Action Comics #19 – Review

By: Andy Diggle (story), Tony S. Daniel (pencils), Batt (inks), Tomev Morey (colors)

The Story: When Superman’s life love goes south, he takes it out on a gang of giant robots.

The Review: This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I never actually intended to continue reviewing this series after Grant Morrison left.  I probably would’ve given Diggle’s run a chance, but for the controversy which ensured shortly after he was announced as Action’s new writer.  Once I learned that he wouldn’t even stick around for a whole arc, leaving artist Daniel to take his place, I took that as a red flag to make my exit, too.

But in my review of Morrison’s final issue, I forgot to make my intentions known, and I generally don’t like to Drop a book without some notice.  So here we are.  Actually, it’s still kind of nice to see what the new guy might bring to the table, and I admit to being more than ready for a less abstract and more mundane kind of Superman story after Morrison’s high-concept epic.  In this respect, Diggle delivers, though you quickly realize that the price is a loss of originality.

Young Romance #1 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Superhero love is a many-splendored thing…

The Review: Young Romance is one of those titles that a proper reviewer probably should feel a little bit of embarrassment about reading, given its hopelessly gimmicky nature.  Even so, I do kind of like the grab-bag format of these things, and I appreciate that DC has enough of a sense of humor to do something this cheesy.  Besides, with the mix of talent involved, you never know if you might run into a gem of a feature, promising better things from the creators involved.

Snapshot #1 – Review

By: Andy Diggle (writer), Jock (art) and Clem Robbins (letters)

The Story: A comic shop employee finds a phone with pictures of murdered people on it.  The owner wants it back.  Oh no!

Review (without SPOILERS): This was a pretty effective first issue to a miniseries.  The essence of the story is so simple that I was actually able to encapsulate the whole thing in “The Story” above.  The premise of an “everyman” being pulled sucked into the world of organized crime isn’t new, but as with so many things in fiction, a well executed story trumps novelty.

So, the basic task for this issue was to introduce our main character, have him find the phone and see the incriminating evidence and then flush him into a world of murder and intrigue.  Diggle and Jock come up aces in this.  I really appreciated how direct and BS-free this issue was as they didn’t waste our time showing the protagonist’s back-story.  Nobody cares if he’s a good person who visits his grandmother in the nursing home or volunteers with Big Brothers, we just want to see him get mixed up with an assassin’s cell phone and see what kind of plot twists happen.

Quick Hits Reviews – Week of May 11, 2011

Try as we might, there are always a few titles that don’t get the full review treatment here at WCBR.  What can we say…  Those guys publish a LOT of comics and it’s hard to get to them all.

 

The Incredible Hulks #628 – If you’ve followed the news, you’ve probably seen that Greg Pak is ending his LONG run on this title around issue #635 or so.  And, he is really going out with a bang.  This has been a very fun story arc that follows Bruce and Betty Banner as they try to retrieve Pandora’s Box from a bunch of bad guys in a flying fortress.  The Banner’s aren’t getting along all that well, so there is lots of fun, biting banter between the two.  Sometimes it even plays into the story as in one place where Hulk needs to get angrier and she starts telling him that he stinks and when that doesn’t work, she starts telling him about her sexual activities with other men since they broke up. It’s pretty funny, and great superhero action abounds.  It certainly doesn’t hurt to have Tom Grummett drawing the comic.  His classic superhero style doesn’t really have a bad panel in the whole issue and he really nails those scenes when Hulk-action happens and you can almost feel the ground shaking.  Great stuff.  Grade:  A-   

 

X-Men Legacy #248  – A lot happens in this issue as we see the X-Men recovering from Age of X.  Ironically, this mop-up issue ended up being stronger than the actual Age of X story was.  The first part of the issue deals with Emma offering mind-wipes to X-Men who want them, and as you can imagine, not everyone wants the same service: Cannonball wants it all gone, but Frenzy wants to keep her memories of her relationship with Cyclops.  We also dig into Legion a bit and Xavier and Nemesis’s new plan for helping him cope with his personalities.  I’m (personally) not that excited about Legion being a part of ongoing stories, but we’ll see what we get.  There also looks to be some more Rogue/Magneto/Gambit love-triangle stuff going on.   Yawn… But….the big news is that it looks like the X-Men are finally going to go find Rachel, Polaris and Havok who have been missing in space for ~5 years (since the Brubaker run on UXM).  THAT is a story I’m looking forward to seeing.  The art is a bit of a mixed bag.  Jorge Molina has some great panels and some others where characters look funny, but the storytelling is always solid.  Grade: B-

Quick Hit Reviews – Week of March 23, 2011

Amazing what a sneaky heavy week of comics last week was, eh?  But, we here at WCBR endeavor to bring you the broadest coverage possible, even when we can’t get a full review up for every comic on the stands….

