10 Marvel Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

2. Daredevil: Born Again

Look, we give Frank Miller a bit of a hard time on here, but you always hurt the ones you love, right? Besides, we've been put off by the modern day right-wing nut Miller. The reason that he remains one of the most respected creators working in the industry (and why he appears twice on this list) is because he has produced some of the greatest comic books in history, beginning with his unparalleled run on Daredevil in the eighties.

At first paired with writer Roger McKenzie, the title about a blind vigilante trying to clean up the particularly Taxi Driver-esque section of New York dubbed Hell's Kitchen really came into its own when Miller took over both script and art duties, coupled with his usual genius inker Klaus Janson. That run wrapped up in the middle of the decade, but Miller was coaxed back to the title and penned the iconic Born Again, originally published in in Daredevil #227-#231 but later collected in a graphic novel format, drawn with gritty flair by David Mazzucchelli, whom he would later team with for Batman: Year One.

Revisiting one of his favourite themes from his original run, Miller goes full Catholic guilt on Matt Murdock as the lawyer-turned-superhero has his faith tested as long term arch enemy the Kingpin makes a concerted effort to destroy his life and drive Daredevil insane. Like the rest of the books on this list, you don't need to know anything about these characters or their history to realise this is a masterpiece, a densely packed and accomplished work packed full of religious allusions, a realism seen previously only in Miller's earlier Daredevil work, and a career-best turn by Mazzucchelli, whose art looks nothing like your typical superhero comic and everything like a grim and gritty European graphic novel.

Born Again is a fantastic, fascinating graphic novel we'd recommend to anyone. Except maybe the devoutly Catholic. May be in bad taste.