Anyone else?

Before and after....well worth the investment if you prefer a consistent look.

Thanks to @21Roy_ (Romain) for great service and great covers.

Hey fellow Omni-Lovers,

it's Two-Cents-Thursday again, a series where I read and review Omnis from my collection.

Last week I took you through Messner-Loebs and LaRocque's Flash Omnibus Vol. 1, the messy, essential foundation of Wally West's Flash that scored a 7.4/10 for me. I said at the end that we'd be staying in the Wally West era and.. well. We're not leaving. Not for a long time.

This week is a big one. Prepare for a longer read. We're covering four books: Mark Waid's complete Flash run across three omnibuses plus the Morrison/Millar Deluxe Edition that slots in between Volumes 2 and 3. That's roughly 4,900 pages of the Scarlet Speedster. The run that defined Wally West for a generation. The run that invented the Speed Force. The run people call one of the greatest in DC history.

Does it live up to the hype?

The early TL;DR: Yes. Overwhelmingly yes. Waid's Flash is the gold standard for legacy superhero storytelling. There are dips though. Volume 2 gets repetitive in places and the Morrison/Millar interlude is more "fun" than "essential", but the peaks? The Return of Barry Allen. Terminal Velocity. Chain Lightning. These are all-timer comics. The emotional core Waid builds around Wally and Linda alone is worth the price of admission.

Feel free to read through the whole review or simply skip to the overall score and TL;DR at the bottom. Let's go!

The Flash by Mark Waid Omnibus Vol. 1-3 + Morrison/Millar Deluxe Edition

Quick Stats:

• Waid Vol. 1: 1,088 pages, collects The Flash #62-91, The Flash Annual #4-6, Green Lantern #30-31, #40, The Flash 50th Anniversary Special #1, Justice League Quarterly #10.
• Waid Vol. 2: 1,216 pages, collects The Flash #0, #92-129, The Flash Annual #7-9, Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #4, Impulse #10-11, The Flash Plus #1, DC Universe Holiday Bash #1.
• Morrison/Millar Deluxe: 352 pages, collects The Flash #130-141, Green Lantern #96, Green Arrow #130, The Flash 80-Page Giant #1, Secret Origins #50.
• Waid Vol. 3: 1,256 pages, collects The Flash #142-163, The Flash Annual #10-13, Showcase '96 #12, Green Lantern/Flash: Faster Friends #1-2, The Flash Secret Files and Origins #1-2, Speed Force #1, The Life Story of the Flash #1, The Flash 80-Page Giant #1-2, Flash One Million #1.

That's.. a lot of Flash. I added the Morrison/Millar Deluxe because it fits perfectly in between Volumes 2 and 3 of the Waid omnis. Let's dive into the stories!

The Story

If Messner-Loebs made Wally someone worth caring about and paved the way for future iterations of the Flash, Waid made him a legend.

The premise hasn't changed: Wally West is the Flash, the fastest man alive, carrying the mantle of his dead uncle Barry Allen. But Waid shifts the register entirely. Where Messner-Loebs wrote a grounded, working-class hero figuring out adulthood, Waid writes a man coming to terms with legacy itself, what it means to inherit, what it means to surpass and what happens when the past comes knocking.

And oh, does the past come knocking..

Volume 1: Born to Run, The Return of Barry Allen and Finding the Voice (#62-91)

Waid's run opens with a bang. The 50th Anniversary Special is a love letter to Flash history that brings Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally together in a story that spans eras. It's the perfect thesis statement for what Waid wants to do: this run is about legacy and it's going to use ALL of it.

Then comes Born to Run (#62-65) and this is where I knew we were in for something special. Waid retells Wally's origin as Kid Flash, his first summer with Barry, the accident that gave him powers, the idolization of his uncle and it's just.. genuinely moving. Not in a manipulative way. In a "I remember being that kid who looked up to someone so much it shaped who I became" way. The relationship between young Wally and Barry is written with such warmth and specificity that it retroactively makes every Barry/Wally story that came before better.