Daredevil Reborn #3 – Ugh.  This is really not good!  I hate to be flip at the expense of something that a comic creator put his effort into, but if Diggle’s run on DD were a boxing match, the referee would be stopping the fight and sparing us the final issue of this miniseries.  Let’s just skip ahead to the Mark Waid series coming in a few months and be done with it.  Here we continue seeing Matt Murdock (and his well groomed neck beard….Where does Matt shave btw?) locked into his battle against small-town cops from hell.  The story just isn’t that compelling.  Matt/Daredevil isn’t a creature of the desert…….he’s a man of the shadows and that’s the only place I want to see him.  Did you know he can drive a truck?  Well, he can provided that he kicks out the windshield first so his echolocation works…..  Did you know while driving said truck, he can also tell when he has cars catching up behind the truck?  Don’t know how that one works…..  Grade: D-

Kick Drum Comix #1 – Now this was some electric stuff!  Holy cow did I love this issue that was actually the very LAST off the pile due to his non-standard format (kinda Golden Age height, but not Golden Age width).  Brought to us by Jim Mahfood, Kick Drum Comix offers two stories of urban action that will be loved by anyone with an affinity for 80’s/90’s R&B/Urban/Punk music.  The first story follows the saga of the Popmaster from his roots in early hip-hop music to becoming a take NO prisoners, hard-core music mogul and his eventual struggle with his estranged daughter.  The second story is revolves around two urban youths with a love for Johnny Coltrane.  Mahfood illustrates the whole issue in a crazy style that is really hard to explain.  His panels are SO content-filled that you can just stare at them and continue to notice great new elements.  Just be sure to buy this.  You’ll love it! Grade: A

Echoes #4 – The psychological creepfest keeps chugging into a strong 4th issue.  As if the basic premise of the series wasn’t disturbing enough (whether a 30-ish man has “inherited” from his father a predilection for killing small girls and making tiny dollies out of their skin, bones & hair), now we are teased with a couple of double-reverses to the story that makes me wonder if it is all in the main character’s head.  Joshua Hale Fialkov is really bringing the plot twists in this one!  And Rahsan Ekedal is contributing great B&W art by being the one thing that this series really needs: creepy!  Grade: B+

Marineman #4 – So what if it is a little derivative of Aquaman?  We all wish Aquaman could be this interesting of a character!  Steve Ocean (a.k.a. Marineman) is a really fun character that seems to have all of Aquaman’s abilities, but he isn’t a dick!  In fact, he’s so incredibly likable that you spend most of the issue cheering for him to succeed.  Ian Churchill is doing career-best artwork on this series too.  Everything about his Marineman just screams “larger than life” and I’ve rarely seen more compelling underwater scenes due to the outstanding coloring.  Grade: B+

Quick Hit Reviews Week of Feb. 16, 2011

Some weeks it is just insane how many comics get published.  Despite the intrepid efforts of our writing staff here at WCBR, we simply can’t do a full review of every comic.  Thus, we bring you the quick-hit reviews where we say a few words about some comics that were pretty darn good and some others that are not so much…

Silver Surfer #1 – The story here is pretty good stuff.  It isn’t the best story ever regarding the Surfer, but a very solid story involving Earthly affairs with a surprising guest starring role from the High Evolutionary.  This action seems to dovetail with the High Evolutionary story occurring in the Iron Man – Thor miniseries from Abnett & Lanning.  What really puts this issue over the top is the art.  Stephen Segovia and Victor Olazaba do an awesome job drawing and inking (especially inking) the Surfer and Wil Quintana contributes great cosmic colors.  I am trying to pare down my “non-essential” Marvel titles, but this display of art will probably have me sticking around.  Grade: A-  — Dean Stell

Wolverine & Jubilee #2 – This is a great series so far that casts Wolverine in his best role: as mentor to a younger hero.  Not only is this my favorite role for Wolverine, but it has always been the best way to bring new members into the X-universe.  Jubilee isn’t new, but she is in a new “role” as she adapts to her vampiric powers (which we learn more about in this issue).  Kathryn Immonen even works in some very funny bits such as Wolverine’s revelation that one can apparently get one’s tongue stuck to Colossus if it is really cold outside.  I DEMAND that that story be in the next Strange Tales!  This issue is also telling a neat story that shows Logan and Jubilee finding zombies in Siberia and it would have gotten a better grade if not for a wholly confusing final page.  Seriously, the final page made me wonder if there was a printing error and I’d missed something.  Phil Noto’s art is again wonderfully pretty.  He draws such pretty eyes on his women.  Grade: B+  — Dean Stell

