Posted By Dan Greenfield on Sep 21, 2024 | 4 comments

A BIRTHDAY SALUTE to artist David Mazzucchelli…

By PETER STONE

I’ve always felt that that the greatest story Frank Miller ever wrote was 1985-86’s Daredevil: Born Again. The Dark Knight Returns was amazing and changed the industry, but Born Again was so… perfect. It redefined the character of Daredevil. The dialogue was spectacular. (“There is no corpse.” “And I… I  have taught him that a man without hope is a man without fear.” BOOM. “Give the man his due… he’s wearing the tights.” “Gimme a red, gimme a red!”) Miller’s very best days.

Now… the art. David Mazzucchelli — born 64 years ago, on Sept. 21, 1960 — rose to the occasion. His work on Born Again was spectacular. Realistic and stylistic.

It was 1986 and I was in college. I hung those seven comics on my wall (which made young women run to my room!) because they were so good. Daredevil never looked better. He was lean and mean and tough. He taught us that never giving up was the secret to success. He did the right things because they were the right things to do. Save Hell’s Kitchen from Nuke. What a great story that was.

Then Frank wanted to frame Batman’s legacy with 1986-87’s Batman: Year One, and again Mazzuchelli was on art. It too became a classic, explaining how Bruce Wayne trained, traveled the world and returned to Gotham to save the city. The only way to terrify and destroy the criminal element was to become a giant bat. Artistically, Mazzucchelli crafted that story carefully and precisely. His Batman was realistic: He drew the cape as if it were real fabric, not the carefully thought-out, design element that Neal Adams or Marshall Rogers might have drawn.

His Batman moved like a real man, not a steroidal monster. He used his weapons to their greatest effect. When he was cornered by the police, he was in real trouble. He could be shot. Wounded and bleeding, he needed Alfred to save him. He may have been one of the best trained fighters on the planet, but he was not Superman.

Mazzucchelli connected perfectly with Frank’s vision. His Catwoman was not a voluptuous vixen. She had short hair and was trim, a tough, bad-attitude woman who was excellent at torturing men. According to Selina Kyle, she’d never met a real man — until encountering a disguised Bruce Wayne.

Then there’s Lieutenant Jim Gordon. Bruce Wayne flies by plane into Gotham. Gordon takes the train. Bruce sought out the best martial artists in the world while Gordon served in the military. Both of them are tough, but Gordon has his own story. Dealing with corrupt cops, falling in love with a fellow female officer — while his pregnant wife was at home — and, despite all the obstacles, moving up in the department.

If forced to pick, though, I’d say Born Again was even better. Mazzucchelli’s art was a bit tighter and a little more detailed, but he also had a connection to Daredevil since he had drawn the character before Frank came on board again. The splash pages were epic and remain so to this day. Mazzucchelli’s Kingpin is big and heavy, but not fat. He’s powerful and strong, with a stomach looks like it’s a piece of iron.

Poor Karen Page, once the love of Matt Murdock’s life, has fallen on hard times in the world of drugs and adult films and she desperately needs the hero of her life again. Unfortunately, she has sold Daredevil’s secret identity to the Kingpin for a fix, which starts the entire story. Mazzucchelli provides powerful, emotional art. Karen is strung out. Matt is beaten down by the Kingpin, but rises up again… born again.

After the success of these superhero comics, Mazzucchelli started doing much more personal and independent material. He also started teaching in New York City at School of Visual Arts. I got to see one of his lectures and it was very interesting. Having worked with Neal Adams, Rudy Nebres, Michael Golden and many others, it was fascinating to see how his brain worked. He’s a good speaker, obviously a good teacher, and a nice guy. We talked after the lecture and I told him about Neal and he signed a comic for me.

In the space of 11 issues, David Mazzucchelli helped define two major comic-book characters, one of whom happens to be arguably the most popular in the world. Sometimes we forget that he was doing great work before Born Again and Batman: Year One and was creating some really innovative art after. I’ve only bought two Artist’s Editions of classic comics but the one I treasure the most is Born Again.

David Mazzucchelli shows that a man without hope is a man without fear.

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MORE

— Dig This SNEAK PEEK at the BATMAN: YEAR ONE Artist’s Edition. Click here.

— 13 Great DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI Images That Aren’t From DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN or BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Click here.

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Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com.