Daredevil Message Board

[PlanBFromOuterSpace]

Remember that even some of the BIGGER characters weren't safe from the cancellations that occurred around that time. Two of the Spider-books, one of them being "Spectacular" (which ran for over 250 issues), got the axe, and the 2 that stuck around got re-launched with new #1's, but with basically the same creative teams. I think I remember people really not liking Howard Mackie's stuff, so instead of NOT reading 4 books a month, people were NOT reading just 2. I find it hard to imagine that it was anything more than a cost-cutting decision, as the powers that be seemed to ignore the opportunity that they had to start anew from a creative standpoint. Failing that, new mini series ("Chapter One" anyone?) and other projects were launched, none of which seemed to connect, which seemed to make the original cancellations seem that much more pointless.

While it seems that Daredevil almost being canceled could have been a legit claim, it really wouldn't have surprised me if they would have continued running it into the ground for a while longer.

Oh, and to get somewhat on topic with the original post, I'm pretty fed up with Marvel and their triple and quadruple dips with these "Premiere" hardcovers. Please, anyone that wants the "Guardian Devil" story, you're better off getting the most recent printing of the Daredevil vol. 1 hardcover that includes the full first 2 Marvel Knights story arcs. This 10th Anniversary Edition, along with the most recent "Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank" hardcover, is the most blatant attempt to squeeze every last dime out of the story (it's already been out in TPB once or twice and HC THREE times), as you're actually now getting even less for your money.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace]

James Castle wrote:

"They were in "no position to gamble" so they took an "extreme measure". Hahahahaha. They couldn't afford to take risks so they had to take a risk? Oh dear.

They licensed out a number of comics. The imprint was Daredevil, Punisher, Black Panther and The Inhumans. Obviously at least part of the plan was to have an imprint anchored by two proven characters (DD and Punisher) that included a few long shots. Surprise, surpise the proven comics kept going while the long shots died. Weird. Why didn't Marvel Knights save the unproven characters as well? Could it be that DD and Punisher were strong characters that would have survived anyway? I wonder."



Actually, and this is speaking as a huge Punisher fan, this was probably THE low point for the character. It was probably the Punisher's most poorly-received run, but didn't run long enough for the sales to reflect that necessarily, as it was just a 4-parter. I read in an interview recently where Quesada made the comment that yeah, people hated it, but they hated it to the tune of a hundred thousand copies a month. This version of the character was used once more, in a mini series with Wolverine drawn by Pat Lee, before the Ennis run started and wiped the slate clean, which is where the Punisher really started on the path to creative respectability for about the first time ever.

As far as the longshots go, Inhumans was a planned 12-issue mini (maxi?) series that went on to win a bunch of awards and reinvented Jae Lee's career, while Black Panther had a 50+ issue run. Not bad, considering the fates of many other launches around that time.

When it comes to the "couldn't afford to take risks, so they took a risk" thing goes, it would have been an even BIGGER gamble to keep Daredevil going in the same direction that no one cared about. It wouldn't have surprised me if they would have stayed the course, as I said in a previous post, but what's the worst that could have happened with the MK re-launch? It certainly wasn't going to sell even FEWER copies. As the Punisher title showed, even if people wouldn't have liked it, it would have sold better than it was already selling.

The great thing about Marvel Knights was that creators got paired up with lesser (at least as far as sales go) characters that they genuinely cared about or had good ideas for, and that wasn't really the norm at the time. This sort of started the trend, which is really common nowadays, but back then, you'd have bonehead decisions like the top writers and artists getting put on books that would sell whether they were on it or not. For instance, A-listers ended up on the X-Books, while DD and the rest had to fight for scraps.

[Gloria]

Just for the record.

For a collection that "was about to be cancelled", Daredevil was being published at the time in Spain: no reprints, no re-issues, but the regular series, with just a few months of difference with the original US edition.

Non-successful films are, in the best of cases, released in other countries as "direct to video" releases. Non-successful comics don't get published in other countries at all.

Anyone else is aware of other countries publishing pre-MK Daredevil?
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Gloria
Devuélveme el rosario de mi madre y quédate con todo lo demás

"Para la cuesta arriba quiero mi burro, que la cuesta abajo yo me la subo"

[james castle]

Hurrah for Gloria! I knew I wasn't the only one going "wait. what almost got cancelled?". Look, overall my point is that when the only source of a particular piece of information is the people who stand to gain the most from that piece of information you best squint your eyes and have a closer look.

As for the neverending reprints of Guardian Devil - I agree it's ridiculous. Does anyone really think there'd be a 10th Anniversary edition if Joey Q wasn't E.I.C.? I understand that Smith is (well, was) a popular movie dude at the time but it's not like Guardian Devil is a celebrated arc or anything. It's bad enough that there's already a "Marvel's Finest" (haha) edition and a hardcover and trade edition under the "Visionaries" (hahahah) name. Visionaries. It's priceless.
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JC

So why can't you see the funny side?
Why aren't you laughing?

[Francesco]