Comics Over Time

Episode 63 - Murdock and Marvel: 2002 Part 2 The world was a dangerous and frightening place, and America was trying to come to terms with how to move forward, both internally and on the world stage.  And comics showed a lot of that anxiety.  But even so, 2002 was a big year for all involved in the comics world, as sales of actual honest to goodness comic books actually rose 10% this year to 230 Million dollars, the first time that the industry had seen that occur since 1993, when comic sales had peaked at around 850 Million.  And even as traffic in stores was increasing, Hollywood was starting to understand how to make comic properties work on the screen, both small and large.    This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2002.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances:  Daredevil #27-38, Daredevil: Yellow #6, Paradise X: Heralds #1-2, Elektra #6, Giant Size Mini-Marvels: Starring Spidey #1, Marvel Knight: Millennial Visions #1, Peter Parker: Spider-Man #39 and 41, Essential Marvel Team-Up #1, Paradise X #0-5, Marvel Knight #2-6, Marvel Knights Double Shot #1 and 4, Amazing Spider-Man #2, Ultimate Spider-Man Special #1, Order #5-6, Spider-Man/Daredevil #1, Marville #2 along with Marvel Masterworks: The Submariner #1 and Daredevil: Yellow, Fantastic First, Life and Death of Captain Marvel graphic novels  Writing: Brian Michael Bendis (#27-38)   Pencils: Alex Maleev (#27-37), Manuel Gutierrez (#38)  Inks: Alex Maleev (#27-37), Manuel Gutierrez (#38)  The year for Matt Murdock and Daredevil begins with a 6-part story called Underboss that began in December 2001. In that story we see a bombing attempt on Matt Murdock’s life just outside of the courthouse and we see Sammy Silke and several of the Kingpin’s other bosses repeatedly stab the kingpin leave him dying on the floor.  So, who put a hit out on Matt Murdock and who is this Sammy Silke who rallied Kingpin’s underlings against him? We start to get answers about this over the next 5 books through flashbacks while the story continues forward. Silke is the son of a crime boss in Chicago who needed to get out of town. He came to New York and went to work for the Kingpin – but when the Kingpin wouldn’t let him put a hit on Matt Murdock – He caught wind of Murdock’s seemly open secret within the Kingpin network and set in motion a plan to take out Murdock and Kingpin with the help of Kingpin’s son – Richard.  Vanessa Fisk finds out her husband has been stabbed and in critical condition (and not killed as reports claim). She goes to New York and despite objections from his doctor, wants Kingpin taken to the airport and flown out of the country. She also orders those that betrayed Kingpin to be killed -including her son Richard whom she visits and kills herself.   Underboss ends with Silke, fearing for his life, turning himself into the FBI and asking for protection. When the FBI refuse, he tells them Murdock’s secret identity.    From there, things start to really go crazy for Matt Murdock. An FBI agent, needing some cash, sells Murdock’s secret to the Daily Globe (the Bugle’s rival paper) and it’s ran as a front-page story and a media circus descents on Murdock’s brownstone.   Ben Urich and Peter Parker tell J. Jonah Jameson the DD secret identity story is a hoax but both refuse to tell him who DD really is; Foggy tries to get Matt to give up his life as DD. Seeing the story, Mr. Hyde shows up and starts destroying Murdock’s house before Daredevil and Spider-Man can intervene.  After some time away, Matt Murdock holds a press conference denying he’s Daredevil. We’ll jump into more detail about that during this week’s spotlight.  After a rooftop chat with Elektra at the urging of Black Widow, it looks like things will be settle with the Daily Globe after Daredevil visits the FBI agent who gave up his secret, but then the Globe owner Rosenthal nixes the deal because Murdock was being so smug about the agreement.  The year ends with part 1 of the next named storyline, The Trail of the Century, which we’ll talk about in 2003.  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil volume 2 #36 October 2002 “One Hundred Percent Untrue” Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway Big Box Office does not necessarily translate to big bucks at the comic shop. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 81 - Murdock and Marvel: 2011 Part 2 It was a quiet year in the comics world, but there were a lot of developments going on behind the scenes, and up on the screen.  Oh, and we did get ONE new character worth talking about…  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2011.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil v2 #512, Daredevil v3 #1-5, Daredevil Reborn #1-4, Shadowland #5, Ultimate Avengers #15-18, Ultimate Spider-Man #150, Bullseye: Perfect Game #2, What if? 200 #1, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #15, Avengers #17, Vengeance #2, Captain America Corps #4-5, New Avengers #16, FF #11, Season One Guide #1 and the Spider-Man Chapter One graphic novel.  Writer: Andy Diggle (Reborn #1-4), Mark Waid (#1-5)  Pencils: David Gianfelice (Reborn #1-4), Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin (#1), Paolo Rivera (#2-3), Marco Martin (#4-5)  Inks: David Gianfelice (Reborn #1-4), Marcos Martin and Joe Rivera (#1), Joe Rivera (#2-3), Marcos Martin (#4-5)  2011 begins with the final few issues of the Shadowland crossover event we talked about a couple weeks ago. In it, Murdock is the leader of the Hand and tries to use them for good in NYC but he’s corrupted by Snakeroot and “the Beast” and threatens to take down all of humanity before Iron Fist, Luke Cage and friends can stop him. Elektra smuggles Murdock’s lifeless body from the scene but who know he survives because Ben Urich gets a recording from Murdock saying he’s sorry for what happened and needs to get away to find the right path again.  In March, we learn what happened to Murdock in a 4-part limited series entitles Daredevil Reborn. In it, we learn he’s been wandering the country by foot and by bus and has found his way to New Mexico and proves to be the only story we get outside New York. We’ll cover it as this week’s spotlight story.  In September, we get issue #1 of Daredevil volume 3, a double sized issue from a new creative team. In this book we actually get 3 stories – “Here Comes…Daredevil” a 1-page recap of Daredevil history, “Man without Fear” in which Daredevil saves a mob bosses daughter from being abducted by the Spot during her wedding day but then Matt gets removed as lawyer from a case he’s working on because he’s Daredevil. Finally, in “Sometimes, in my dreams… I can See” Matt goes to his father’s grave site with Foggy.  As volume 2 continues, Daredevil has a talk with Captain America, Steve Rogers, about what he did in New York during Shadowland and convinces him it won’t happen again. Next Daredevil investigates why no one else was willing to work on the Jobrani case he was removed from. Turns out other lawyers who considered it were being threatened and supposedly Jobrani is hearing voices. After a run-in with the Klaw – who was the one causing Jobrani to hear voices, Murdock decides the best way he can help people is coaching them to represent themselves in court. After working with Jobrani, he wins his court case and Matt decides this is the new way forward for Nelson & Murdock.  