ROBOT OVERLORD: Matt Murdock is back as the Man Without Fear, but what happens when the Hero of Hell’s Kitchen encounters The First Avenger? I’ve tasked Matthew and Stephen with reviewing the latest issue of Daredevil from Marvel Entertainment.
DAREDEVIL #2
Writer: Mark Waid
Penciler: Paolo Rivera
Inker: Joe Rivera
Colorist: Javier Rodriguez
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $2.99
Previously in Daredevil: Having been revealed to be Daredevil, Matt Murdock disappeared for a while, while the Wakandan chief, T’Challa took over as the protector of Hell’s Kitchen. But time passes, and publishers return to what they know. Matt Murdock is back, and though he is trying to convince everyone he isn’t the Daredevil, he’s having a tough time of it – especially when it come to representing clients in court. One case in particular is causing Matt Murdock some difficulty, and he’ll need to investigate as Daredevil to get to the bottom of it all.
STEPHEN: So… if Marvel keeps releasing new number one series, I may find myself picking up a lot more comics in the coming months. This is like the tenth title getting a new numbering, isn’t it?
MATTHEW: Not quite, but feel free to ask me again in November…
STEPHEN: Regardless, while I do know a thing or two about Daredevil, it was the combo of Mark Waid and a new numbering that brought me on board. Last time we saw Matt return as the Horned Hero, and it’s caught he attention of everyone, including Captain America who would rather bring the hero in because of his past transgressions. Fortunately, the two come to an understanding, and Matt is off to deal with more important things – namely why his current client is having such a hard time finding representation.
Personally, I found the story to be a strong one, and though it has probably been done before, this is the first time I’VE read it, and that is what sells issues.
MATTHEW: I have to admit, I know very little about modern Daredevil. I’m a fan of some of the early Wally Wood/Bill Everett issues, and of course, EVERYBODY has read the Miller issues, but I don’t have a whole lot of pre-conceptions about Daredevil other than I’m tired of lesser writers revisiting the whole ninja thing.
STEPHEN: The robot thingies with the split personality are new, right?
MATTHEW: Well, they bear a striking resemblance to old-school Fantastic Four villain Ulysses Klaw, and next issue’s cover has a pretty clear reference to him, but I’ve never seen these particular iterations before…
STEPHEN: I really like the pacing of this issue, there’s mystery, there’s action, there’s Foggy Nelson getting it on with the Assistant D.A… what’s not to like?
MATTHEW: And isn’t it great that Foggy, of all people, is the lady killer in this issue? I’ve always disliked when Franklin Nelson is just a chubby stooge who gets by because his more talented partner likes him, for some reason. Seeing Foggy in action as a grown up, as a lawyer, and most importantly, as a sexual being, reminds me why I like Mark Waid’s writing. He doesn’t let even the minor supporting characters slide, giving Foggy his own internal life and logic. And, oh my is that art lovely…
STEPHEN: I really like the art style that Paolo Rivera and the rest of the art team brings to this issue. There’s a strange feeling that I’m reading something from the Silver Age mixed with the grittiness of the ‘80s to bring something that draws me in to each panel. The coloring is interesting too. While I’m sure there is quite a bit of computer aided coloring going on, I find the flat colors work well here. And that cover… WOW!
MATTHEW: The battle with Captain America is just amazing, from beginning to end, and it’s nice to see visual references to the art of Miller, Gene Colan, and other Daredevil artists past without being a clip-show.
STEPHEN: For the third time, Marvel has been able to get me more interested in the 616 Universe (Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, and now Daredevil), and if things continue to on this path, I’m probably going to have Daredevil become a regular pull on my monthly list. While I don’t think the second issue was as strong as the first, I really enjoyed the pacing, the side moments, and the art a great deal. I’m giving Daredevil #2 4 out of 5 Stars.
[rating:4/5]MATTHEW: For the first time in forever, I want to care about Daredevil. That in itself should be the tell, in that I haven’t wanted to care about Daredevil since he was huddled over Elektra’s grave bawling back in ’82. This issue is a fine piece of comic storytelling, pointing out what I enjoy about the Marvel Universe, about Daredevil, and about comic books in general. It’s not Frank Miller, but that’s not a bad thing, folks, and Daredevil #2 earns 4.5 out of stars overall from Matthew. This one seems to be a keeper…
[rating: 4.5/5]ROBOT OVERLORD: A keeper in deed. What say you, Spoilerites? Has the Mark Waid magic caught you by the collar, turned you upside down and shaken the loose change from your pockets? And for those of you who have had your money scooped up by writer, would you like it to happen again, if say… I don’t know… a certain Robot Overlord sent his legion of automatons you way in a week or so?
WHAT!? Never mind! You Read Nothing! NOTHING!
[rating:overall]
4 Comments
In my opinion, this series is exactly what is needed to bring Daredevil back from the crazy-ass ledge Marvel had him on with the weird Shadowland crap that the last run ended on.
Waid manages to take some stuff that has been done an awful lot in recent years (“I’m not daredevil, I just happen to wear red footie-pajamas at night”) and not make it feel like a retread.
I especially love the Cap/DD segment. That section feels like comics did when i started reading them back in the 80s. Back when two characters meeting meant something to the story but didn’t indicate we were going into another status-quo-shaking summer event.
Books like this and ASM from Marvel make me happy to know I’ll have something to read if the DCnU ends up being as bad as some people think it will.
This iteration of Daredevil by Mark Waid is a breath of fresh air after the last several years. It seemed like the previous three writers were trying to one-up each other over how bad they could make Matt’s life. The light hearted acrobat is very refreshing after years of the brooding, depressed ninja.
I agree with the reviews, for the most part, although I was one who thought that issue #2 was at least as good as, if not a little better than issue #1. I didn’t feel as if there was one wasted or filler panel in the book, and was left wanting to read the next issue while feeling satisfied with having just completed this one. It stood in contrast to my feelings after reading through Captain America issue #2, which I definitely didn’t think was as strong as the debut issue, but liked well enough to come back for issue #3 in another month.
My (mostly hopefully spoiler free) take on both books can be found at:
http://phantasmavore.blogspot.com/2011/08/reviews-captain-america-2-and-daredevil.html
I was SO SICK of Daredevil. I actually had 0 interest in picking this up.
…of course with my love for Marvel that didn’t stop me. I flipped through the first 3 pages and added it to my pile to buy.
Dammit. I’m such a sucker for Marvel when they put out great stories and even horrible ones. Why? WHY?!