And then.. The Return of Barry Allen (#74-79).

I need to talk about this arc specifically because I think it might be one of the best Flash stories ever written. Barry Allen seemingly returns from the dead. Wally's reaction, the joy, the relief, the creeping insecurity, the gradual realization that something is WRONG is masterfully paced. Waid doesn't rush it. He lets you feel every emotion Wally goes through, and when the truth hits (Barry isn't Barry, it's Professor Zoom/Reverse-Flash using Barry's face), the payoff is enormous.

But the real stroke of genius? The story isn't about the villain. It's about Wally finally stepping out of Barry's shadow. By the end of this arc, Wally isn't Barry's replacement anymore. He's THE Flash. And he knows it.

I wasn't ready for how good this arc is. I'd heard the hype for years and it still caught me off guard.

The rest of Volume 1 is strong too. The Back on Track storyline builds on the momentum. The Green Lantern crossovers (#30-31, #40) are fun, Wally and Hal (and later Kyle) have great chemistry. The annuals are.. fine. Annuals in the 90s were kind of a mixed bag across the board and these are no exception. They're not bad, just not at the level of the main series.

Greg LaRocque's art continues from the Messner-Loebs run and it works. But then Mike Wieringo starts penciling and.. things shift. Wieringo's style is looser, more expressive, more dynamic. It matches Waid's energy perfectly. When Wieringo takes over, the book starts looking as good as it reads.

Volume 2: Terminal Velocity, Impulse and the Speed Force (#92-129)

If Volume 1 is about Wally finding himself, Volume 2 is about Waid expanding the mythology. And I mean EXPANDING. This is where the Speed Force is introduced. This is where Impulse debuts. This is where Savitar enters the picture. Waid isn't just writing good Flash stories anymore: he's building the architecture that every Flash writer after him will use.

Terminal Velocity (#95-100) is the big one here. Wally learns he's dying (again.. the man has more near-death experiences than any superhero not named Wolverine) and starts preparing his successors. The emotional weight here comes from Wally's relationships: with Linda (who he's in love with but hasn't fully committed to), with Max Mercury (the zen speedster mentor who becomes one of Waid's best original characters) and with the legacy he's building.

And then there's the moment. The scene. You know the one if you've read it. Wally runs into the Speed Force to save everyone and Linda pulls him back. Not with superpowers. Not with some cosmic MacGuffin. With love. It's corny on paper and absolutely devastating on the page. I don't care how cynical you are, that scene just works.

Impulse's debut is another highlight. Bart Allen, Barry's grandson from the future, shows up with super-speed he can't control and the attention span of a caffeinated squirrel. Waid writes him with such infectious energy that you immediately understand why he got his own ongoing (and I'm stil waiting for that Omni. Maybe they reevaluate its cancelation someday. Please?). The dynamic between Wally and Bart adds a whole new dimension to the book.

Dead Heat is the Savitar storyline and it's.. good? It's good. Savitar as a concept, a speed cultist who treats velocity as religion, is Waid at his most creative. But I'll be honest.. the execution doesn't quite match the concept. The race across time and space is visually cool, but Savitar himself feels a bit underdeveloped. He works better as an idea than as a character.

Race Against Time and the later arcs in the 120s.. this is where I have some issues. The John Fox storyline feels like Waid spinning his wheels a bit. The Argus subplot goes on too long. Waid writes Wally and Linda better than anyone, but then keeps putting them through the same plot beats. There's a stretch in the middle of Volume 2 where I felt like I was reading variations on the same story.

Volume 2 also has the Zero Hour tie-in (#0), which is actually fantastic. It's a reinvented origin issue that distills everything Waid has been building into 22 pages. If you want a "Waid's Flash in a nutshell" issue, this is it imo.

The annuals in this volume are a step up from Vol. 1. The Elseworlds annual (#7) is a genuine highlight. It's basically an alternate take on Wally's Flash that's creative and self-contained. Annual #8-9 are solid. The Impulse crossovers (#10-11) are fun if you're a Bart fan.