Meeting with new potential clients under their new business model, Murdock meats with Austin Cao, a blind man who was working as a linguist for Midas Investments before he was abruptly fired. While that initially doesn’t look like much of a case, some men try to murder Austin and Matt while they are talking which causes Matt to take the case as Daredevil. Matt dispatches the mercenaries and he hides Austin at his apartment.   There he learns Austin overheard parts of a plot by Midas to broker a deal between Hydra, A.I.M., Black Spector, Zodiac and possibly other crime organizations. Daredevil confronts Austin’s old boss Mr. Randall who tells him he was only trying to protect Austin by firing him. More Midas mercenaries attack Randall who realizes what he’s done, and Daredevil must fight them off including Bruiser, an up-and-coming mercenary with powers trying to make a name for himself.   This story ends in early 2012 with a face-off between Daredevil and the 5 megacrime organizations using the threat of mutually assured destruction. He tells them they’re going to let him and his friends go, because in order for one of them to take the Omega drive, they’ll have to kill the other four agents and inevitably start a gang war. The agents lower their weapons and Daredevil walks out with Randall and Austin. He tells the terrorists that if their bosses want the Omega drive, they know where to find him.  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil Reborn #1 from March 2011 “Reborn, Chapter One” through Daredevil Reborn #4 July 2011 “Reborn, Chapter Four”  Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway It's time for a reset at Marvel! New characters, new directions, etc.  Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 80 - Murdock and Marvel: 2011 Part 1 It was a quiet year in the comics world, but there were a lot of developments going on behind the scenes, and up on the screen.  Oh, and we did get ONE new character worth talking about… The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel TOTAL SERIES: 791 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 636  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 640 SERIES OVER 100 ISSUES: 3 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): Age of X (11), Fear itself (125), Spider-Island (33), X-Men: Schism (11) and Shattered Heroes (74) BEST SELLING COMICS:  Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings Marvel anoints Bendis, Fraction, Brubaker, Hickman and Aaron as the “Architects” of the Marvel Universe. Passings: Gene Colan and Joe Simon ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jordie Bellaire Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2011 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 79 - Murdock and Marvel: 2010 Part 2 2010 is an odd year in a lot of ways.  It was quiet, but not in a “before the storm” way.  More in a “putt your head down and get to work” sense.  Great comics were made, and big things were happening mostly under the surface. This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2010.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil #502-512, Shadowland #1-5, Shadowland After the Fall #1, Daredevil: Cage Match #1, Daredevil Black & White #1, New Avengers #59-60, New Avengers Annual #3, What If? Secret Invasion #1, Avengers: The Initiative #32, Black Widow: Deadly Origin #3-4, Siege #4, World War Hulks: Hulked-Out Heroes #2, X-Factor #204, Sentry: Fallen Sun #1, New Avengers #1, Atlas #4, Shadowland Bullseye #1, Thanos Imperative #3, Ultimate Avengers #13-15, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #6, Shadowland Elektra #1, Shadowland Power Man #2, Shadowland Spider-Man #1 and Strange Tales graphic novel.  Writing: Andy Diggle (#502-504, 509-512), Diggle and Antony Johnson (#505-508)  Pencils: Roberto De La Torre (#502, 504, 508-509, 511), De La Torre and Marco Checchetto (#503), Checchetto (#505-507, 510, 512)  Inks: Roberto De La Torre (#502, 504, 508-509, 511), De La Torre and Marco Checchetto (#503), Checchetto (#505-507, 510, 512)  The year begins the story “The Devil’s Hand” in which Daredevil, White Tiger and Black Tarantula patrolling New York and taking on criminals and corrupt cops with the help of the Hand. Meanwhile, Foggy and Becky win a case against some corrupt cops only to have the judge throw out the verdict which outrages Foggy, and he gets arrested for contempt of court and loses his law license.   Daredevil orders the construction of Shadowland – a Japanese Style fortress to be constructed on the site of the building explosion caused by Bullseye that killed 107 protesters in the The List at the end of 2009. It is to be the headquarters of the Hand in NYC.   Tensions escalate as Kingpin sends Lady Bullseye to infiltrate and assassinate both police officers and H.A.M.M.E.R. agents to cause chaos and a reaction. Which it does as Norman Osborn responds by deploying a full H.A.M.M.E.R. unit to Hell’s Kitchen, which causes Daredevil to launch a declaration of war against the police, triggering a full-scale battle. At the end of The Devil’s Hand, Matt travels to Japan to deal with important matters involving the Hand, so he leaves Black Tarantula in charge of the city and takes White Tiger with him.  Next in story “Left Hand Path” we see Matt in Japan hoping to unite the other leaders of the Hand. However, Bakuto, the Daimyo of South America, causes trouble. The other leaders seem to be conspiring against him. Despite their differences, Matt saves Bakuto from an attack and we learn Snakeroot has co-opted White Tiger to aid in the very intricate plans for Murdock and Shadowland back in New York City.   We return back to New York and the start of Shadowland, the big crossover event that goes into the Hand’s plans for New York and Murdock ultimately, falling prey to them. This story was too big for just the Daredevil title and spawned its own limited series that needed to be read to understand what was going on in the Daredevil title. Those books along with a wrap up book entitled After the Fall while be our spotlight for this week. Buckle up everyone, you’re in for a ride...  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil #508 September 2010 “Shadowland Part 1” through Daredevil #512 February 2011 “Shadowland Final Issue” plus Shadowland #1 September 2010 “Shadowland Part 1 of 5” through Shadowland #5 January 2011 “Shadowland Part 5” and Shadowland After the Fall #1 February 2011. Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway For the first time in a long while, I am starting to feel that quality and sales are becoming decoupled in the LCS / direct market model. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 78 - Murdock and Marvel: 2010 Part 1 2010 is an odd year in a lot of ways.  