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Full disclosure: I was hotly anticipating the premiere of the Marvel and Netflix team up on the Daredevil television series. Daredevil is a huge part of my comics origin story: I cut my teeth on the Guardian Devil story arc penned by Kevin Smith and expertly drawn by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti. I fell hard for the Man Without Fear and soon discovered Frank Miller’s Elektra Saga arc, realized my childhood heroes of TMNT had written themselves into the Daredevil origin story and that was it: comics officially had my heart.

It’s a nice move to open on Matt’s origin and play it for all it’s horror and sadness. Little boy does the right thing, saves a man’s life by pushing him from a speeding truck and pays for it with his vision. The POV shot of young Matt’s vision slipping away while focusing on the face of his father was chilling and effective. Actor John Patrick Hayden strikes the right tone on “Battlin'” Jack Murdock, trying to do the best thing for his son while constantly aware of his own limitations.

Some of the early action was a tad stilted, in the way of pilot episodes since time immemorial. The human trafficking scene leaned heavily towards cliche and away from actual menace, but was saved by the beautiful fight choreography. Kudos to the fight coordination/stunt double team for their thoughtful work in representing both Daredevil’s radar and boxing background in his fighting style.

The heart of any Daredevil story, or most of them at any rate, is the relationship between Matt Murdock and his law partner and best friend Foggy Nelson. Both Charlie Cox and Elden Henson are well cast: they not only look their parts, but revel in the well-worn patter between the two old friends. An early scene in which the two shop for an office to open their law practice hits all the right notes in script and characterization. We’re meant to believe the events of The Avengers film have left Hell’s Kitchen in ruins, and therefore rents are cheap during reconstruction. This seems more of a stretch than supersonic hearing to me, after all there is a bit of real-life Daredevil in the work of Daniel Kish, but we go with it.

The entire tone of the series evokes the noir sensibilities of the Frank Miller work I was drawn to years ago, and we have veteran director Phil Abraham and showrunner Steven DeKnight to thank for it. While pitching Hell’s Kitchen as noir in present day New York again strains credulity, it’s just right for Marvel 616 and I was happy to see it. And let’s talk about Deborah Ann Woll as the beloved Karen Page. Woll brings goofiness and charm to her performance that’s just right for Karen, and her chemistry with both Cox and Henson is electric.

We get a sneak peak at the crime syndicate that will ultimately become Daredevil’s nemesis. I’m breathless with anticipation for the reveal of Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin. We’re only teased in the pilot by his voice commanding henchman Wesley via speakerphone Charlie’s Angel’s style.

There’s a great team of talent behind the scenes of Daredevil: Buffy and Angel veteran writers Drew Goddard and Doug Petrie loom large, and DeKnight’s work on the Starz series Spartacus is some of my favorite television of the last ten years. Pulling in directors like Abraham and Doctor Who vet Eros Lyn bodes well for the tone of the series going forward.

The final scenes wordlessly convey what Matt Murdock is up against as the crime fighting alter ego Daredevil: as Matt pummels the bag in his father’s old gym we see baddies literally laying plans to build their empire in DD’s beloved Hell’s Kitchen juxtaposed with further kidnappings and dirty deeds. The final image of Matt on the roof of his building, listening to the pain of his city before pulling his black mask over his eyes got my fangirl heart beating loud enough for Daredevil to hear it all the way from the Kitchen.

“Where is the Netflix of comics?” you ask. Unlimited streaming of everything from Blondie to Urasawa. That remains only a pipe dream, but a site called Comicsfix (get it?) is trying to be the streaming service we want. For $9.95 you get unlimited comics on various apps, and 24 hour access. But access to what? It’s just been announced that Dynamite is the first company Top 10 publisher to sign up with them. You don’t get everything, but some good starter stuff:

The first two volumes of The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson; 
Legends of Red Sonja with Gail Simone; 
Project Superpowers, featuring covers by Alex Ross;
The Blood Queen; Pathfinder, based on the best-selling Paizo RPG;
Bob’s Burgers comic book based on the Emmy award-winning television program;
Mark Waid’s The Green Hornet;
Zorro;
Vampirella Strikes;
Evil Ernie Volume 1
Battlestar Galactica
The Twilight Zone
The all-ages Lil’ Dynamites series by Art Baltazar and Franco.

More Dynamite single issues and full series will be added every week.

Other publishers on board seem to be Athlita and…it’s hard to tell because the covers are small and the publishers not very well know. You gotta start somewhere. There is also a publisher program. Here’s the hype:

“Dynamite Entertainment partnering with Comicsfix not only validates all the hard work we’ve done this last year, but also our belief
that the subscription model that works for the film and music industries can be successfully translated to the comic book industry as well,” said Comicsfix’s CEO Felix Kiner. “For Dynamite to take a chance on a new way to deliver comics to readers is a testament of their incredible innovative spirit. Today we have great books from fantastic indie publishers; adding a company of this size with such an amazing history of quality titles is a dream come true for us. I cannot wait for the moment our readers will see Red Sonja, The Boys, Bob’s Burgers, Battlestar Galactica, and much more on their Comicsfix app.”

“Comicsfix is an innovator in the realm of digital comics, and a welcome partner to Dynamite,” says Keith Davidsen, Marketing Manager of Dynamite Entertainment. “The good folks at Comicsfix apply technology that’s familiar to millions of internet viewers to comic books, making the digital reading experience as enjoyable, affordable, and extensive as what you might find for television and movie viewing. The Comicsfix platform will introduce subscribers to hundreds of Dynamite comic books, and — as our industry has seen time and again as digital comics have developed — the increased exposure yields greater success in print sales for our brick-and-mortar retail partners, as well. We look forward to growing our library with ComicsFix, for the benefit of all.”