The Morrison/Millar Interlude (#130-141)

So right between Waid Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, Grant Morrison and Mark Millar take over for a 12-issue run. And it's.. interesting.

Emergency Stop (#130-132) opens strong. Wally is confined to a wheelchair after an encounter with a villain called The Suit and Morrison uses the limitation brilliantly. A speedster who can't run is the kind of high-concept constraint Morrison excels at. The Suit is a super unsettling villain and not a Flash rogue you've seen before, something weirder.

The Human Race (#136-138) is Morrison at his cosmic, wild, ideas-overload best. Wally has to race an alien being called Krakkl across the cosmos to save Earth. It's bonkers. It's also the most purely fun storyline in the entire Waid era + Morrison/Millar interlude. Silver age energy with a modern sensibility.

The Black Flash (#139-141) deals with death coming for Wally.. literally. The Black Flash is the personification of death for speedsters. It's a cool concept and the imagery is striking, but the execution doesn't quite stick the landing. The emotional beats feel a bit muted compared to what Waid was doing in the same issues.

Millar takes over for the later issues and.. you can tell. The tone shifts. It gets a bit edgier, a bit more "extreme '90s." Millar's Flash isn't bad, but it's a different flavor. The crossover issues with Green Lantern and Green Arrow are fun filler but not essential.

My honest take here: Morrison/Millar is a fun interlude, but it's just not essential. If you're reading the Waid omnis and skip this Deluxe Edition entirely, you're not missing anything critical to the ongoing narrative. It's good. It's sometimes great. But it's a side quest.

Volume 3: Cobalt Blue, Chain Lightning and Dark Flash (#142-163)

Waid comes back swinging. And he brings the multiverse with him.

Cobalt Blue introduces one of Waid's most intriguing villains: Malcolm Thawne, Barry Allen's twin brother who was given away at birth and grew up consumed by resentment. The Cobalt Blue concept, a magical blue flame that connects all Thawnes across time to the Allen line is Waid doing what he does best: tying personal family drama into cosmic mythology. The reveal that there's a deep, generational connection between the Allens and the Thawnes (which the Reverse-Flash Eobard Thawne is also part of) recontextualizes the entire Flash/Reverse-Flash dynamic.

Chain Lightning is where things get WILD. Wally has to recruit speedsters from across time, Past, present and future to stop Cobalt Blue from erasing the Flash legacy. It's a love letter to every speedster who ever wore the lightning bolt and the emotional climax involving the gathered Flash family almost brought me to tears. The scope of this storyline is enormous. Waid isn't just writing a Flash story.. here he's writing THE Flash story, the one that ties together every generation of the mythos.

The Dark Flash Saga (Walter West). Oh man. This one hurts in the best way. Walter West is Wally from an alternate timeline, a Wally who lost Linda, who became harder and darker, who never found the emotional center that our Wally built. When Walter shows up in Wally's timeline, it's a mirror held up to everything Waid has been writing for 100+ issues. This is who Wally could have been without love, without community, without the people who made him better.

And then there's The Life Story of the Flash, a standalone special that's presented as a in-universe biography of Barry Allen written by Iris West. It's a beautiful coda, not just to Waid's run, but to the entire post-Crisis Flash legacy. It's heartfelt, comprehensive and moving.

The Faster Friends two-issue mini (Wally + Kyle Rayner, Jay + Alan Scott) is a fun palate cleanser between the heavier storylines. The Secret Files issues are nice supplements. Flash One Million is a fun Morrison-era DCU tie-in.

Volume 3 is where the Waid run earns its "legendary" status. Not because it's perfect, there are still some uneven issues, but because it sticks the landing. The Cobalt Blue -> Chain Lightning -> Dark Flash arc is one of the most satisfying long-form superhero stories I've ever read. It pays off everything Waid set up, ties the legacy together and sends Wally off on a high note.

The Art

This run features a murderers' row of '90s comic artists and that's both a strength and a weakness.