It was quiet, but not in a “before the storm” way.  More in a “putt your head down and get to work” sense.  Great comics were made, and big things were happening mostly under the surface   The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel In many ways these were the darkest days of the Marvel Universe, at least in terms of the stories told in the 616.  Evil was ascendant and heroes were on the run. TOTAL SERIES: 710 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 547  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 552 SERIES OVER 100 ISSUES: 5 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): The Thanos Imperative (10), World War Hulks (15), Heroic Age (116), Shadowland (31) BEST SELLING COMICS: Avengers #1, X-Men #1 and the Siege books Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings Marvel anoints Bendis, Fraction, Brubaker, Hickman and Aaron as the “Architects” of the Marvel Universe. Passings: Al Williamson, American comics artist and inker ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kelly Sue DeConnick Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2010 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 77 - Murdock and Marvel: 2009 Part 2 2009 was a tough year for comics, in that sales declined and a number of stores (nearly 50% in some areas) closed their doors.  Closings of Waldenbooks and other book outlets also made getting product into customers’ hands difficult.  We also saw cover prices rise, even as the recession continued to impact fans ability to spend. This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2009.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil #113-119, 500-501, Daredevil Noir #1-4, Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil #1, New Avengers #47, Secret Invasion #8, Secret Invasion: Front Line #5, Age of Sentry #4 and 6, Fantastic Four #562 and 569, Might Avengers #20, What If? Newer Fantastic Four #1, What If? Secret Wars #1, New Warriors #20, Amazing Spider-Man #587 and 600, Marvels: Eye of the Camera #2 and 4, Ultimate Spider-Man #132, Astonishing Tales #3-5, Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #2-3, Deadpool: Suicide Kings #3-5, Exiles #6, Strange Tales #2 and Marvel 70th Anniversary Collection.  Writing: Ed Brubaker (#113-119, 500), Andy Diggle (#501) Pencils: Michael Lark (#113-114, 117-119), Lark, Tony Zonjic and Gaudiano (#115), David Aja (#116), Lark and Gaudiano (#500), Roberto De La Torre (#501) Inks: Stefano Gaudiano (#113-114, 116-119), Matt Hollingsworth (#115), Klaus Janson, Chris Samnee and Paul Azaceta (#500), Roberto De La Torre (#501) 2009 begins with the final three parts of the Lady Bullseye storyline we talked about to finish up 2008. In that we Daredevil, Black Tarantula and White Tiger along with Master Izo trying to take down the Hand once and for all – but the Hand are trying to recruit Daredevil to be their leader. The story ends with Lord Hirochi, Lady Bullseye, Black Tarantula, and White Tiger board a plane to Spain, where Lady Bullseye says they will pursue Plan B.  In March, we get the return of another old foe – Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin himself in an aptly titled story called Return of the King. In part one of the story, we see Fisk in Spain where he befriends and falls in love with a woman, Marta, and her kids – only to see Lady Bullseye and the Hand killing them causing him to revert back to his old ways.  Kingpin returns to New York and announces his return and his plans to deal with Daredevil. That plan turns out to be working with Daredevil to take down the Hand. Meanwhile, Foggy is upset that Matt constant absence from the firm confronts him and ultimately fires him.  Daredevil tries to locate Master Izo without success and begins to doubt his alliance with Kingpin, suspecting that Fisk is using the Hand and the Owl to wipe out his rivals. Fisk, still haunted by visions of Vanessa, meets with the Owl and gives him Lady Bullseye’s next target – Foggy Nelson.  The conclusion of this story – is a renumbered issue 500 of Daredevil and the conclusion of Ed Brubaker on Daredevil – will be our spotlight story for this week.   In Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil #1 we see Bullseye (now operating under the Hawkeye identity) go after Daredevil at the behest of Norman Osborn. Daredevil pursues him but falls into a trap: Bullseye lures him into a building full of protestors and then blows it up. The blast kills 107 people, leaving Matt devastated and furious—determined to take action.  Following that we get the start of a new story from new creative team - Andy Diggle and Roberto De La Torre entitled The Devil’s Hand. In it, we see Matt as leader of the Hand. Since most of this story takes place in 2010 – we’ll save talking about it more until our 2010 discussion. This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil #500 October 2009 “Return of the King, Conclusion” Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway It had been a rough decade for the United States, and the Marvel Universe showed the strain as the decade ended. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 76 - Murdock and Marvel: 2009 Part 1 2009 was a tough year for comics, in that sales declined and a number of stores (nearly 50% in some areas) closed their doors.  Closings of Waldenbooks and other book outlets also made getting product into customers’ hands difficult.  We also saw cover prices rise, even as the recession continued to impact fans ability to spend. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel In many ways these were the darkest days of the Marvel Universe, at least in terms of the stories told in the 616.  Evil was ascendant and heroes were on the run. TOTAL SERIES: 681 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 513  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 506 SERIES OVER 100 ISSUES: 7 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): War of Kings (54 issues), Utopia (13), Nation X (21), Necrosha (14) BEST SELLING COMICS: ASM #583 (530K!), Captain America Reborn #1 (199K), Dark Avengers #1 (136K) Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kieron Gillen Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2009 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 75 - Murdock and Marvel: 2008 Part 2 2008 in the United States was a year of war and recession, leading to a bleak short-term outlook for Americans.  Comics and comic book movies reflected that, but also gave fans a lot to enjoy, hopefully taking people’s minds off social and economic issues they were facing.  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2008.