Scribd Invites Subscribers To Catch Up On Daredevil Comics

Back in February, digital book subscription service Scribd made the rather surprising announcement that it would start offering comics from publishers including Marvel, Valiant, IDW, Boom and others in its $8.99 per month subscription, making it a sort of Netflix for comics (as well as books).

Now, Scribd is promoting the actual Netflix's new Daredevil series by recommending some of the comics on its service that can best introduce readers to the character. They've got some pretty good ones. Check out what Scribd is suggesting as a primer after the jump.

From Scribd's blog:

Daredevil, by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson
Frank Miller’s classic run on Daredevil revolutionized superhero comics by ramping up the action, adding a bracing splash of realism, and mixing in a little Asian pop culture. Through Miller and artist Klaus Janson, the acrobatic Daredevil becomes a martial arts master trading moves with ninjas and the assassin Elektra, all the while dealing with his hardscrabble past as the son of a struggling boxer. Matt Murdock’s home in Hell’s Kitchen, a black hole of crime at the center of skeevy 1980s New York, is a character in itself.

Daredevil: Born Again, by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
Miller’s greatest Daredevil story, drawn by the versatile David Mazzucchelli, demonstrates that energy-blasting supervillains can’t hold a candle to one really mean rich guy. The secret of Daredevil’s identity falls into the hands of the Kingpin, a crime boss who uses the information to slowly, systematically destroy his life. Matt Murdock goes through hell, redemption, and a metric ton of good old-fashioned Catholic guilt in a wrenching but ultimately uplifting saga.

Daredevil, by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev
Noir crime fiction with a superhero twist. This acclaimed series emphasizes Daredevil’s detective skills and his daytime identity as a lawyer, pitting him against a complex criminal underworld. Alex Maleev’s dark, understated artwork is a perfect match for Brian Michael Bendis’s hardboiled scripts, but this volume also includes an eye-popping storyline with stunning painted art by David Mack.

Daredevil, by Mark Waid
After all these grim and gritty crime dramas, it’s time to cleanse the palate with this recent award-winning series by writer Mark Waid and artists Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, which serves up a sunny take on the usually dark hero. How does this version of Matt Murdock deal with having his secret identity outed? By wearing an unconvincing “I’m Not Daredevil” T-shirt. The clean, arresting art finds imaginative new ways to illustrate how a blind superhero experiences the world.

(FYI, the artists on the Waid volume include also include Emma Rios and Khoi Pham.)

Those are solid stories to jump in with, though there are a few notably absent runs and series, namely the Ed Brubaker/Michael Lark run that followed the Bendis/Maleev run, Miller and John Romita Jr.'s The Man Without Fear (which seemingly provides the basis for the TV series), and the Kevin Smith/Joe Quesada Marvel Knights run.

And hey, don't sleep on the Ann Nocenti/Romita Jr. run on Daredevil, either. Those issues are great.

But it's altogether possible (and perhaps likely) that those runs aren't available on Scribd, while the ones listed are. If you have a subscription and want to cram on some character history, the suggestions in the post aren't bad places to start.