The Story That Made Me A Fan – Marvel Netflix Edition

Let’s try something a little different, shall we? I’ve decided to begin a brand new series of columns that basically explain in a nutshell WHY I love comics. “The Story That Made Me A Fan” will take a group of characters and I will pinpoint the EXACT comic book or arc that made me a fan of the character. Sometimes it will be a single, individual comic or an entire storyline. Sounds fun, right?

For the first STMMAF I chose a group that was pretty easy to begin with. Netflix’ Marvel characters. So soon after the Punisher’s solo series’ release, it seems only fair.

So, without further ado, let’s get down and dirty with these street level heroes!

Daredevil

Seems only fair to start out with the Man Without Fear, since it was the first comic Netflix adapted into a show. Now, it is a little tough to pinpoint the EXACT story where my fandom for ‘ol hornhead began. To be clear, my older brother always had Daredevil comic books around, so DD’s been a part of my life for my ENTIRE life. But there was this one weird tale that sticks in my mind and I go back to re-read it from time to time.

It was two issues long. #208-209, and the issues were called “The Deadliest Night of My Life” and “Blast From The Past”. Both were written by Arthur Byron Cover based on ideas from famed sci-fi/horror author Harlan Ellison (yeah, this is the stuff I exposed to as a young child). The first issue had Daredevil on his nightly patrol and encountering this crying little girl who he assumes is in trouble of some kind. The little girl turns out to be an android that leads him to this creepy mansion that is booby-trapped up the yahoo by a crazy old lady and vengeful mother of one of DD’s oldest enemies, Death-Stalker. He barely makes it out alive.

The second issue picks up right after the first and is 20 times creepier. That “little girl” returns and she brought her sisters! As a failsafe if the old lady from the previous issue died, DD is followed by a swarm of little girl robots that are programmed to explode when near him! Even worse, they are tuned to his heartbeat, so they are following Matt Murdock as well!  Matt must find a way to stop these adorable little bombs while protecting his secret identity!

I know most people would pick a battle against Kingpin or Bullseye or Typhoid as one of their fan-making Daredevil yarns, but this one totally gave me the creeps as a kid and I think it may be one of the reasons why little girl dolls with moving eyes still freak me out to this very day!

Jessica Jones

My discovery of Jessica Jones came quite late. I never really read the original book she starred in, Alias, but instead I was introduced to her in Brian Michael Bendis’ New Avengers run when she was already married to Luke Cage and a mother to his daughter, Danielle. In the first volume of New Avengers, Jessica was a new mother and rarely around in the comic, but during the second run of the series, she became a full-fledged member of the team.

A particular story that pops into my mind where I realized how much of a fun character she could be was issue #8 of Volume 2, entitled “Date Night”, where (you guessed it) Jessica and Luke go out on a date after multiple Secret Invasions and Civil Wars and never having time to themselves. And what do you think happens?! A Doombot appears to ruin everything, of course! It never ends for Marvel’s ultimate “power couple”!

What made me a fan of Jessica Jones in this issue was that Bendis finally had the chance to give us the banter and wise cracks from her that made Alias so popular, and this issue made me want to go back and read up on the character’s past.

Bendis truly has a talent for making Luke and Jessica’s relationship seem super real and all kinds of cute. The part where he suggests she take the name “Power Woman” is classic and was my all-time favorite Jessica Jones moment. Y’know...before I read the part of Alias with the “butt stuff”.  That was simply a milestone in comic book storytelling.

And Daniel Acuna does a great job with the artwork on this issue as he always does, too. I can’t recommend it enough as a great stand-alone issue.

Luke Cage and Iron Fist

As a youngster, I never saw a comic where Luke Cage/Power Man was separate from Iron Fist. They were always partners and the Heroes For Hire together. The two heroes accented one another, and to this day I always feel something is missing when they are solo.

I’ve always had Power Man and Iron Fist comics around, but the oldest comic in my collection that features them as a team is Marvel Team-Up #105, with a story called “A Small Circle of Hate” written by Mike W. Barr (one of the great writers of the 80’s) and illustrated by Al Milgrom. This issue had the Heroes For Hire “teaming up” with the Incredible Hulk...but mostly battling him. As always, it is all a misunderstanding and the trio end up working together to emancipate a young girl from her crazy hillbilly father (it’s ironic how in Old Man Logan Hulk became a crazy hillbilly father himself!).

A backup story in this issue features the same young girl, now in New York attending a fashion show with Fist, Cage, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing (my first introduction to those two characters as well) that escalates into a jewelry heist!

I never said this was a masterpiece of comic book writing or anything, but the Hulk on the cover drew me into reading it and at the same time, I got introduced to two very charismatic (yes, Iron Fist is QUITE charismatic in the funny books) and unforgettable superheroes who surprisingly only within the last two years have become household names! It’s about time.

Elektra

My fandom with Elektra began with the beginning of the character. In 1984, Marvel reprinted Elektra’s entire story from Frank Miller’s Daredevil run in 4 graphic novel style volumes and called it the Elektra Saga. It chronicled everything from Matt Murdock’s love affair with Elektra Natchios as they both attended college all the way to Bullseye assassinating her with her own sai and ends with her resurrection. It really is one of the greatest comic book stories of all time and one that I cherish.

This is one of Miller’s best work, as he tells the story in a visceral and real way and this collection almost makes it feel like it is told from the point of view of Elektra, even though it was all material told over time within the Daredevil ongoing comic. You really get to see her struggle and pain more closely when the story is compacted in this way. It definitely made me a fan of Elektra’s for life.

I don’t know if the Elektra Saga is still available in this format, but I do suggest hunting it down for anyone who enjoys Elektra or anyone who is a fan of her on the Netflix shows and would like to learn more about the character’s origins.

Punisher

While I own and read many issues of the first volume of the Punisher’s solo series, it was during the Chuck Dixon/John Romita Jr. Punisher: War Zone series that made me fall for Frank in a big way. In the first 10 issues of the series, Frank goes deep undercover in the Italian mafia. VERY deep. The story had all the gritty stuff that any Punisher story should. Crime, blood, drugs, sex, guns...you name it. Hard to believe I was reading this stuff when I was an 11 year old kid, but what are you gonna do? I turned out fine.

What drew me to the comic more than anything was John Romita Jr.’s style of drawing Frank. He made him look HUGE in stature and a truly frightening. I know JRJR gets more than his share of hate for his artwork, but I’ve always and forever will be a defender of him because he has brought me countless hours of joy with his artwork and storytelling. I grew up reading his comics and they will always be a big part of why I love the comic book medium. And C’MON! His Frank Castle is AWESOME! He even manages to make him look cool with a tiny, little, douchey mafia-guy ponytail. That’s talent!

Two War Zone scenes come to mind. One involving torturing a guy with popsicle (pretending it’s a blowtorch) and the other where Frank wears this ridiculously badass Punisher skull motorcycle helmet that really should exist in real life. In fact, I believe this series is also one of the first comics where I’ve ever seen Frank wear his long leather coat that is now a signature look for the character. Not sure if it’s the first time anyone’s ever drawn him with that look but I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it.

Yes, Punisher MAX is the series that brought the character back in full force, but War Zone was one of the series’ that made him cool in the first place! Do your best to hunt that one down!

Well, there you have it! The first ever “The Story That Made Me A Fan”! If you would like this to become an ongoing series of columns, let me know! Hit the like and be sure to comment!