Random Reviews - Paper Chase (vol 1, #178)

I haven't done one of these in a while, but here's what the random numbers generator spat out this time: Daredevil #178 by Frank Miller with inks by Klaus Janson!

This story takes place ten issues into Miller's run as Daredevil writer, and the first scene features one of his most famous creations, Elektra, getting a very spectacular invitation to work for the Kingpin: he sends a bunch of goons to attack her and then leaves a note that reads: "Elektra, if you are alive to read this, you are as deadly an assassin as I have been told. I should like to discuss with you employment opportunities in my organization. /The Kingpin" Nice! I guess advertising in the newspaper doesn't quite cut it.

Miller leaves Elektra to ponder the job offer while we cut to Matt swashbuckling his way to work in a mood that would stun modern-day readers (which lends at least some credence to my claim that Miller's DD was not as "dark" as many would suggest). He professes his love for New York while contemplating stopping for a danish on his way to the office.

The law partners' most recent case ties directly to the Kingpin's dealings. They are representing the Daily Bugle against the charges brought against the paper by a mayoral hopeful who's had his connections to the Kingpin exposed. An interrupted witness interrogation later (which has Matt make an elegant getaway) and Foggy is worried enough about his partner to decide to hire Danny Rand and Luke Cage to act as his body guards. They make themselves useful right away when Matt is approached by three men on the trail of their start witness. After a full on fight, Matt repays the two guest stars by being anything but grateful.

Fortunately for the case, Matt manges to escape his captors - ahem, babysitters - by jumping down an open elevator shaft. He finds out what he needs to know and continues to go about his business when Luke and Danny catch up with him on fifth avenue in the middle of a parade (don't know which one it's supposed to be, it's clearly too warm for Thanksgiving). Matt switches to Daredevil once again, and he and Danny "Iron Fist" Rand launch into an unusually contrived hero versus hero fight, based simply on Danny's hunch that DD is hiding something. The issue ends with Dardevil solving the case and Elektra stumbling into Fisk's office, ready for her first assignment..

This issue is plenty of comic book fun, with some of the more traditional comic book clichés that one might not have expected to see. All in all, an enjoyable 3 out of 5 for me and a reminder of happier, though not necessarily uncomplicated, times for Matt.

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Sunday Roundup, July 5

Hey there, everyone! There are at least a few things to link to this time around, so I thought I'd throw one of these together.

NEWS

We learn that Daredevil has a "family of books" in this Cup O'Joe interview at CBR. I'm interested to see which books he's talking about. The entire quote (and hints of a Daredevil-centered event within an event?) is as follows:

Joe Quesada: There's going to be huge stuff happening all over the Marvel Universe. Our goal is to give our fans so much variety and so many incredible choices that they’re going to have to just pick up all out books, I’m not kidding, our creators are bringing their A+ game, this was our challenge to them and they are delivering in spades. There's going to be significant life altering storylines for our characters even in places you may not have expected.

For example, Daredevil is going to be in the middle of some unexpected happenings and the center of his own eventful storyline that will encompass a number of books that are within his family. Fans have been clamoring for some event relief and for stories that are a bit more centric to individual titles and families, so we’ve hard them and we’re going to change gears for a while and see if we can create something cool and new with respect to how we handle stories that tie together.

So, hold on to your seats because it’s going to be a crazy ride. We have stuff planned for Avengers, X-Men and solo characters like Thor that are going to blow your freakin’ mind!

Not Daredevil related, but I recommend actually clicking the link too if you want to read Mark Waid's story of being kidnapped by some overenthusiastic comic book fans from Vermont. It's a funny story.

LINKS

The first two of these are courtesy of Kuljit Mithra's (of ManWithoutFear.com) always informative Twitter feed:

• Former Daredevil artist Alex Maleev talks about Roberto de la Torre's artwork in a thread on Bendis's Jinxworld board HERE.
• A new study on human echolocation reveals some cool things about the ability and mentions our very own Daredevil too!
• This study is also mentioned in this blog post by Discover Magazine with an even greater focus on Daredevil (though I find the talk of him having a radar device to be a little odd).

BLOG UPDATES

Not much to report here except to say that I fixed the link to my Twitter account in the side bar a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't working for a while since I switched user names and forgot to update. If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow me. I tweet about all kinds of stuff, and I've even been called amusing on occasion. ;-)

I'll see you all again shortly!

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"He wears the flag"

Last year this time, I decided to celebrate the 4th of July by posting a panel from one of Ann Nocenti's issues (where the story was actually set on the date in question). I thought the idea of continuing to post something with a touch of Americana might be a fun tradition, so I hereby present these classic panels from the last issue of Born Again, Daredevil (vol 1) #233.

The man wearing the flag in this case is Nuke, the well-known pill-popping and crayon-wielding crazy whose affinity for red, white and blue naturally escapes Matt's attention. There are, of course, many ways to interpret this particular exchange between Matt and Captain America, and I love the ambiguity of this panel. Also, nice dive off the building, Matt. You make the superhero biz look so effortless.


Happy Independence Day to all Americans out there and happy Saturday to the rest of us!

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Review: Daredevil Noir #4 (9.0/10)

You might remember my complete confusion after reading Daredevil Noir #3. In my review then, I hoped for a satisfying ending that tied everything together. With this issue, that's what we got. My feeling is that this whole story will read even better in trade, due to the way the story goes back and forth between two different points in time - the conversation between Daredevil and the Kingpin that frames the story, and the sequence of events that lead them there. Reading it all in one sitting will lessen the slightly jolting experience of doing so in short installments over three months.

The strength of this particular issue, aside from the art (do we really need to mention the art again?), is that it focuses so much on character. Despite a really tantalizing fight scene involving sharp silverware and a dive through a window, it's Matt's internal monologue and his conversations with Foggy and the Kingpin that really stay with me. Alex Irvine really gets Matt's character, and he takes us on an interesting personal journey for Matt, as he is robbed of both his arrogant belief in his own infallibility and what little remains of his innocence. The ending will probably seem sudden to most readers, but it fits the story and the premise of Daredevil's character perfectly, as well as being emblematic of his relationship with the Kingpin. I could absolutely see Alex Irvine writing a longer arc of the main book.

For anyone who hasn't followed this mini-series in singles, I absolutely recommend picking up the trade. One might argue that the "noir" version of Daredevil isn't that different from the character we know from the main title, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. This is just a good Daredevil story, plain and simple.

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Preview, review and an interview

How's that for a clever title, huh? Well, I missed the big roundup Sunday, so here are some scraps from the last week's Daredevil news offerings. Daredevil Noir #4 is out in stores in North America tomorrow and there is a preview at CBR and an advance review of the issue by The Comics Bulletin's Dave Wallace. The review also features a preview, but it's easier to see the pages with CBR's viewer. Diggle also threw us some extra teasers in his interview with Newsarama yesterday. Plenty of food for speculation there, so speculate away in the comments if you wish.

I'll see you back here later in the week if I haven't melted by then. We only get a few short weeks of real heat where I live, but the lack of air conditioning in the home is what really gets you. Hopefully, it should cool down by next week.

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