Why You Should Read: The Tick

The Tick.  A character created by a by young Ben Edlund, a fan of superhero comics during the 1980s, which was one of the most influential decades for superhero comics.

The 80s gave us creators like Frank Miller and Allan Moore, who pushed the envelope of what was and wasn't acceptable to depict in comics.  These individuals thumbed their noses at the Comics Code Authority and all the regulations that made sure comics stayed squeaky clean and kid friendly.  So much of what is going on in comics and superhero movies now is a result of the 80s.

Early issues of Ben Edlund's original run of 'The Tick' walk a line between affectionate parody that outright mockery of the darker and edgier comics of the time.  At one point the Tick declares: "I'm a SUPERHERO!  I don't want to STOP crime!  I just want to FIGHT it!"  These were funny and relevant when they were written, and in a post Christopher Nolan society where people are still throwing around buzzwords like 'Grounded' and 'Gritty' in relation to superheroes 'The Tick' is still as funny and relevant as ever.

The increase of violence and the brooding nature of heroes in superhero comics is parodied.  The Tick spends a lot of time standing on rooftops and narrating his own adventures in third person Film Noir dialog.

"He stands...like some sort of pagan god or deposed tyrant.  Staring out over over the city he's sworn to...to stare out over..."

"Blood covers the city like a big red afghan..."

As a Daredevil fan I particularly enjoy issues #3 through #5:  'Night of a Million Zillion Ninja,' 'A Big Fight' and 'Early Morning of a Million Zillion Ninjas'.  This story arc introduces Oedipus, a thinly veiled Elektra parody.  The Tick joins Oedipus, her old guy mentor Shing, and Paul the Samurai in their battle against the incompetent Ninja forces of darkness.  "Ninjas aren't dangerous.  They're more afraid of you than you are of them..."  This story arc also introduces the Tick's sidekick Arthur.

Superman and transparent Superhero disguises are also mocked.  The Tick dons a hypnotic tie over his costume in order to convince the general public that he to is an ordinary citizen rather than a nigh-invincible superhero.

One thing about The Tick, the original issues do have a bit of salty language, so it's not as kid friendly as it may seem.  I picked up a reprint of the first issue on Free Comic Book Day a few years back, and they altered a lot of the dialog to make it appropriate for all ages.  It must have been a little shocking for parents who went out and bought the comic for their kids afterwords.  It's mostly just PG-13 language though, no F-words or anything, but I do feel like it's something you should be warned about.

Probably my favorite thing about The Tick is how quotable it is.  "Speak up Amigo, I can barely hear you over the roar of this yawning abyss!"  It's a bit like 'The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra' or 'Galaxy Quest' for me that way.  There is no wrong time to quote The Tick.

"Spooooooon!"

On Daredevil...

"This Daredevil guy is awesome.  He's like Marvel's version of Batman!"  I've said this early on in my days as a Daredevil fan, and I'm not the first to make that comparison.  Some may even go as far as to say Daredevil is a cheap Batman knock-off!  But is this a fair accusation?  Let's take a look at some of the similarities AND differences between ol' Hornhead and the Caped Crusader.

Some background: I'm a huge fan of the Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale graphic novels, particularly their Batman work (Batman: The Long Halloween - Batman: Dark Victory) and the Color Series (Daredevil: Yellow - Spiderman: Blue - Hulk: Gray - Captain America: White) over at Marvel.  Daredevil: Yellow was my first encounter with the character.  It was a fantastic book.  Sad, funny, nostalgic, and it somehow managed to make me care about boxing.  I've never cared about boxing!  Anytime a book can convince you to be passionate about something you ordinarily couldn't care less about?  That's good writing.  After that I decided to check out the 2003 movie that everyone hates now.  I really enjoyed it at the time, and still do today as a guilty pleasure.  It's not necessarily a completely faithful adaption, but it's a fun movie, and easier to re-watch than those Fantastic Four movies they made back in the day.  It was after this that I started reading Frank Miller's Daredevil run.

We can thank Frank Miller for all of those comparisons between Batman and Daredevil.  Miller helped  reshape and redefine both characters for the generations to come back in the 80's.  Christopher Nolan's Dark Night trilogy is heavily inspired by Miller's 'Batman: Year One' as well as Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's 'Batman: The Long Halloween' which was intended to be a direct continuation of 'Year One'.

Before Frank Miller came along, Daredevil more closely resembled Spiderman than the Dark Knight.  Let's take a look at their origin stories:  A young man gains superpowers because of an encounter with a radioactive substance: in one case a spider bite, in the other a mysterious cylinder that strikes him across the eyes.  That young man receives a great personal loss: the tragic death of a father figure.  He dons a colorful costume in order to bring justice to those responsible.  Afterwards, he begins the double life Superhero, swinging around rooftops with either his grappling-hook-billy-club combo, or using spider-webbing.

So what did Frank Miller bring to the table?

Mobsters:  Miller brought in a minor Spiderman villain, 'The Kingpin of Crime,' and turned him into Daredevil's nemesis.  It the early days ol' Hornhead fought the occasional gangster - 'The Fixer' and 'The Owl' come to mind, but Frank Miller turned it into a full time gig.  'Batman: Year One' also deals with organized crime in the form of Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, and the Falcone crime family can be found throughout 'Batman: The Long Haloween' and it's sequel 'Batman: Dark Victory'.

Ninjas:  Frank Miller did his best to turn Daredevil into a Kung Fu movie.  The Hand, DD's mentor Stick, his crazy ex girlfriend Elektra, ect. ect.  'Batman: Year One' introduces us to a Bruce Wayne who has just returned from the far east where he has mastered the secrets of Kung Fu so he could fight corruption in Gotham city.

Femme Fatale Girlfriends:  Catwoman and Elektra.  Something about both of these heroes is that they are both into bad girls.  This here is Film Noir influence.  Frank Miller didn't create Catwoman, and frankly I'm not crazy about his take on the character in 'Year One'.  But he introduced the ninja assassin Elektra in the very first issue of Daredevil that he wrote solo.  There's something about having a love interest who operates on the other side of the law that gives our brooding hero one more thing to brood over.

So.  Are Batman and Daredevil basically interchangeable?  Yes, but also no.

Multi-Millionaire vs Every-man.  Daredevil is a little more relate-able than Batman because he has a day job.  And with that day job comes the supporting cast of a day job.  Who is Matt Murdock's best friend?  His business partner Foggy Nelson.  Who are Bruce Wayne's best friends?  His butler and his kid sidekick.  I don't have a butler for a best friend.  Suddenly I can no longer relate to Batman!  Okay, that's a little extreme.  Bruce Wayne's best friends are his surrogate family, and I can totally relate to that.

But let's get back to that day job thing.  This is important.  This is why Daredevil is just about my favorite Superhero.  Matt Murdock is a lawyer by day and a vigilante Superhero by night.  Think about that for a minute.  Daredevil is basically fighting crime 24/7.  Matt Murdock is wholeheartedly devoted to bringing criminals to justice.  I challenge you to find another Superhero who is that dedicated to doing what they do.  On the flip side, Bruce Wayne sits around Wayne Manor brooding by day, and doing the vigilante stuff at night.  Fighting for justice is more like a part time job for Batman.

So, there you have it.  As near as I can tell, those are the key similarities and differences between Batman and Daredevil.  Feel free to tell me about your favorite Superhero in the comments.