Daredevil: Born Again in French: All the Editions Explained

One of Daredevil's most famous sagas has had a ragged publishing life in France: a publication interrupted in a magazine, a split into four albums, a 1998 volume, then a succession of Panini reprints. Knowing which version you hold in your hands spares you many title mix-ups.

As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issues, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected pages or dialogue.

The original edition in brief

The arc occupies issues 227 to 233 of Marvel's Daredevil series, published monthly from February to August 1986. Frank Miller wrote it, David Mazzucchelli drew it, Christie Scheele handled the colors and Joe Rosen the lettering. Ralph Macchio, the series' editor, had asked for Frank Miller's return after the Dennis O'Neil period; Miller reportedly made it a condition that Mazzucchelli handle the pencils. The first American collection dates from 1987.

Issue 226, "Warriors", precedes the arc and is part of several French editions: the script credit there is shared between Dennis O'Neil and Frank Miller, with Mazzucchelli on art. Chapters 227 to 233 each carry their own title, from "Apocalypse" to "Armageddon", which helps spot a breakdown in a French edition.

The stakes of the story are simple to state: a secret identity falls into the hands of the Kingpin, who sets about dismantling Matt Murdock's life. If you are looking instead for the American editions and their market value, our ranking of the runs and the guide to the comics to buy cover the original; here, we stay on the French-language side.

The French editions, in order of publication

1987: the magazine Strange (Lug), from issue 226 to issue 231

French readers' first encounter with this story took place at the newsstand, in the monthly magazine Strange from Lug, under the banner "L'Intrépide Daredevil". The survey of French editions that we consulted, cross-checked against the magazine's table of contents, gives the following breakdown: Strange no. 207 (March 1987) contains issue 226 ("Guerriers..."), no. 208 (April 1987) issue 227 ("Apocalypse"), no. 209 (May 1987) issue 228 ("Purgatoire"), no. 210 (June 1987) issue 229 ("Paria"), and no. 211 (July 1987) issues 230 and 231 under the title "Résurrection !", in two parts.

After this issue 211, chapters 232 and 233 no longer appear in the magazine. A blog article devoted to this saga claims that Lug stopped publication because of the story's violence, judged unsuitable for young readers; it adds that readers had to wait several years to read the ending. We report this motive as an account, not as a fact established by the publisher. A reader also mentions cuts made to pass the censorship of the time; here again, we could not cross-check it.

For a magazine collector, the interest is twofold: the run of five consecutive issues is easy to complete, and it shows how the French public discovered Miller and Mazzucchelli before the albums. Our piece on the history of Lug puts these magazines in context.

1989 and 1990: "Justice aveugle", four albums in the Super Héros collection

Between July 1989 and February 1990, the Super Héros collection from Comics USA published the complete saga in four albums, under the general title "Daredevil : Justice aveugle" (literally "Blind Justice"). Each album carries a subtitle: no. 25 "Purgatoire" (July 1989), no. 27 "Le Paria" (October 1989), no. 29 "Résurrection" (January 1990) and no. 31 "Apocalypse" (February 1990). One bibliographic record gives album no. 25 42 pages; we do not detail the page count of the other three.

The breakdown is unusual. The first album brings together issue 226, issue 227 and the first half of 228. The next one takes the second half of 228, issue 229 and the first half of 230, and so on: chapters 228, 230 and 232 are therefore each split across two albums. The fourth album ends with issue 233, which finally gives the end of the arc that the magazine had not delivered. This breakdown comes from an online survey that we could not confirm with another detailed table of contents; the titles and dates of the albums, on the other hand, are confirmed by several records.

1998: "Renaissance" from Bethy

In May 1998, Bethy published "Renaissance" as number 2 of its Daredevil series, in the Comics Culture collection. Number 1, which came out in 1997, was devoted to "L'Homme sans peur" (Man Without Fear), another Frank Miller work. The "Renaissance" volume reprints issues 227 to 233, that is, the arc alone, without the prologue 226.

A reader who bought this volume at the time describes a careful edition but one missing two pages; we quote this remark as is, without being able to verify it on other copies. If you are after this album, compare the announced page count with the copy offered.

2009: the Panini omnibus "Daredevil par Frank Miller"

Panini Comics took up the saga in November 2009 in its first Marvel Omnibus devoted to Daredevil. This imposing volume gathers a large part of Frank Miller's work on the character and contains, according to the records consulted, issues 219 and 226 to 233. A second volume, titled Companion, appears in the April 2024 catalog and is tied to the same material; we do not detail its contents for lack of cross-checking.

