Bloomsbury Academic invites readers to explore the stories behind the legends in their new Marvel Age of Comics series.
Chris Ryall’s in-depth examination of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil: Born Again is one of the first entries in the new series, and doesn’t disappoint, with a scholarly, yet fan-based analysis of the titular storyline.
We spoke to Ryall all about the new book, his love of Daredevil: Born Again, and his future plans in our exclusive interview with the writer.
You state in the introduction to your examination of Born Again that you were handed a copy of Daredevil #181 when you were “…ready for comics to age along with me.” How did Miller’s initial run on Daredevil do this for you at that age?
Chris Ryall: I’d never really read Daredevil as a kid – that was a title my older brother collected and so it felt stuff and odd to me whenever I peaked at his stuff. It felt like Spider-Man without the fun of Spider-Man, with villains that were much less interesting to me (the Jester? The Man-Bull? Bullseye, a guy that throws pens and playing cards?!). And then my retailer handed me a copy of issue 181 and says “here, check this one out, this Frank Miller is the next big thing in comics.” The cover certainly looked intriguing (“Bullseye vs Elektra! One wins! One dies!”). And it blew me away—here was the guy who tossed playing cards at Daredevil recast as an assassin, and Daredevil used to date another assassin? Who uh, got brutally murdered in this issue, just like the cover offered? I HAD to know more.
I saved every bit of paper route money to buy all the back issues I could, and I certainly kept up with the series from there. I’d been reading comics for something like 5 years or so and they seemed to have a generally easy-going vibe, without stakes getting too series or lasting too long even if things did go awry. And so I felt ready for something more adult at just the time my retailer handed me issue 181. I was probably not yet 12 years old, but I wanted something more than many comics were giving me, and this one delivered. And suddenly, the series that I always figured was inconsequential became deadly serious to me, a must-purchase.
How did you decide to organize your analysis of Daredevil: Born Again in the book and why?
Ryall: The best way—by re-reading it yet again. By re-reading all of Daredevil from Miller’s first run through the Ann Nocenti run that followed Born Again, really, as well as chunks of the Chichester, Smith, Bendis, Brubaker, Waid, and Zdarsky runs, too (Man, DD has had an impressive run of writers on it, hasn’t it?). All the while scribbling down notes of specific details I wanted to focus on, character moments, beautiful bits of artwork, and even diving into the DSM-5 guide to explore the real-world mental health episodes that were on display in the book, too. And then probably reading it yet again. And again.
In terms of preparing for the project, what elements of Born Again stood out to you more than on previous reads and how did it help guide your analysis?
Ryall: It’s really a storyline that I try to revisit every year, which means I’ve read it so many times, I can recite long passages from it like I was performing the lines in a play or signing a favorite song. And still, whenever a new comic plays with the idea of a secret identity being discovered, it makes me think back to the series that handled that revelation in the most gripping and effective way—Born Again. So, it’s constantly on my mind.
Daredevil: Born Again has been published in numerous formats over the years. Do you have one that you prefer?
Ryall: I guess I’d say “all of them…” But really, it has to be the comics. At the time I was buying these issues from a comic shop, the month-long wait was painful, interminable. And so each issue when it arrived became a thing I fully savored and re-read. I do think I own about 4 or 5 of the various collections, too: the original trade paperback, the Artist’s Edition (which is, as you’d expect, stunning, to see DM’s art at full size and just as he drew it), the oversize hardcover from a few years back, and now the more portable digest-sized Premiere Collection as well. I’m sure if the series gets released in full B&W or just as scripts or as an audiobook, I’d pick those up, too.
Many critics point to Miller’s original run on Daredevil as a watershed moment for comics, but why do you believe that Born Again elevated his work on the series?
Ryall: Miller’s original run cemented him as a writer/artist tour de force. And they helped expose a lot of us younger readers to the works that influenced his run, too, including Eisner’s The Spirit and Japanese cinema. But they were also very comic book-y (in the best of ways), bringing magic and mysticism and ninjas and ex-lover/assassins into the series. Born Again showed the world that Miller was equally effective writing for another artist, but that series and the Bat-work that the writer and artist did helped expand the idea of what comics could be, in the way they told resonant, adult stories that also appealed to younger readers without writing down to them. And the things the series had to say about secret identities and heroism in the face of impossible odds and keeping an eye on what really matters… it all just felt like a level up. It also felt like what we readers needed, even if what we initially wanted was, well, more ninjas.
How did artist David Mazzucchelli’s work on the story also help to solidify Born Again as the iconic story that it became?
Ryall: The wild thing to think about is that David was in his early 20s when he took over Daredevil, and the entirety of his Marvel work was over and done before he turned 30. He was talented out of the gate, but the way he seemed to improve on every page—every panel—of Born Again was something to behold. You could see him growing and learning who he was as an artist and some key hints at who he would become. And you can see in so many of today’s comics the massive influence his work has had on a generation of artists too. This is where it all started.
If you were able to write another entry in the Marvel Age of Comics series, what title/story would you profile and why?
Ryall: Only one more? I’ve got many! But certainly three stand out to me: storyline-wise, I’d love to explore the Fantastic Four as an extended family, including all the various replacement members they’ve brought in over the years; but maybe even more, I’d love to do a deep dive into a much more messed-up family: the Pyms, which would mean also spending some time on the different iterations of Ultron, Wonder Man, the various Visions and the Scarlet Witch, the Grim Reaper, Magneto (or not), and so on. And finally, I think Marvel’s 1986 New Universe project deserves a broad exploration, too, since it had so much buzz behind it and then almost immediately imploded as a whole, while also leaving behind some really solid comics that have been mostly ignored or forgotten.
For starters, anyway.
Upcoming projects?
Ryall: On December 3, Image will be releasing the next installment of our Dread the Halls holiday horror comic. This one follows last December’s DTH and also this past July’s Dread the Hall H (comic-con horror stories), only this time around, we’re offering 72 pages of new stories and art, our biggest issue yet. (YET.)
Titan just announced that I’m writing and Locke & Key co-creator/artist Gabriel Rodriguez is drawing a 48-page Conan story for their Savage Sword of Conan magazine. We’re the lead story in issue 12, which ships just after the start of the new year. Gabriel’s art, in glorious black & white and greyscale, is preposterously good.
And then in 2026, there are a number of Marvel-related projects I’m working on, as both editor and also, in some cases, writer, too. On the editorial front, it’s been a thrill running point on John Byrne’s X-Men Elsewhen book through Abrams ComicArts. And on the writer/historian front… I’ll have more to announce as soon as I’m cleared to do so. But they all involve mining various parts of Marvel’s history, a thing that I love doing and can’t wait to talk more about.
Daredevil: Born Again-An Exploration by Chris Ryall is currently available at finer bookstores and comic shops everywhere.