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil #102-#112, Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula #1, Avengers #36-37 and 39, World War Hulk: Aftersmash #1, Civil War Chronicles #5-6 and 8-12, What if? Civil War #1, Exiles #1, World War Hulk Aftersmash: Damage Control #1-3, Black Panther Annual #1, New Exiles #0, Ultimate Fantastic Four #52-53, Might Avengers #12 and 16, King Size Hulk #1, Eternals #1, New Avengers #42, Ultimate Origins #3, Wolverine #68, Age of Sentry #2, Secret Invasion #7, Secret Invasion: The Amazing Spider-Man #3, and Thunderbolts #125   Writing: Ed Brubaker (#102-106, 111-112) Brubaker and Greg Rucka (#107-110)  Pencils: Michael Lark (#102-103, 107-112), Lark and Azaceta (#104-105), Paul Azaceta (#106), Clay Mann (#111)  Inks: Stefano Gaudiano (#102, #105, #107-112) Gaudiano and Paul Azaceta (#103), Gaudiano and Tom Palmer (#104), Paul Azaceta (#106)  The year begins with the parts 3 through 6 of the Without Fear storyline we talked about in 2007. Daredevil takes down Mr Fear but not before Matt Murdock and Milla Donvan’s life is turned upside down.  In May, we get a single story “Sympathy for the Devil” that bridges us to the next big story arch. In it we see Matt Murdock struggling to deal with everything that’s happened to him and Milla. This interesting story will be our spotlight story for the year.  Next, we get the 4-part “Cruel and Unusual” story arch in which Matt Murdock tries to help a death row inmate “Big Ben” Donovan who’s unwilling to get help to stay his execution. Murdock can tell there’s more going on here and Dakota North being assaulted, warned away from investigating Big Ben case by her father Samuel North and finally shot all seem to confirm that suspicion.  After Dakota is shot, Matt decides to investigate the shooter and, after following the clues, realizes that there had been men watching his law office from the beginning. These men turn out to be federal agents, who explain why Donovan was framed. Apparently, the special units needed crime boss Eric Slaughter to watch over the docks, which is why they protected him. In the end, Matt speaks with Samuel J. North. North tells him how the special units crossed the line, that he didn’t want his daughter caught in the crossfire, that they needed someone to blame, and Donovan fit the profile. Interestingly, this story was billed as a 5-part story that ended after 4.  To finish out 2008, we get the return of Bullseye, well kind of. In a story titled “Lady Bullseye”, we see the Hand and their newest assassin – a woman who goes by the alias Lady Bullseye and was inspired by the original Bullseye who tore through the Yakuzi years before. Lady Bullseye frames Murdock for murder to keep him occupied (though he’s arrested the morning after cheating on his wife Milla with Dakota North) while they go after Iron Fist (Danny Rand) and Black Tarantula (Carlos LaMuerto).  North provides an alibi for Murdock so he gets released and upon returning home and upon returning home they find Black Tarantula hogtied and an old man rummaging through Matt’s kitchen, who introduces himself as Master Izo and says Matt is going to help him destroy the Hand. Apparently now is an opportune time as the Hand is in chaos as factions are fighting for control after Elektra is revealed to be a Skrull.  As the story progressed, we see that the Hand has a series of targets and eventually possesses Tarantula and White Tiger before a finally confrontation with Daredevil. It’s then that Lady Bullseye reveals to Matt her true plan—she wants him to lead the Hand, and her efforts so far have not been to attack his friends and family, but rather to remove them as obstacles. Stunned, Matt strikes her. They fight again and she knocks him out, saying the Hand does not take no for an answer. Master Izo helps Matt up, and assumes he refused the Hand’s offer; Matt says nothing. The story ends with Lord Hirochi, Lady Bullseye, Black Tarantula, and White Tiger board a plane to Spain, where Lady Bullseye says they will pursue Plan B.  One side story in the Lady Bullseye story arch, is Milla Donovan’s parents have checked her out of the hospital Matt’s been visiting and are trying to keep him away from their daughter.   In the Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula one-shot, Daredevil helps Carlos LaMuerto face down his cousin, Luis, who is being backed up by his former gang from Argentina as they have arrived in New York to steal the power of the Black Tarantula and return it to its country of origin.  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil #106 May 2008 “Sympathy For the Devil”  Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway This is the year that comic book superheroes evolve into billion-dollar movie properties. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 74 - Murdock and Marvel: 2008 Part 1 2008 in the United States was a year of war and recession, leading to a bleak short-term outlook for Americans.  Comics and comic book movies reflected that, but also gave fans a lot to enjoy, hopefully taking people’s minds off social and economic issues they were facing. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel Marvel plunged headlong into the deep end of the event pool, as the summer event Secret Invasion was essentially a reboot of major parts of the universe. TOTAL SERIES: 541 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 387  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 361 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): Secret Invasion (Skrulls, 126) | Dark Reign (Norman Osborn and Dark Avengers, 290) | X-Men: Divided We Stand (disbanding, 40) | X-Men: Manifest Destiny (West coast move, 35) BEST SELLING COMICS: Secret Invasion #1 Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Joe Sabino Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2008 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 73 - Murdock and Marvel: 2007 Part 2 America continues to deal with the consequences of 9/11, and we are not mid-way through the 8 year Iraq War.  Something seems to be changing on the comics landscape, as dark themes, destruction and war get more prevalent, and stories retreat to more conventional and traditional themes.  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2007.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil #91-#101, Daredevil: Father #6, Daredevil Annual #1, Incredible Hulk #100. Thunderbolts #108 and 110, What If? Avengers Disassembled #1, What If? Wolverine Enemy of the State #1, Avengers Next #4, Marvel Select Flip Magazine #19 and 22, X-23: Target X #1-6, Amazing Spider-Man #538, Spider-Man and Power Pack #3-4, Black Panther #25, Bullet Points #4-5, Civil War: Front Line #11, Fantastic Four: Then End #5-6, Punisher War Journal #4, Civil War: The Confession #1, Ultimate Spider-Man #106-107 and 109-110, Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1, Ms Marvel #14, Wonder Man #5, Hulk and Power Pack #3-4, Marvel Zombies: Dead Days #1, X-Men #200, World War Hulk: Front Line #2 and 6, Civil War Chronicles #1-2, Last Fantastic Four Story #1, New Avengers #34  Writing: Ed Brubaker (#91-101)  Pencils: Michael Lark (#91-93, 95-99, and 101), Lee Weeks (#94), Lark, Marko Djurdjevic, John Romita Sr, Gene Colan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Alex Maleev and Lee Bermejo (#100)  Inks: Stefano Gaudiano (#91-99 and 101), Gaudiano and Al Milgrom (#100)  2007 begins with the final three parts of the “Devil Takes a Ride storyline we talked about in 2006 That involved Murdock going to Europe and confronting Vanessa Fisk for all the trouble she’s been causing him as well as then freeing Fisk from prison.  