Mike Wieringo for me is the star. His run on the book is iconic for a reason. His Flash is dynamic, expressive and just impossibly fast on the page. His character acting, the way Wally's face lights up, the way Linda looks at him, the quiet moments between action beats is just so great. The man could draw speed like nobody else. His Wally West IS Wally West for an entire generation of readers.

Greg LaRocque handles the earlier issues and does solid work. We already got to know him from the Messner-Loebs run. It's more traditional, more "house style," but it tells the story clearly and the speed effects are effective. The transition from LaRocque to Wieringo is one of those moments where you feel the book level up visually.

The Vol. 3 art rotation is more varied. Salvador Larroca, Paul Pelletier, Oscar Jimenez, Scott Kolins.. they all contribute and the quality is generally high. But the rotating art teams mean Volume 3 doesn't have the visual consistency of Volumes 1-2. Kolins' work in particular points toward his eventual run with Geoff Johns and you can see the style that would define the early 2000s Flash starting to take shape.

Steve Lightle's covers across the run are gorgeous. The man knew how to make the Flash look iconic.

For the Morrison/Millar issues, the art is solid but not as distinctive. Paul Ryan, Pop Mhan, Ron Wagner, all competent workman-like pencils that serve the story without elevating it the way Wieringo did.

The coloring throughout all four books is the usual DC omnibus quality. Decent but not exceptional reproduction of the original coloring. Some pages look a bit washed out, some look great. It's inconsistent in the way most DC omnis are inconsistent.

Where It Stumbles

Volume 2 has a repetitive stretch. The issues between Terminal Velocity and the Savitar arc, the John Fox stuff, the Argus subplot.. they feel like Waid is treading water. The Wally/Linda relationship is written beautifully throughout, but the actual plot beats start recycling.

The Morrison/Millar interlude is optional. There, I said it. It's fun! Emergency Stop and The Human Race are entertaining. But nothing that happens in these 12 issues is essential to the Waid run's narrative. The Black Flash concept would be picked up later by other writers, but you don't need to read Morrison/Millar to understand anything in Volume 3. $50 for "fun but optional" is a tough sell when you're already spending $450 on the three Waid omnis (original price).

Waid's wordiness. Look, I love Waid's writing. But the man does not use 10 words when 50 will do. There are issues in Volume 2 especially where the dialogue just keeps going and going. For a book about the fastest man alive, some of these issues read verrrrry slowly. It's a style choice and it usually works, but when the plot is already spinning its wheels? The wordiness sometimes becomes a chore.

The annuals are consistently the weakest material across all three volumes. This isn't unique to Waid's Flash. '90s annuals were generally filler across the industry, but it's noticeable when you're reading 1,000+ page omnibuses. The annuals aren't bad, they're just.. there. You won't miss much if you skip them, which isn't great for books you paid $150 for.

Volume 3's rotating art teams. When you go from the visual consistency of Wieringo in Vols. 1-2 to a rotating cast of artists in Vol. 3, it's jarring. None of the Vol. 3 art is bad, Paul Pelletier and Scott Kolins are both strong, but the book loses a bit of its visual identity.

What Works

The Return of Barry Allen is a masterpiece. I keep coming back to this arc because it's the thesis statement of the entire run. Waid takes the single most loaded premise in Flash history, Barry Allen coming back and uses it not as a gimmick but as the crucible that transforms Wally from "Barry's replacement" to THE Flash. The pacing. The emotional beats. The reveal. The aftermath. It's as close to a perfect Flash story as I've ever read.

Terminal Velocity and the Speed Force. Waid didn't just write good Flash stories, he INVENTED THE SPEED FORCE. This is the concept that every single Flash writer after him, Johns, Williamson, Adams, Spurrier has built on. It's the mythology that transformed Flash from "fast guy punches things" into something genuinely cosmic and profound. And the way it's introduced here, as part of Wally's sacrifice and Linda pulling him back? Chef's kiss.

