intended as eye candy for female fans. We've discussed wardrobe-related concerns on this blog in the past; everything from Matt carrying his civvies in a bag to bouncing them around rolled up in a ball to getting rid of them by pouring acid on them. This page doesn't actually explain where he keeps his civilian clothes, though he's presumably on his way home, but we get to see him disrobe in sensational style. He probably did have the minute to spare to do it properly in his bedroom, but the man does like to show off...

By the way, the page in question is from issue #130, by Marv Wolfman and with art by Bob Brown and Klaus Janson.

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Random Reviews - Trumps! (vol 1, #203)

Before getting to today's random review issue, by fill-in writer Steve Grant and fill-in penciller Geof Isherwood, I thought I'd fill you in on the latest (or you could just click HERE to jump directly to the review):

1) As reported on ManWithoutFear.com, and elsewhere (I suggest this news flash on Comics Bulletin for more information), Daredevil #111 sold out at Diamond and has gone back to print. This is good news, especially in light of the downward trend in sales this book has been seeing over the last year or so.

2) I added a little box in the lower right sidebar where you can see shortcuts to the five latest comments on this blog. That should save those of you who follow comments from having to click on too many buttons needlessly. Yes, I've just saved you from a nasty case of carpal tunnel syndrom, and you're welcome.

3) On a personal note: What is supposed to be the busiest week of the year att my current place of employ came to a close yesterday, hence the lack of new posts here since Sunday. The good news is that if that is the busiest the place ever gets, the rest of the year should be smooth sailing. It's obvious that no one there really knows the true meaning of crazy hours, and I found the pace merely somewhat invigorating. Of course, this means that maintaining this blog while not working from home won't be the chore I feared it would be. :)

Okay, moving on...

Trumps! is the name of this issue, and the main villain, but it is hardly the fight between Daredevil and the Trump that people remember from this issue. I suspect that even those of you who have read it might be wondering who the heck the Trump is, as he is one of those easily forgotten characters with an equally forgettable MO. But if I mention Stymie, does that ring any bells?

Starting at the beginning of the issue, we find Daredevil interrupting a heist carried out by the Trump and his men. Daredevil narrowly escapes being shot by evading a bullet in classic DD style but is incapacitated by the sound of the gun going off. In the ensuing confusion he manages to force an incoming truck, driven by an accomplice of the Trump's, off the pier and the band of thugs disperses. Daredevil, who went into the water himself, gets himself and the driver of the truck back on dry land. Looking for more information, Daredevil seeks out Ben Urich to see if he has any more information on the Trump, whose real name turns out to be Carlton Sanders, a magician and a children's television host. Sort of like the Marvel Universe version of Sideshow Bob from The Simpson's, minus Krusty the Clown.

The next day, we find Foggy talking to a Stewart "Stymie" Schmidt, arrested for his involvement in last night's heist gone awry. Matt comes by, and (oddly enough) doesn't recognize the man as someone from his childhood, until he hears him call him Daredevil. It turns out that Stymie was one of young Matt Murdock's tormentors, and for reasons yet unknown Matt immediately decides to take the case, against Foggy's wishes. Matt explains his decision by saying, "A lot of what I am today is due to that man. I owe him more than you'll ever know. This may be my one chance to pay him back."

Thus begins the more interesting subplot of this issue, but before we get to see what Matt is really up to, we pay a visit to the Trump again who is busy planning his new heist and informs his men that he will deal with Stymie before he decides to spill the beans. Matt, meanwhile, is throwing himself into Stymie's case and has both Foggy and Becky worried about his obsession with it. When Matt tries to get a deal with the D.A., Foggy points out that he's handling the case as if he wanted Stymie to get the worst possible sentence. He realizes that there's something going on and rushes out to find out what it is.

Matt visits his client in jail and recognizes the heartbeat of a passing prison guard as belonging to the Trump. When he reaches Stymie's cell he finds that his client's heart has stopped beating and resuscitates him (is there nothing this man doesn't know how to do?). When the doctor shows up, Matt rushed out, changes into costume and goes after the Trump. The two of them have a magic-enhanced fight that leads them into the subway, but the Trump eventually gets away.

Foggy does some investigating of his own by going to Max's Candy Story (presumably located in Hell's Kitchen) and shows the owner a picture of Matt as a child. Max does indeed recognize the boy and he remembers Stymie as well, and how cruel he was to Matt.

Matt, meanwhile, is still in costume and pays a visit to Turk and Grotto for some standard information gathering and catches up with the Trump who's busy robbing the mob. A fight erupts between the two of them and the Trump appears victorious when he immobilizes Daredevil with some fancy ribbons and hits him with a jolt of electricity. In a very nicely done scene, the taunts of the Trump as Daredevil tries to get to his feet are echoed in Matt's mind by the taunts he heard as a child, and he forces himself to get up and fight back, stripping the Trump of most of his costume which apparently fuels some of his magic. In a last attempt at getting the upper hand again, the Trump tries to blind Daredevil with a flash of light (always with the blinding rays...) to no effect. The fight is over and the Trump is left for the police.

We then see Matt rush over to Max's Candy Store where Foggy and Max are waiting. He has received an urgent message from his partner, and Foggy confronts him with what he knows. He says that it's unethical to do what Matt is doing, and while Matt initially refuses to see that he is deliberately trying to take down Stymie, the past soon catches up with him and he rushes into an alley and has something of a breakdown. Foggy plays the part of the loyal friend and walks him home. The next day, Matt turns the case over to a public defender and confronts Stymie one last time. He asks him why he treated him the way he did, and Stymie appears surprised that Matt even still thinks about it, talking about his past bullying as if it were nothing. Matt walks away and thinks to himself that the past does matter, at least to some people.

This issue manages to be both deep, and thought-provoking on the one hand, and a little silly on the other. The Trump is not a particularly intresting villain and he doesn't seem to have an agenda outside of stealing guns and doing magic tricks. However, this issue isn't really about the Trump, who is almost like the alibi villain thrown in by the writer so he can tell a different and better story in parallel. I find the exploration of Matt's past to be quite interesting, and the suggestion that his demons are still very much alive is quite intriguing. As a fill-in issue, it is really quite good. The art, just to mention it briefly, is very good in places, but strikes me as a little uneven with some scenes being very rich in detail and others just looking a little off, with strange proportions and angles in some panels.

Look this issue up if you haven't read it. Chances are you'll remember it for years. But, let's face it, you won't remember the Trump. Oh well, no loss there. I'm giving this issue a 3.5 out of 5.

Further reading: I recommend Kuljit Mithra's 1998 interview with Steve Grant which specifically talks about this issue. Click HERE to read it.

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