In April, we get a one-shot story called Our Love Story (with a cool cover from John Romita Sr) that talks about the relationship Milla Donovan has with Matt Murdock and Daredevil.  Next, we get long story arch titled “To the Devil, His Due”.  Murdock and company are brought in to defend Melvin Potter, the Gladiator, who has been accused of killing inmates in Ryker's Island prison; Melvin claims that he didn't do it, even though all evidence points to the fact that he did. As the story progresses, Potter escapes prison and goes on a killing spree, Milla starts going to a psychiatrist and Lily Luca – the woman who double crossed Murdock in Europe during the Devil Takes a Ride story comes to New York looking for Murdock’s help.  When Potter shows up to ruin a dinner date between Milla and Matt, Murdock figures out that someone is behind the Gladiator’s recent behavior and must stop Potter from killing Milla. The story ends with Potter getting arrested and Daredevil turning his sights on the person behind Potter’s behavior change… Mr. Fear. Meanwhile, in a moment of jealous anger directed toward Lily (induced in no small part by Mr Fear’s gas), Milla accidentally kills a man in the subway.  That leads directly into a “Triple sized” issue 100 featuring 7 artists and a huge six-part story titled Without Fear that finishes the year and bleeds into 2008. Issue 100 will be the spotlight story this week. For this recap, Daredevil confronts Larry Cranston aka Mr Fear but Fear is able to escape and when he returns home Murdock learns Milla has been arrested for murder. As the Without Fear story continues, we see Turk is now in the employ of the Hood who has designs of his own on New York and Hell’s Kitchen. Daredevil learns of a chemist who assisted Mr Fear in his latest version of the fear gas who is now dead, and Milla fails her psych evaluation and is sent to Bellevue hospital under protective custody. Milla is eventually allowed to return home with a home health nurse to monitor her actions. But then she attacks the nurse after being visited by Lily Lucca which gets her sent back to Bellevue. Hood and Fear team up for a time but disagree on “the big picture”.   Ultimately the story ends with Daredevil confronting Mr Fear and demanding a cure to Milla’s condition – to which fear reveals there is no antidote.  Turning him over to Detective Krutz, Cranston confesses that he is responsible for Melvin and Milla's recent action and claims he did it to Matt Murdock because he does not like him. Lilly Lucca, who went to Murdock’s home because of Mr Fear, has disappeared and Murdock tells Foggy he’s responsible for ruining Milla’s life.  Meanwhile, in the Daredevil Annual that was released in December, Carlos Muerto aka Black Tarantula is released on parole, and he looks up his old prison buddy, Matt Murdock, for a job and help in getting his life back in order. And though it works for a time, ultimately, they end up going their separate ways. This is a story by Ed Brubaker with Andre Parks as writer. Leo Fernandez and Scott Koblish on art.  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil #100 October 2007 “Without Fear: Part One”  Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway The retrenchment that is going to divide comics fandom over the next two decades may have its roots here in 2007. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 72 - Murdock and Marvel: 2007 Part 1 America continues to deal with the consequences of 9/11, and we are not mid-way through the 8 year Iraq War.  Something seems to be changing on the comics landscape, as dark themes, destruction and war get more prevalent, and stories retreat to more conventional and traditional themes.  Preshow Where did the podcast go? The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel Marvel had a huge year, with stories and events that would resonate into the company’s future, both in the comics and on screen.  As usual they won no awards, but they sold a lot of comics…  TOTAL SERIES: 470 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 326  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 306 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): One More Day (4), Silent War, The Initiative (80), World War Hulk (52), X-Men: Endangered Species (17), X-Men: Messiah Complex (13) BEST SELLING COMICS: Civil War #7 Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jonathan Hickman Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2007 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 71 - Murdock and Marvel: 2006 Part 2 Last week in the takeaway we talked about how 2005 had elements that pointed to a new golden age for comics, and there were elements that pointed to dangerous days ahead.  Well, if 2006 is any indication, Golden Age it is...   This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2006.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil #79-90, Daredevil vs Punisher #6, Daredevil: Father #5, Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special #1, Spider-Man Unlimited #12, Black Widow 2 #4-6, Playmates Toys #1, Spider-Man /Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do #4-6, Marvel Zombies #2-3, Pulse #13, Thing #3  X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl #1, I Heart Marvel: Marvel Ai #1, Marvel Team-Up #17 and 20, New Mangaverse #2, Amazing Spider-Man #530 and 534, Thunderbolts #100/105/107, Doc Samson #4, Wolverine #42, Exiles #83, Cable & Deadpool #31, Fantastic Four #539, New Avengers #22 and 24, Marvel Select Flip Magazine #16-17, Civil War #1-6, Civil War: Choosing Sides #1, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1, Civil War: Frontline #10  Writing: Brian Michael Bendis (#79-81), Ed Brubaker (#82-90)  Pencils: Alex Maleev (#79-81), Michael Lark (#82-87 and #89-90), David Aja (#88)  Inks: Alex Maleev (#79-81), Michael Lark (#82), Stefano Gaudiano (#83-87 and #89-90), David Aja (#88)  The year begins with the final three issues of The Murdock Papers from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.  In April, We get a new creative team and a new story arch with three parts centered around Matt Murdock in prison.  The first is entitled The Devil in Cell-Block D and in it, Brubaker and Lark do the unthinkable – while visiting Matt in prison, Foggy and their assistant Dakota are assaulted – with Foggy being stabbed while Murdock is unable to help while bring locked up in solitary confinement. The story ends with Matt Murdock frantically screaming, "His heart is still beating," over and over.  As the story continues, we see a funeral for Foggy (which Murdock is able to attend) and we see someone is running around the city in the Daredevil costume on – which does seem to help Murdock’s case for not being our horned hero. In August, we see Fisk and Murdock working together to survive a prison riot and after Murdock escapes from prison with the help of the recently incarcerated Punisher.    