Pop Art in Daredevil #1

The art style of pop art is very distinguishable in this day and age because it has been exposed to us for so long. In the newest reboot of Daredevil, the prominent pop art style gives the comic a very nostalgic feeling since pop art was a movement from the 1950's and 60's. Pop art has become a style of its own, but it can also be considered a genre. We have certain expectations of pop art because it has established itself as a specific style, and it is generally used for specific purposes--marketing and older cartoon panels at this point--and these things make up a genre.

However, don't make the mistake of thinking Daredevil has vibrant and warm colors. The comic consists of shades of red, black, and blue, and is just generally darkly colored. It flips your expectations of pop art and in doing that, the art emphasizes the dark nature of the characters, which is an important theme of the comic. 

Comic theorist Dylan Horrocks talks about the importance of genre in "Inventing Comics." He says that genre is important in giving a reader a set of expectations and resources to make sense of the work more easily, and gives an author the opportunity to go against the reader's expectations and provide a better narrative twist, or even change the genre itself. It also draws the reader in because it gives them something familiar in a work that is unfamiliar, and that can only entice them to continue reading. 

The pop art style is a very interesting choice considering it is not related to Daredevil's themes, but the fact that it is a strange choice make the comic that much more intriguing. The art style comments that the story will not be what the reader expects when their expectations of the art have already been proven wrong.

-Vanessa Huasasquiche