2011 and 2014: the newsstand collections

Two newsstand collections then put the saga within everyone's reach. In Marvel : Les Grandes Sagas, Panini devoted number 8 to Daredevil in July 2011; it reprints episodes 227 onward. In July 2014, Hachette published in Marvel Comics : La Collection de référence number 12, titled "Daredevil : Renaissance". The two collections have different formats; consult the record of the copy offered before buying it.

2015: Marvel Icons, volume 3

The third volume of "Daredevil par Frank Miller" in Panini's Marvel Icons collection came out in July 2015. It gathers issues 227 to 233 of Daredevil, the five issues of the miniseries "L'Homme sans peur" (1993 and 1994) drawn by John Romita Jr., as well as issues 27 and 28 of Spectacular Spider-Man. The publisher's records speak of two sagas, "Renaissance" and "L'Homme sans Peur". This album is useful if you want to find the Miller period in a collection of large hardbound volumes.

2021: Must-Have, "Renaissance"

In September 2021, Panini added "Daredevil : Renaissance" to its Best of Marvel collection, as number 33 of the Must-Have series. The album contains issues 227 to 233 and runs 176 pages. It is a complete story in a single volume.

2025: Marvel Prestige and Marvel Poche

On March 5, 2025, Panini published "Daredevil: Born Again" in the Marvel Prestige collection: 248 pages, Daredevil issues 226 to 233, with Frank Miller and Dennis O'Neil on script and David Mazzucchelli on art. The title switches back to English. The publisher's records specify that this content was already in the 2009 omnibus.

A volume 3 of the Marvel Poche collection, titled "Renaissance" and dated August 2025, also appears in a survey of French editions. This book appears in only one source consulted; we cite it without detailing its contents.

US / French correspondence

Note that the prologue 226 does not appear everywhere: it is missing from the 1998 album and the 2021 Must-Have, while it opens the 2025 edition and the 1987 magazine.

Which edition to choose for your profile

You simply want to read the saga. The 2025 Marvel Prestige album is the most complete and the most recent; the 2021 Must-Have offers the same core story in a more modest form, with the title "Renaissance" that you will find in most discussions among French-speaking readers.

You collect the first French edition. Aim for the magazine Strange no. 207 to 211 for the 1987 experience, and the four "Justice aveugle" albums for an ending that the magazine did not give. The two sets complement each other: you can own one without the other, but only the series of albums offers the ending in its original French.

You like large volumes. The 2009 omnibus and volume 3 of Marvel Icons place the saga in the middle of a larger whole, useful if you wish to read Miller over the long run. Both go well beyond the scope of Born Again. Our reading path through Frank Miller helps choose an order.

You are after a curiosity. The 1998 Bethy album is the oldest French volume devoted to the arc alone among those we surveyed; always compare its page count to the record before buying.

Pitfalls and points to watch

• The title changes. "Renaissance" in 1998, 2011, 2014 and 2021; "Born Again" in 2025; "Justice aveugle" in 1989 and 1990. A search using only the American title therefore misses several editions.
• The prologue 226 is optional. Do not count on it to tell two editions apart: it is missing from some of them without taking anything away from the arc.
• The 1989 and 1990 albums sell as a series. A single isolated volume leaves a chapter cut in half, since 228, 230 and 232 are split between albums. Check that all four numbers 25, 27, 29 and 31 are present.
• The magazine stops too early. Strange ends at episode 231 for this saga. A reader who has only the magazine does not know the ending.
• Collection dates vary by record. Catalogs sometimes give the month of legal deposit, sometimes that of release. A one-month gap does not signal a different edition.
• The translators. None of the records consulted reliably names the translators of the older editions; we therefore do not cite them. The publisher's catalog only indicates that the 2025 edition contains French translations of the American issues.

To place the saga in the history of the period, also read the history of Frank Miller, then Semic's takeover of Lug in 1989, which explains the change of layout in the magazines that follows.

What these editions are worth as collectibles

The value of a French edition is judged through three relationships. The first compares the asking price for a copy in good condition with that of the current edition: a Panini album still available serves as a floor, and any upward gap must be explained by real scarcity. The second sets the condition of the copy against that of comparable offers: a copy with no creases or yellowing is only compared to its peers. The third concerns the completeness of the series: a complete lot of four albums or five consecutive magazine issues is negotiated differently from scattered single units.

To estimate a copy, collect comparable offers across several marketplaces, discard lot sales and listings without photos, then compare them with already completed sales. A 1998 or 1987 copy in average condition cannot be compared to a recent album in perfect condition: the comparison must be made at equivalent condition.

Finally, beware of the news effect: attention on the television series can inflate listings without changing the real scarcity of an old object. Rely on completed sales rather than displayed prices.

Frequently asked questions