In the finale of The Devil in Cell Block D, Murdock hunts down the other Daredevil – who turns out to be Iron Fist – who was trying to help keep Murdock’s secret identity hidden. Matt decides to leave the country for Monaco to find the man responsible for having Foggy killed. But Foggy is alive and well and hiding under the witness protection program. The warden believes Matt was truly a helpless victim of Punishers and goes public with this on TV.  Next we catch up with the recently revealed to be alive Foggy Nelson in a single-issue story called “The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson. In it we see him try to reach out to Ben Urich and others but he is stopped by the FBI who are “protecting” him.  Finally, to finish off the 2006 – which bleeds into 2007 – we travel to Europe (specifically Monaco to start with) for Murdock’s hunt for a lawyer, Alton Lennox, who helped “kill” Foggy Nelson entitled The Devil Takes a Ride. In it, he teams up with a mob bosses daughter who turns out to double cross him. He confronts her (and Tombstone) in Paris and tells her he’s not so easily fooled. Daredevil finally finds out who has been behind everything and it turns out to be the wife of his most hated enemy, Vanessa Fisk. When Murdock confronts her in Zurich, we learn she is dying and he manipulated Murdock to get him to help free Wilson Fisk as her dying wish. Murdock initially refuses, but she knows he’ll eventually agree and sets her plan in motion – killing Leland Drummond, the FBI director going after Murodck.   The Devil takes a Ride concludes with Matt finding out Foggy is still alive and also helping release the Kingpin from prison to honor Vanessa's memory. Though he has the Kingpin agree to have his U.S. Citizenship revoked and that Fisk will have to leave the country. Foggy agrees with Matt's idea to move their law firm to a new location as well as changing their business method of accepting clients from referrals only to avoid drawing attention from DD's enemies. It was also decided that Becky Blake will join their firm as a law partner (Nelson, Blake, and Murdock). Matt also moves him and Milla to a new apartment as well since too many of his enemies already knew the address of his previous apartment.  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil #82 April 2006 “The Devil in Cell-Block D Part One”  Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway It doesn’t get any better than this.  Comics in 2006 are at the top of their form both in terms of their content and their cultural impact. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 70 - Murdock and Marvel: 2006 Part 1 Last week in the takeaway we talked about how 2005 had elements that pointed to a new golden age for comics, and there were elements that pointed to dangerous days ahead.  Well, if 2006 is any indication, Golden Age it is... The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel Marvel decided to return to the “event” with a bang, as the universe-spanning Civil War wrecked friendships, unmasked heroes, and generally created chaos all across the Marvel line.  This was another dominant year for Marvel, with increased sales and fan acclaim. TOTAL SERIES: 499 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 369 TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 349 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): Civil War (132), Planet Hulk (23), Annihilation BEST SELLING COMICS: Civil War #1-5 (2 was highest) Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Charlie Huston Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2006 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 69 - Murdock and Marvel: 2005 Part 2 It was a great year in comics, and maybe a turning point.  Movies, events and accolades abounded.  But somehow it all worries me a bit, in retrospect.  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2005.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil #67-78, Daredevil: Redemption #1-6, Daredevil: Father #1-4, Exiles #54, 56 and 62, Marvel Age Spider-Man #15, New Avengers #1-3 and 11, Powerless #6, Ultimate Elektra #4-5, Bullseye: Greatest Hits #4, Marvel Knight 4 #13, What if…Karen Page Had Lived? #1, Wolverine #23-24, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #11, Ultimates 2 #3, Hercules #1, Marvel Nemesis: The Imperfects #2-6, Marvel Team-Up #9-10, Daredevil vs Punisher #1-5, House of M #5-7, Ultimate Fantastic Four #22, Black Widow 2 #1-2, Defenders #4, Secret War #5, Weapon X: Days of Future Now #4 along with the Elektra: On the Rise, New Avengers: Pot of Gold, Ultimate Spider-Man and Marvel Visionaries: Stan Lee graphic novels  Writing: Brian Michael Bendis (#67-78)   Pencils: Alex Maleev (#67-78)  Inks: Alex Maleev (#67-78)  The year begins with the continuation of the Golden Age storyline that starts in December. In it, we learn immediately about Alexander Bont (the Kingpin before Wilson Fisk). He was released from prison and plans to get revenge on Daredevil and Matt Murdock for helping him go to prison. Across the 5 issues, we see just how powerful Bont was and how Daredevil got him arrested as well as how Murdock made sure he went to prison for most of his life. Bont enlists the reformed Gladiator to kidnap and beat Murdock before attempting to reveal his now widely known secret on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.  Meanwhile, Agent Del Toro of the FBI approaches Matt Murdock asking for help understanding why he and others are superheroes and how to come to terms with her inheriting the White Tiger Amulet from her now deceased uncle Hector Ayala. Murdock as Daredevil does help, helping her to learn to use the Amulet and her new powers – which comes in handy as Del Toro is the one who comes to Murdock’s rescue from Gladiator and Bont.   After that, we get one of my favorite Bendis stories to date – Decalogue. In it, we see a support group, the Devil Among Us, trying to come to grips of their re-ins with our horned hero. Things start with a junkie telling how she started going straight after seeing her boyfriend and his enlisted help Bullet get taken down when they had designs for taking over for Kingpin after Daredevil’s proclamation, he was the new Kingpin. We get a story from another group member about failing to honor his father’s wish from prison to have Foggy Nelson killed.   From there, the stories and the group take a turn. The DD support group continues and the wife of a super-powered serial killer tells how DD tracked down her husband but refused to let him fall to his death; The killer's last intended victim whom DD saved turns out to be a member of the group and doesn't take kindly to the story of a troubled man plagued by demons.   The DD support group continues with the tale of one of Milla Donovan's friends who went to her wedding with Matt Murdock and whose daughter later killed herself after surviving a bank robbery by the Jester. A goading and mysterious member of the group pipes up and promises there are deep dark secrets in all these tales and points out that Matt Murdock is there in the group with them; And he is.  