Wally and Linda. I need to talk about this relationship because it might be the best romance in mainstream superhero comics. Not because it's perfect, it's definitely not, Waid puts them through the wringer but because it feels REAL. They bicker. They make mistakes. They hurt each other. And through all of it, you never doubt that they love each other. The scene where Linda pulls Wally back from the Speed Force is iconic for a reason. Their relationship is the emotional backbone of this entire run.

Impulse/Bart Allen. What a character introduction. Bart bursts onto the page with uncontrollable speed and zero impulse control and immediately becomes one of the most endearing characters in the Flash mythos. The reluctant mentor dynamic between Wally and Bart adds so much texture to the run. Waid understood that Wally needed to become the teacher to fully graduate from being the student.

Chain Lightning is Waid's magnum opus. The Cobalt Blue reveal into gathering every speedster across time into the generational Allen/Thawne curse into the emotional devastation of the final confrontation. This is Waid operating at peak ambition and mostly pulling it off. It's the kind of long-form payoff that only works because he spent 100+ issues earning it.

The Messner-Loebs connection. Waid doesn't just continue what Messner-Loebs built, he honors it. Linda Park, introduced by Messner-Loebs, becomes the love of Wally's life. Chunk and Pied Piper are carried forward. The grounded emotional work of making Wally a real person? That foundation lets Waid go cosmic without losing the human core. These runs are in conversation with each other and reading them back to back is the optimal experience.

Overall

Alright, if you made it until here, congrats! And thank you for following along. Four books. Roughly 5000 pages. Let me break this down.

Waid Vol. 1: 9.2/10: This is nearly perfect. Born to Run, The Return of Barry Allen, the introduction of Wieringo on art, the establishment of Waid's voice. The annuals are the only thing keeping it from a higher score. If you buy one Flash omnibus, make it this one.

Waid Vol. 2: 8.0/10: Terminal Velocity and the Speed Force invention push this high, but the repetitive middle stretch and the John Fox/Argus stuff drag it down. Still excellent, but noticeably less consistent than Vol. 1. The Impulse debut and Zero Hour tie-in are gems.

Morrison/Millar Deluxe: 7.0/10: Emergency Stop and The Human Race are great fun. The Black Flash is a cool concept with middling execution. Millar's issues are fine. It's a solid read but ultimately skippable if you're just here for Waid's narrative.

Waid Vol. 3: 8.5/10: Cobalt Blue, Chain Lightning and the Dark Flash saga are Waid at his most ambitious. The rotating art teams are a slight downgrade, but the storytelling is so strong it barely matters. The Life Story of the Flash is a beautiful capstone.

For the complete Waid run as a whole? I'm going 8.8/10. This is essential DC comics. It's the run that defined Wally West, invented the Speed Force and proved that legacy characters can surpass their predecessors. The highs are as high as anything DC published in the '90s and even the lows are still good comics.

The only reason it's not a 9+ is the Volume 2 dip and the annuals padding across all three books. But honestly? Those are nitpicks on an all-timer run.

You should buy this run if:

• You want to read one of the greatest superhero runs of the '90s and arguably of all time
• Legacy characters and generational storytelling appeal to you more than power-level battles
• The idea of a hero defined by who he loves rather than who he fights sounds refreshing
• You want to understand why Wally West is THE Flash for an entire generation
• You already read Messner-Loebs Vol. 1 and want to see where Wally's story goes

You should skip if:

• You want every issue to be a banger
• You're not ready to spend $450+ on three omnibuses (and optionally $50 more for Morrison/Millar)
• You prefer your Flash stories lean and punchy over expansive and mythological
• '90s comic writing, thought bubbles, exposition-heavy dialogue, makes your eyes glaze over

Here's the thing: Mark Waid's Flash run is why people love Wally West. Not because of his powers, not because of his costume, but because Waid wrote him as a person who grew, stumbled, loved, lost, and kept running. The Return of Barry Allen, Terminal Velocity, Chain Lightning these aren't just good Flash stories. They're the stories that proved a sidekick could become the main event and do it better than the original.

Messner-Loebs built the foundation. Waid built the cathedral.

