One Of Marvel’s Greatest Daredevil Artists Plays A Sneaky Role In Born Again

Quite a few artists have contributed to the Marvel comic “Daredevil” over the years, lending their own unique visual style to the ongoing trials of blind lawyer and vigilante Matt Murdock. David Mack, however, might just be the most unique of them all. Mack uses a mixed media approach to his art, combining watercolor, ink, and pencil (sometimes with collage materials like printed paper or even Scrabble letters) to create wildly inventive sequential images that tell powerful stories. His most well-known work is in “Daredevil,” where he’s served as both an artist and writer, co-creating the character of Echo with Joe Quesada and contributing to some of the very best arcs in the series (like the incredible “Wake Up”).

Now the long-time Marvel artist has had a hand in the production of “Daredevil: Born Again,” the Disney+ series that functions as both a continuation of the Netflix “Daredevil” show and a chance for Marvel Studios to prove it can handle more mature content on the platform. In the early episodes of the series, we see there’s a mysterious hooded figure putting up graffiti around New York City, including an unsettling mural of the crime boss Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). That mural, along with the others that are bound to appear on the show, was painted by none other than Mack himself.

“Daredevil: Born Again” features the villain Muse, a masked superhuman who is also a serial killer. Created by writer Charles Soule and artist Ron Garney, Muse is a relatively new addition to the Marvel canon. First appearing in “Daredevil” #11 in 2016, he uses the blood of his victims to paint giant murals criticizing a variety of figures in New York, including Daredevil and even She-Hulk. In the second episode of “Born Again,” we see what’s presumably Muse painting a mural of Kingpin that depicts the crook turned politician’s duplicitous nature, revealing an angry face beneath a smiling one. While the white spray paint is clearly not blood (that might have been a step too far for Disney+), the mural is pretty great.

“Daredevil” comic writer and artist Brian Michael Bendis shared his excitement over Mack’s mural in the series on his Bluesky account, posting Mack’s name in the show’s credits along with pictures of some of his adventures with the artist. (The two met years before they worked on “Daredevil” together.) It’s fantastic to see one creator celebrating another — and Mack’s artistry is certainly worthy of celebration. Let there be no doubt, his “Daredevil: Born Again” mural is just the latest in a long career of excellence.

Mack worked on two “Daredevil” arcs as an interior artist and one as a writer, tackling some of the tougher content in the series and bringing it to life with truly beautiful artwork. In “Daredevil Vol. 2” #16-19, the “Wake Up” arc, the story follows Daily Bugle journalist Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall on Netflix’s “Daredevil” series) as he tries to help a young boy named Timmy, who suffers from dissociative episodes after witnessing a fight between his father and Daredevil. It’s some pretty intense subject matter yet is handled with care, making for an incredible “Daredevil” story that doesn’t really feature all that much Daredevil.

Meanwhile, “Daredevil Vol. 2” #51-55 is the origin story of the hero Echo. It starts with her time as a little deaf girl named Maya Lopez, the semi-adopted daughter of Kingpin, and like “Wake Up,” doesn’t actually feature a ton of the Man Without Fear, yet still makes for an excellent addition to the overall “Daredevil” canon. (Echo has notably gotten her own Disney+ series starring Alaqua Cox as Maya, giving the character some deserved attention.) Mack also contributed as a co-writer to the brilliant “Parts of a Hole” arc that first introduced Echo, bringing his visual sensibilities to the comic despite not doing the interior art.

But while Mack is one of the best to have ever worked on “Daredevil,” there’s another comic where he shines even more brightly. That would be his own series, “Kabuki.”

Mack’s most personal and powerful work is his comic “Kabuki.” It follows Ukiko, a young woman in near-future Japan who works as Kabuki aka one of the Noh, a group of nine highly skilled government assassins. The first major arc, “Circle of Blood,” follows Kabuki as she gets revenge for herself and her mother, as Kabuki was the product of a brutal rape by a Japanese soldier. (The same soldier later discovered his daughter and scarred her with the word “Kabuki” across her face, in reference to the plays her mother had acted in.) 

Following “Circle of Blood,” the story is relatively action-free, instead focusing on Kabuki as she’s entered into a prison facility for mentally ill agents. There, she processes her trauma and makes some new friends before escaping and embarking on a peaceful life outside of Japan. There are also side stories that follow the other agents of the Noh, including a beautiful and tragic one about the agent Scarab, with art by Rick Mays.

“Kabuki” is a complete story that ends with the lushly painted and collaged “Kabuki: The Alchemy,” which is more existential exploration than traditional narrative and features some of the most beautiful and profound storytelling in all of comics. In a dream world, the series would one day get an adaptation of its own, as it’s the perfect kind of deeply specific, personal story that manages to also be truly relatable on a human level.

Either way, it’s wonderful to see Mack get a chance to shine on “Daredevil: Born Again.” Hopefully, though, this is just another step toward a “Kabuki” TV show. A fan can dream.