Can comics survive without big-screen movies to prop them up? Yes, it appears they can. It was another great year for comics in stores, even as the pop-culture phenomenon of the MCU seems to have largely died.
The Year in Comics
Comics in Other Media
Comic Sales
Notable Comics
Top Comic News
Notable Passings
Marvel
Eisner Awards
Dan's Favorite
The Year in Daredevil
Appearances: Daredevil v8 #3-14, Daredevil: Black Armor #1-4, Daredevil: Gang War #1-4, Daredevil Omnibus #3, Giant-Size Daredevil #1, Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #1-4, Venom War: Daredevil #1, Daredevil Epic Collection #7, Avengers Epic Collection #11, Amazing Spider-Man Collection #10, Defenders Epic Collection #2, Scarlet Witch #5, Dazzler Omnibus and the Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu: Gang War graphic novel.
Writer: Saladin Ahmed (#3-7, #9-14), Ahmed, Erica Schultz, Elsa Sjunneson, Ann Nocenti, D. G. Chichester, and Ty Templeton (#8)
Pencils: Aaron Kuder and Farid Karami (#3), German Peralta (#4), Karami (#5), Kuder (#6-7 and #11-12), Kuder, Jan Bazaldua, Eric Koda, Stefano Raffaele, Ken Lashley, Tommaso Bianchi and Ty Templeton (#8), Juann Cabal (#9-10), Chris Campana (#13), Luigi Zagaria (#14)
Inks: Cam Smith and Farid Karami (#3), German Peralta (#4), Karami (#5), Kuder (#6-7 and #11-12) Kuder, Jan Bazaldua, Eric Koda, Stefano Raffaele, Ken Lashley, Tommaso Bianchi and Ty Templeton (#8), Juann Cabal (#9-10), Craig Yeung (#13), Luigi Zagaria (#14)
Matt Murdock is living as Father Matt, devoting himself to St. Nicholas Youth Home, which is suddenly facing shutdown over financial and other disagreements with the church despite its bills being secretly paid by Elektra. When Matt aggressively defends a girl from attackers, it’s clear Daredevil’s instincts are still right under the surface — even if he’s trying to bury that life.
A mysterious demonic force possesses Elektra and turns her against Matt. During their fight, his lost memories begin resurfacing — her name, their past, everything. He frees her through prayer, but the entity warns they’re only the first wave. Matt refuses to abandon the priesthood, yet the pull of Daredevil grows stronger.
Online smears claim St. Nick’s is a criminal training ground, bringing police and CPS to the door. As Daredevil, Matt traces the lies to Ben Urich and the Daily Bugle — who’s shockingly possessed by a demon — and learns about a new gang called The Heat rising under Bullseye. Matt begins realizing these possessions aren’t random.
The pattern clicks when She-Hulk is also overtaken. After Matt frees her, Doctor Strange arrives with the truth: the Seven Deadly Sins have manifested as demons, and they followed Matt back from Hell. Strange sends him on a spiritual trial that returns him to New York wearing a white Daredevil suit, symbolizing a holy war rather than street justice.
Trying to stop the spread, Matt clashes with a demon-controlled Wolverine (Lust) in a brutal, city-spanning fight. Instead of winning through force, Matt prays and drives the demon out. Proving faith is his greatest weapon in this new battle.
Meanwhile, gang war erupts in Hell’s Kitchen. Daredevil and Elektra confront The Heat and Bullseye, only to discover Wilson Fisk is backing the operation — who is also supernaturally empowered by the demon of Greed, which makes him stronger and more cunning than ever. This was part of a 60th anniversary issue that will be this week’s spotlight.
At St. Nick’s, Jason — a troubled boy whose father died in a past Daredevil-related disaster — learns Matt’s secret and runs away, believing Daredevil ruins lives. Bullseye manipulates the boy while demonic forces begin directly attacking the orphanage.
After repeated setbacks, Matt confronts a painful truth: he’s been guilty of greed too, trying to keep both lives — priest and vigilante. Accepting he can’t do both, he burns his clerical clothes and offers one final prayer, choosing to serve God the only way left to him — as Daredevil.
As the year closes, Jason is still missing and there’s whispers of a monster haunting Hell’s Kitchen. Matt is fully back in the mask full time and appears determined to take on whatever is coming.
This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil Volume 8 issues #8 (#670 LGY) from June 2024 “Introductory Rites Part 8”
Recap
Why We Picked This Story
Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions
The Takeaway
The takeaway is back, just long enough to say comics seem to have hit a new level of popularity post-pandemic, and that popularity has the potential to grow even more.
Questions or comments
We'd love to hear from you! Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime.
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THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES
Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm. You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.
The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.
Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.
Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History
DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts
https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/
https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/