And next week? The Flash by Geoff Johns, where the scarlet speedster finally stops running from his legacy and faces the rogues gallery head-on. Also: Wally West cements his status as the definitive Flash, Iron Heights becomes the new gold standard for prison horror and Johns begins his legendary character-defining run.

What's your favorite Waid Flash arc? And does the Morrison/Millar Deluxe earn its spot on the shelf or is it just a fun side quest? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading!

Read my other reviews here.

My copy of Dark Reign Thunderbolts just arrived. So excited to go start to finish on this epic saga. When I first started reading comics as an adult (despite being fascinated with them as a kid, I never read them) I wanted to dive in to something I knew nothing about from TV or movies.

It was around the time of the Heroic age (ie Uncaged run). This title caught by attention, but I wanted to start from the beginning so I grabbed a bunch of back issues off eBay and started reading floppies with some significant gaps.

Can’t tell you how happy I am that I now own every issue and can go start to finish through the whole thing (it’s been almost two decades since I’ve read a bunch of these). Dream come true.

For any other Tbolts enjoyers (there are dozens of us!) - what are your favorite arcs? Are you a fan of the Tbolts post Uncaged (I’ve stayed away so far but willing to be tempted).

Words cannot describe how excited I am for this one. I read the first 3 trades back in 2010, but never finished as life got in the way. Over the years I could never find a collected edition of the first few volumes or even trades for a reasonable price. Now it’s here.

I read the first 12 or so issues a few years ago but never finished it. Saw this monster on IST and I just knew I had to give it a proper read through.

I’ve also been eyeing Saga by BKV for the same reason, are all the volumes worth picking up?

Using bubble wrap to protect bubble wrap gave me a good laugh

The collections will include the comic adaptations of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as the entire run of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, the beloved series that expanded on the Indiana Jones mythology in blockbuster fashion with action-packed new quests. Featuring leatherette binding, debossed cover designs and ribbon bookmarks, these special volumes are treasures worthy of Indy himself and must-haves for collectors and fans alike.

INDIANA JONES: THE FURTHER ADVENTURES BOOK I HC includes MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL (1977) #18 and #30, adaptations of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, along with THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES (1983) #1-16. INDIANA JONES: THE FURTHER ADVENTURES BOOK I HC includes INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989) #1-4 and THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES (1983) #17-34. The stories feature work by some of the biggest talents of the 1980s including David Michelinie, Walt Simonson, John Byrne, John Buscema and many more!

So I just got this email that the dm cover of Legacy is on "backorder." I'm guessing this just means they don't have enough, and I'm not getting one. This is a major bummer, especially since I placed this order within a few minutes of the book going live on the website, literally as soon as the loading would allow my order to go through. Anybody ever had luck with this sort of thing? Or are my chances of getting the cover 0 at this point?

Very happy to finally add this to my X-Men collection, got lucky enough to find it on EBay for basically cover price.

Not sure if I should start this right away or keep on with my Daredevil reading & start Nocenti’s run.

I finally finished reading all of Daredevil, so I decided to review and rank each run. Please enjoy, and let me know your thoughts! Feel free to swipe through my collection, it’s in the same order as the reviews.

Lee
I think the first issue is a must read. The art is really good as well, with some great stuff from Wally Wood and John Romita Sr. Sadly, the stories are simply not good. The characters and plots pale in comparison to Lee’s work on ASM. Cool to see the origin and the yellow suit, but that’s about it for me.
2/10

Miller
This is a run I could write about all day. It holds some sentimental value for me too, as it’s the first omnibus I ever read. Miller truly created Daredevil. The character was on the brink of cancellation before a young Frank Miller, who was on art at the time, was given a chance to write Daredevil. We’ve all seen the memes about Miller’s storytelling and art later in his career, but the man was a certified legend writing in his prime.

Here are some things that are considered cornerstones of Daredevil’s character: Bullseye as truly evil menace, Daredevil in the grimy underworld of New York, Kingpin as Matt’s arch nemesis, Elektra, Ben Urich and Matt’s relationship, the Hand, Stick. What do they have in common? They were all born or truly created as we know them in the Miller run.

