2000AD - a note

After talking about 2000 AD last post, I was pleasantly surprised to read Garth Ennis - When 2000AD Was The Future over at the awesome bleedingcool.com. Everything he says is true, particularly I'm happy/sad to acknowledge, the last bit.

The Man without Fear

I spend a lot of time reading comics, and even more time buying them. I appreciate a very understanding fiancé, many book shelves, and unfortunately not enough time. And I do mean appreciate, even for the lack of time. Lack of time has lead to some natural pruning of my comic pull list, which has crept into the AUS$150 a week range at some points over the last few years. Pruning is good. Pruning means mortgage is paid, and we still eat… although I do need to lose a bit of weight.

I digress, or to be more precise, procrastinate. I like to just start writing, and see where it takes me. One day I dream of having the time to plan out something that’s written, even just to see how it turns out (or, more precisely, how I deal with it). Writing about Daredevil is quite hard for me, because it is such a good book.

I stumbled across Daredevil sometime during the Guardian Devil run. I had swung in and out of comics, having spend my childhood being raised by Doctor Who and 2000 AD, the latter courtesy of my English Grandmother who used to send weekly cultural support packages to my brother and I from the distant shore of England. Over here in sunny Sydney, I used to devour these weekly Science Fiction gems, blissfully unaware of the graceful sensory reconfiguration that was subliminally taken place under my parents very nose. Borag Thungg, Earthlet indeed. After a few years, my comics reading dropped off. Oh I stumbled in and out, I was an Image kid for a while, and I always picked up the adjective-less X-Men. That hardly counts though. Somewhere along the way I discovered Clerks, then Mallrats. I actually went to the cinema to see Chasing Amy. I’m not afraid to say I was a huge fan of the View Askew-iverse, so once I heard that Kevin Smith, writer/director extraordinaire was writing Daredevil, I jumped right on. Or right in. Or right off.

I knew about Daredevil. He’s that blind guy, right? At some stage, possibly by osmosis, I heard about Frank Miller’s legendary run. Someone at work had given me a copy of Elektra Assassin, and although I didn’t really understand some of the subtleties, I did genuinely like it. I just didn’t like Daredevil. Well, I didn’t dislike him, I now understand I didn’t know him.

Where was I? Oh yes, Guardian Devil. It was good. Know what was better? Bendis. I even like the much maligned Daredevil: Ninja. Bendis did things to Daredevil that, while not always revolutionary, were amazing. Wait, let me be fair – they were revolutionary for an A-list property… and that was what was amazing in itself – Daredevil, the blind guy, was A-list. Suddenly important to me. Along the way there was a movie, which was better than bad, just not by much. It did at least have the best “fuck it” moment where Ben Affleck realises that sleeping with Jennifer Garner is better that man-wrestling with muggers.
Then Bendis left.

I wasn’t upset. As we established, I read too many comics, and it was an opportunity to drop another title. Of course I’d check in on the new guy first. Some guy called Ed Brubaker.

I am of course being flippant, I knew Bru from The Authority, Catwoman and the amazing Sleeper. He is good. Bendis left Daredevil in an amazing place, and it’s testament to his work that I wanted to stick around to see what would happen next, new guy being good or not. Fortunately the new guy was very, very good. I’d like to say that Brubaker’s run is as regarded as the Bendis run – and I imagine it is, but am too frightened to research it because internet fandom frightens me.

It was during the Bendis/Brubaker handover that I changed the way I read comics. Real life™ started intruding, and I had to conduct reading triage. After a grand pull-list cull, I started sorting my weekly comics into three piles: read now, read later, read much-much later. Oh there were books that danced in and out of the top tier, and if I’m honest my profiling was habitual. The aforementioned Bendis, along with Ellis and Morrison were all auto-read-now books. The only book that I always constantly devour on the bus home from the comic shop? Daredevil.

Now Brubaker is leaving.

This week the suddenly re-renumbered* Daredevil #500 came out. It’s really rather good. Got lots in it, don’t believe me? Just follow the link. I have so far managed to avoid spoilers while doing my best to avidly pump up this title, and will continue to do so here, which is hard because, at least for me, the ending of the issue contributes so much to its success. Having said that, the script it fantastic, as is the art. There is a fantastic job by Michael Lark, whom I believe is also leaving the title, and has contributed much to the success of the title over the last few years. Speaking of the art, there are several great pinups, quality backup stories in the oversized (and, *sigh*, over expensed – not that it isn’t worth it… which means I should use another phrase there, but then my cunning word play would have to be modified. Not going to happen. Look, it’s worth it. Do it.) issue. Brubaker drops a clanger (of the good kind) at the end before he exits, and I’ll still be here next month for Andy Diggle (former editor of 2000AD (see what I did there?), Hellblazer, Thunderbolts) and Roberto De La Torre (Ms. Marvel vol. 2) take over the man who, at least from my wallets point of view, has nothing to fear.


* I’ve got a bit of a problem with this renumbering business. It plays havoc with my bookshelves, as I track when they reset with anal little labels. It’s also a bit cheeky, as a company gets a new #1, #50, #100 and now #500 out of a title. Still I understand that they get circulation bumps every time this happens, and whatever keeps my book being published is OK by me. Seriously though, I wish they’d consider my sanity.