The story ends with Murdock confronting the Demon that had possessed the Jester (and is currently inhabiting the mysterious member of the group) and interfered with so many lives after which he tries to explain to the group why he does the things he does; For the first time, Matt Murdock publicly admits to outsiders that he is DD.  After that, we get one last story from Brian Michael Bendis that spills over into 2006 – The Murdock papers. In it, we see the Kingpin attempt to use the knowledge of Murdock’s secret identity to leverage a pardon for all his crimes from the FBI all with Ben Urich unwilling assistance. Claiming he has physical evidence proving Murdock is Daredevil, he gets Urich to write a story saying Kingpin is willing to tell all – forcing the FBI to decide to pursue a case against Murdock rather than their very weak case against Fisk.   At the same time, Milla Donovan has a change of heart and wants to be with Murdock again – which he happily wants as well.  This leads to Elektra and Black Widow (along with the recently fired Agent Del Toro) trying to help Daredevil get the papers before the FBI does from Fisk’s lawyer’s office. There’s a big confrontation that includes Bullseye and in which Daredevil gets shot and is briefly presumed dead. Fisk reveals that the papers were a lie and meant to flush Daredevil out so the FBI could arrest him.   The conclusion of this epic storyline (and the Bendis run on Daredevil) will be our spotlight for this year…  This Week's Spotlight: #80 February 2006 “The Murdock Papers Part 5” and Daredevil #81 March 2006 “The Murdock Papers Part 6” Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway The beginning of an Golden Age? Or the harbinger of future problems? Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 68 - Murdock and Marvel: 2005 Part 1 It was a great year in comics, and maybe a turning point.  Movies, events and accolades abounded.  But somehow it all worries me a bit, in retrospect. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel Marvel steamed ahead in 2005, with Joe Quesado taking on additional responsibilities, and Brian Bendis in charge of Marvel’s first big event in years.  New stories with new characters by some of the best young talents in the industry made for a spectacular year!  TOTAL SERIES: 449 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 331  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 304 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): House of M BEST SELLING COMICS: New Avengers, House of M Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings Bendis is credited 77 times this year. The equivalent of over 6 books a month!  ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ed Brubaker Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2004 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 67 - Murdock and Marvel: 2004 Part 2 2004 was a relatively quiet year in comics, but there were some critical developments that made waves into the future.  Big movies, heroes back from the dead, and some important new faces! This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2004.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil #54-66, Daredevil: Father #1, Daredevil 2099 #1, Punisher #35-37, Exiles #39 and #43, Spider-Man Unlimited #1, Elektra #35, Marvel 1602 #8, Secret War #2-3, Powerless #1-5, Ultimate Elektra #1-3  Writing: David Mack (#54-55), Brian Michael Bendis (#56-66)  Pencils: David Mack (#54-55), Alex Maleev (#56-64 and 66), Maleev, Michael Golden, Greg Horn, P. Craig Russell, Phil Hester, Chris Bachalo, Jae Lee, David Finch and Frank Quitely (#65)  Inks: David Mack (#54-55), Alex Maleev (#56-64 and 66), Maleev, Michael Golden, Greg Horn, P. Craig Russell, Phil Hester, Chris Bachalo, Jae Lee, David Finch and Frank Quitely (#65)  The year begins late in 2003, as we noted two weeks ago with our 2003 discussion, with the return of David Mack to writing and art and Maya Lopez in the book itself. She’s returned to New York and is looking to reconnect with Daredevil. After he shares he’s now with someone else, she instead visits with a chief her father knew and goes on a vision quest. There, with the help of a man shaped in the form of a wolverine, helps her understand a story her father used to tell her and helps her realize who she is. She goes back to Daredevil and bids him goodbye with a kiss.  From there, Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev return with a story called The King of Hell’s Kitchen. We learn it’s been a year since the confrontation between Kingpin and Daredevil and according to Ben Urich – Daredevil has been very busy cleaning up the kitchen while also taking some flack about his methods from other superheroes.   His latest dealings have been against the Yakuza and after a large battle Daredevil’s gone missing. Milla Donovan reached out to Urich to find him and during their discussion we learned that 4 months ago she and Murdock got married. Urich finds Murdock and reunited the married couple – but not before suggesting the events of the last year are all his way coping with the death of Karen Page. With a little help from some super powered friends, Daredevil puts a stop to the Yakuza plot to take over Hell's Kitchen. Milla confronts Matt about his problems over the death of Karen Page and before leaving her husband.  Next we get storyline featuring another of Matt’s love interests, the Black Widow, in a story called “The Widow”. Black Widow gets “called in” be SHIELD and realizing it’s a trap – instead goes to visit Matt Murdock in New York hoping she can hide in plain sight. The pair take down Jigsaw and upon making bail – he goes back to Murdock asking permission to run crime through Hell’s kitchen (since he’s the new Kingpin). Matt isn’t amused.  Turns out the hiding in plain sight didn’t work as the two get shot at by a hired assassin while having lunch. The pair go after the assassin and after that Natasha finally shares the reason for her visit. Though the conversation is cut short as Jigsaw and his men have entered Murdock’s home and Matt can’t fight them as daredevil and revealing his lie. In the end, we learn a Bulgarian minister and Natasha’s ex-husband were behind the ordeal and Matt begrudgingly gives Milla the annulment to their marriage.  In November, we get a HUGE 40th Anniversary Special issue. This story backtracks over the 1 year time period that Matt Murdock was outed as Daredevil that Ben Urich told us about during the King of Hell’s Kitchen story earlier this year. To do so, the Bendis and Maleev called on a host of other artists to tell the story. This seems like the perfect book for this week’s spotlight.  There is one more book this year, But it starts another storyline – so we’ll save that for our 2005 discussion.  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil #65 November 2004 “The Universe” Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway Reading Marvel is great, but when you see Jean Grey die for the second time, Marvel has told you its story, and its time to start looking into other publishers. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 66 - Murdock and Marvel: 2004 Part 1 2004 was a relatively quiet year in comics, but there were some critical developments that made waves into the future.  Big movies, heroes back from the dead, and some important new faces! The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel TOTAL SERIES: 292 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 197  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 173 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): Avengers Disassembled (34 issues) and Secret War (starts) BEST SELLING COMICS: New Avengers #1 Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Greg Pak Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2004 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 65 - Murdock and Marvel: 2003 Part 2 It was a crazy year in America, with the Gulf War and the Patriot Act in the news, and over a billion dollars spent on comic-based movies.  But in the actual world of American comics, 2003 was that most beautiful to things – a stable, productive year filled with fantastic and influential stories.    This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2003.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances:  Daredevil #39-53, Daredevil: The Target #1, Ultimate Daredevil and Electra #1-4, Daredevil: The Movie #1, Paradise X #7-11 and X, Exiles #20 and #25, Alias #18 and #24, Marvel Universe: The End #1-6, Ultimate X-Men #36, Captain America #19 and Punisher #33-34  Writing: Brian Michael Bendis (#39-50), David Mack (#51-53)   Pencils: Manuel Gutierrez (#39), Terry Dodson (#40), Alex Maleev (#41-50), David Mack (#51-53)  Inks: Manuel Gutierrez (#39), Rachel Dodson (#40), Alex Maleev (#41-50), David Mack (#51-53) The year begins with the named story that started at the end of 2002 “The Trial of the Century” but this isn’t the trial we’ve had story leaning up to. Instead, Luke Cage urges and eventually convinces Matt Murdock to defend Hector Ayala aka the White Tiger who recently get back into the costume and in a failed attempt to stop a robbery get arrested for a police officer who was shot and killed.  The trial doesn’t go particularly well despite the fact Ayala is innocent. Murdock’s defense included calling superheroes like Reed Richards, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones before Ayala himself takes the stand. During cross examination, Ayala loses his cool and lashes out in anger and frustration about how no one understands (superheroes).   This story tragically comes to an end with Hector Ayala convicted of murder. Dismayed over the conviction and assurances by Murdock he will go free, Hector attempts to flee the courthouse rather than being taken into custody and is gunned down by police on the stairs of the courthouse.  Starting in March, we get the storyline Lowlife in which The Owl has taken over part of the Kingpin’s old territory and is selling a drug MGH (Mutant Growth Hormone). He’s also trying to get incriminating evidence on Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Also, in this story we meet Milla Donovan, a blind woman Daredevil saves from get hit by a truck – who falls for the hero and befriends Matt Murdock (since he’s Daredevil)  Uri Rosenthal, the Globe newspaper owner whom Matt Murdock is suing is found dead at home and Murdock is taken into custody for questions during his date with Milla. Matt tries to apologize to Milla for their interrupted date, takes down the Owl as Daredevil and learns that the Kingpin is back in town.  This then leads directly into the story “Hardcore” and the return of Typhoid Mary. Kingpin is amassing power again and needs a distraction for Matt Murdock / Daredevil so he pulls Mary for her “normal” life as a soap opera star. Her distraction, it turns out, is showing up during Milla and Matt’s walk for lunch and setting Matt on fire. Jessica Jones and Luke Cage help Matt subdue Mary while keeping Milla safe. With Mary in jail, Bullseye talks Kingpin into giving him another shot at Daredevil which turns out to be a shot at Milla. Daredevil saves her (and carves a crosshair tattoo into Bullseye’s forehead) and angrily turns his sights on Kingpin.  This culminates in another epic showdown between Kingpin and Daredevil in issue 50 of Daredevil worthy of our spotlight this week.  The year ends with writer/artist David Mack along with character Maya Lopez’s Echo returning in the first three parts of the Echo storyline that we’ll be saving for next year.  This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil volume 2 #50 October 2003 “Hardcore Part 5” Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway Even as we leave behind the grimdark of the ‘90s, Marvel’s Supreme Power, DC’s Red Son and Image’s Invincible lead us from an age of sex and violence into an age of cynicism and moral ambiguity. Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 64 - Murdock and Marvel: 2003 Part 1 It was a crazy year in America, with the Gulf War and the Patriot Act in the news, and over a billion dollars spent on comic-based movies.  But in the actual world of American comics, 2003 was that most beautiful to things – a stable, productive year filled with fantastic and influential stories. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel TOTAL SERIES: 219 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 147  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 119 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): None! BEST SELLING COMICS: Ultimate Fantastic Four #1, Avengers/JLA #1 and #2, Wolverine #1, ASM 500, Marvel 1602 #1-5.  Wolvie #1 was 9th and #2 was 66th Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Olivier Coipel Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2003 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Episode 62 - Murdock and Marvel: 2002 Part 1 The world was a dangerous and frightening place, and America was trying to come to terms with how to move forward, both internally and on the world stage.  And comics showed a lot of that anxiety.  But even so, 2002 was a big year for all involved in the comics world, as sales of actual honest to goodness comic books actually rose 10% this year to 230 Million dollars, the first time that the industry had seen that occur since 1993, when comic sales had peaked at around 850 Million.  And even as traffic in stores was increasing, Hollywood was starting to understand how to make comic properties work on the screen, both small and large.    Preshow  The Year in Comics  Notable and Newsworthy Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Marvel TOTAL SERIES: 219 TOTAL NEW SERIES: 167  TOTAL ENDING SERIES: 149 THIS YEAR'S EVENT(S): Infinity Abyss.  BEST SELLING COMICS: Ultimates #1 was the best selling book of the year.  X-Men and Spider-Man books also did well Events & Happenings New Titles (Ongoing and Limited) New Characters Series Ending Who's in the Bullpen/Passings ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jason Aaron Dan's Favorite   Next week: 2002 Part 2 - The year in Daredevil    Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/