I frequently call this the Daredevil Bible. Everything that people love about this character comes from this run. Elektra is forever my favorite pairing for Matt. Klaus Janson provides some beautiful art throughout as well, and the Mazzucchelli art in Born Again is legendary in its own right. A must read run that should be evergreen.
10/10

Nocenti
This run takes a little while to find its feet, but once it does it soars. The use of villains that reflect society and its underbelly were really good. RJR is on art after 15 issues or so, and his art here is of course spectacular. Rough start to the run though, and Matt in blackface was… not cool. I really do like Nocenti’s voice for Matt. The legal clinic, the Fatboys, and the villains really create a city that feels very alive. Also, Karen and Matt have truly never been written better together.
I have only read the first omni of this run, and I will read the second half this summer when it releases. I could totally see this jumping Soule once I read the full run, who knows.
8/10

Chichester
I have only read two arcs of Chichester’s run, and they are polar opposites. Last Rites is a fantastic arc that feels like the spiritual ending for the Miller-Nocenti saga. I think that may be a top ten if not top fifteen DD arc for me. Unfortunately, the other arc I read was Fall from Grace. That was a confusing, boring, and bloated story. If an omnibus is ever released for this run, maybe I will read the full run. Probably not.
4/10

Smith
Guardian Devil. Man, what a polarizing run. The first time I read it, I absolutely hated it. The second time I read it, I liked it a tiny bit more. The art is really not for me. It is great at times, just not my personal preference. I do not like how Matt is written, and what happens at the end with Karen was not done well in my opinion. I don’t like Smith’s writing, but this story undeniably has some cool moments. Doctor Strange and the overall Mysterio (censor for spoiler) plot were kinda fun. Overall, not a fan and glad I didn’t spring for the omni.
4/10

Unusual Suspects TPB/Echo Stuff
I grabbed this paperback and read the missing Echo stuff online. I actually really like Echo. David Mack has the coolest freaking art. The Daredevil: Ninja story was not for me at all. It didn’t even seem like Matt enjoyed being involved in ninja BS. The Spidey crossover series also did not grab me. Bob Gale’s short arc about Matt suing Daredevil was kinda fun but also very silly. I bought and then sold this book, sadly just not any interesting DD content in here.
3/10

Bendis
Every run following Bendis builds on what happens here. A crime noir in a world that is constantly oozing with mood and grime thanks to the stunning art by Maleev. My second reading of this run is when its greatness really hit me. Milla is so different and interesting, and Matt’s mental state is wonderfully toyed with by Bendis. Another thing that shines here are the iconic moments with the Kingpin and Bullseye. These are Matt’s best foils, and Bendis really flexes his muscles with them. I like the flashback arc, and I loved the Daredevil support group arc at the church.
10/10

End of Days
I did not really enjoy this at all. The funniest thing to me was the implication Matt may have had many children with many women, because of course he did. The final fight in the streets that starts this book off is interesting, but the pay off for the entire story didn’t really hit for me.
5/10

Brubaker
I have such a tough time with this run. Devil in Cell Block D is simply phenomenal. I think it is significantly better than the Zdarsky jail arc. After that arc, though, the story quality drops. The art by Lark is great throughout the story. The Mr Fear arc was well done. By the end of this run, I was so happy to be done. Really really strong start, but the rest of this averaged from decent to meh.
7/10

Noir
I grabbed the single issues of this story in a comic shop. The art was cool and fun. I thought the story was pretty simple and bland. Nothing to write home about, and certainly much less interesting than Spider-Man Noir.
5/10

Shadowland
Stinky, stinky garbage. Thankfully I did not buy this omnibus, even though the spiral cover is really cool. Genuinely the only upside is the black Shadowland suit is kinda cool. This is a gross mischaracterization of Matt, and it was an unenjoyable, bloated slog to read. I read this for completion’s sake, but I think it is the worst Daredevil out there. Actually unbelievable how this compares to the runs before and after it.
1.5/10 (half a point for the Assassin’s Creed style wrist knives DD has)

