Cover to Daredevil #511

So, Daredevil #511 is here, the last issue before the ominous-sounding The End. For this issue, I’d like to do a little run-down of the good and the bad. Let’s start with the good.

The Good

  • There’s no denying that Daredevil does a much better job than Shadowland when it comes to setting the mood. Hell’s Kitchen feels like a real place (well, it is a real place, but you know what I mean) and both the art and the writing go a long way to making the chaos and darkness of the streets seem tangible. Using the little guy’s perspective is a smart move and makes sure this title moves in more familiar Daredevil territory.

  • Diggle seems to really like writing Dakota, and it shows. She carries much of the issue and is the real action star of this whole arc. It makes me wish they’d given this book to her, rather than Black Panther, come December.

  • Even though her scene is a little longer than it needs to be, it was good to see Becky again. She’s also a well-written relatable character and I like the relationship between her and Dakota. Now, if only the artists would give her a wheelchair that looks like something an active thirty-something paraplegic would use in the real world (as opposed to something you’d find in an emergency room), I’d be even happier.

  • Most of the scenes with Detective Kurtz work okay and we get a semi-satisfactory explanation for why the police is now back in Hell’s Kitchen when they’d basically left the area previously.

  • It’s been touched on before, but the art is really nice overall even though it may not be as dynamic as it could be in places. I just have one question: What’s up with Dakota’s hair? Did she get a haircut since last time or did I miss something? Roberto de la Torre is flying solo this issue (as is Diggle on the writing) which makes the finished product fit together nicely.

Panel from Daredevil #511, by Andy Diggle and Roberto de la Torre

The Bad

  • Daredevil doesn’t appear much in this issue, and it’s a sad thing that it’s probably better for it. It’s becoming harder and harder to disregard the event that provides the backdrop for this story and I’ve made no secret of the fact that Shadowland stopped working for me two issues ago. At the end of the day, I’ve stopped caring about what happens. I run a blog devoted to Daredevil and I no longer care what happens to him. Bring me Daredevil: Reborn or even a reboot, but let’s just get this over with.

  • What is up with Foggy? Diggle writes his two female co-workers well, but this incarnation of Foggy isn’t working for me. Last issue, he was in hysterics and this issue he accomplishes a near superheroic feat by scaling the outside wall of Shadowland itself. I don’t buy that he could do that, and I don’t buy that he would even try. Foggy hasn’t been acting like the smart guy he really is lately.

  • The part where Detective Kurtz apparently doesn’t know for sure that Matt is Daredevil was just awkward. I was under the impression that this would be one of those “don’t ask, don’t tell” areas for Kurtz and Dakota, but that Kurtz wouldn’t seriously doubt that Matt is actually Daredevil.

  • There are certain other things that don’t quite make sense to me. One thing is why Dakota and Foggy aren’t affected by the darkness that spreads through Hell’s Kitchen. It’s like the old issue where all of New York goes blind except the cab driver Matt finds to take the temporarily blinded Foggy to his ophthalmologist (the only other person in the city who isn’t blind).

Well, that’s it. Throw your two cents in.