Waid
It is hard not to call this the best Daredevil run. Beautiful art, poignant and moving storytelling, and a really satisfying ending. Rivera and Samnee consistently provide some of the most vibrant art in comics, and Javier Rodriguez and even the Allreds for an issue provide some fun guest art. Waid is fantastic about taking what people love about a character and amplifying it. Matt’s resilience, hope, and determination have never shone brighter than in this run. I personally adored both the first and second halves, but I can understand people not liking the San Francisco bit as much. Kirsten is my second favorite love interest for Matt, and her relationship with Matt is so fun and loving. He was almost happy!!

This run is deeply emotional, and at the same time it is light-hearted and fun. It hits serious notes in the tone of Bendis and Brubaker, and it has silly stories that harken back to the Silver Age. Truly a marvelous run of Daredevil.
10/10

Soule
At this point, I started to think there is no way Daredevil keeps getting great writing. Soule proved me wrong. Blindspot instantly became my favorite addition to the Daredevil cast. Garney’s art rules, and his use of black, white, and red was so simple yet so sharp. Muse is the coolest and most menacing villain Daredevil has seen since Miller’s Bullseye. I dug the Mayor Fisk stuff as well, and it was cool to see the TV show adapt aspects of this run. My biggest complaint is the jarring change from the status quo in the Waid run. The explanation made sense, but it still hurt to see so much of what Waid built get destroyed. I also felt like the ending dragged.

Now, I don’t want to end this review negatively. This run totally rocks. Blindspot and Muse are incredible. The art is great, and the black suit is dope as hell. This is another fantastic chapter of Daredevil, and I hope Marvel reprints the omnibus soon.
8.5/10

Zdarsky
Once again, I entered this run with a grain of salt. Zdarsky’s DD run has a lot of haters online, and I kinda get why. It feels like it was heavily inspired by Miller’s run as well as the TV show. I love Elektra, and I think this is the second best run with her in it behind her origin with Miller. It could certainly be said this is her best run. Checchetto’s art is ridiculous. He especially shines in action, characters, and backgrounds. Matt’s white suit, the King Daredevil suit, and his basic red suit are all brilliantly drawn by Checchetto.

The first half of Zdarsky’s run is undeniably breathtaking. The religious aspect of the character was a cool thing to explore, I feel like that is really unique to Matt. The Stromwyns were a diabolical (and realistic) villain. If you love this run or not comes down to if you liked Devil’s Reign and the Red Fist Saga. I thought both were pretty good. I quite enjoyed the Red Fist Saga and the ending, so this run really hit for me. Zdarsky takes some really big swings, and even if you don’t love it all you have to respect Checchetto’s art.
9/10

Cold Day in Hell
Great mini by Soule, I read this as it came out in singles. The art was gritty and fit really well here. Bullseye being an absolute depraved menace is always wonderful. This was a short but sweet run that did the trick for me.
8/10

Now, to rank all of the runs:

1 Miller
2 Waid
3 Bendis
4 Zdarsky
5 Soule
6 Nocenti
7 Brubaker
8 Chichester
9 Lee
10 Shadowland

Any of those top 3 could be shifted around, this is just my opinion. The margins between those 3 runs are very narrow, and it pains me to have to rank any one of them over the other. Miller is the Daredevil Bible, and the writing and art are so strong together. Waid provides a masterwork on the character that genuinely moved me. Bendis created a stunning crime thriller that enthralled me.

If you’re still here after reading my flood of opinions on Matt Murdock, thank you. It is truly rare for a character to have this many good writers and artists. It is even more rare for me to say a character has THREE runs that are a 10/10. Daredevil speaks to a sense of justice in all of us, and that really compelled me to fully read this character. He is also an emotionally flawed person, and his humanity is just as compelling as his sense of justice. I encourage anyone who hasn’t read Daredevil to do it.