Venom/Deadpool #1 – No character but Deadpool could pull off a comic like this, and I highly doubt that many writers other than Remender could have written it. This fourth-wall slaughtering romp through the Marvel U is a great deal of fun, with in-jokes, creative references and absurdity to spare. The artwork is big and bold (as well it should be for this kind of a tale) and the story itself–Deadpool is on a quest to find the Continuity Cube, thus making himself the single most relevant character in the Marvel Universe–is a very funny concept that both Remender and Moll execute very well. I must admit, I’m glad I bought the single, $2.99 comic rather than trying to piece together the four mini-chapters that were spread out over four different books. The story is good enough, and fun enough, that $2.99 feels just about right. Any more cost–or effort–than that would be a little much though, even for a ‘Pool-addict like myself.  Grade: B    — SoldierHawk

Justice League of America #54 – What a difference new art makes!  Bagley’s time on this title was pretty drab, but I really, REALLY like the work that Brett Booth is doing in this issue.  Booth’s classic figures (with a beautiful fine line from inker Norm Rapmund) combines really well with Andrew Dalhouse’s understated colors.  I so enjoy this muted color scheme to brilliant and shiny colors.  The story is pretty good too showing Eclipso coming “back” and beginning to recruit shadow-powered villains.  Very little actual JLA in this issue, but that’s fine.  Hopefully this is the arc where James Robinson’s turn on the series finds its footing.  Very promising.  Grade: B  — Dean Stell

Captain America: Man Out of Time #4 – This series continues to be a wonderful character showcase for Steve, and a more overarching look at his current relevance to the Marvel Universe. I especially like Cap’s being forced to face the less-savory parts of American history he’s missed (rather breezily–or perhaps, very calculatingly–passed over by Tony Stark’s version of the temporal tour.) I am and always will be a huge Tony Stark fan, so the contrast we see between his America, and General Simon’s America, was fascinating, and a lot of fun to read. My only complaint is that, in this issue especially (and mostly for the sake of pushing the story along), Steve seems awfully naive. I understand that both he and the 40s are supposed to represent a more innocent and morally straightforward time, but…c’mon. Cap’s a soldier. He fought the Nazis for crying out loud. He’s seen the absolute worst of what humanity has to offer…and he’s really THAT shocked by the fact that, yes, crime and Bad Things still exist in America today? I do understand why he might be disappointed, but Waid and company spend far too much time milking that for the sake of a larger message.  Grade: B-   — SoldierHawk

Shadowland (HC) – Review

Written by Andy Diggle, Pencils by Billy Tan

Be Aware! Spoilers may lurk within!

Marvel wasted no time in getting this one on the shelves (in fact, they’re getting even more aggressive with releasing their hardcovers) and I’m kind of glad for that, as I was looking forward to reading this as one collected piece. Sure, I could just read all five issues back to back, but there is still a much different feel when it is in the collected form. I’m also a big Daredevil; I’ve read the entire second volume of Daredevil more than once (and even wrote a paper for grad school on the saga). Being that Shadowland really is the end to that long run started by Kevin Smith, amped up freakishly by Brian Michael Bendis, continued on through Ed Brubaker and finally resting with Andy Diggle, I had to get this collection. Yet I wasn’t always a Daredevil fan. I was reading and very much enjoying Diggle’s Thunderbolts when it was announced that he would be leaving that series to take on the Man Without Fear. That’s what made me decide to read Daredevil in the first place. And in a very short amount of time, I hunted down every trade that came before his run and read them…in four days. And then I read them again. And then, since they were so fresh in my mind, I wrote about them for class, producing one of the best papers in my academic career. Diggle’s run was shaping up nicely, his first arc splendid. I was convinced: any writer who touches this series produces gold (except for one whom Marvel actually decided to skip in the trades. So there are a few issues before Bendis’ run that they don’t want anyone to read—ever). And then Shadowland came out…

My belief sticks. Any writer who worked on the second volume of Daredevil produces amazing content. What hurts Shadowland is that Diggle never intended for it the story to be a big event, seen not only in how the Daredevil series flows into Shadowland (which is a bit choppy), but by the writer’s own words in the spotlight interview at the end of the trade. I actually enjoyed this event very much, but it is certainly not perfect. I don’t blame Diggle for any of those imperfections; I blame the editors. The guys who said “let’s make this into a superhero street brawl.” Nor do I blame Billy Tan. I blame the guys who said, “let’s change the tone of the entire Daredevil run by using an artist with a completely different style.”  Shadowland’s faults are very much at the hands of overambitious editors who promised the fans “no more events” but then realized “wait, events make money” and spawned as many “mini” events as possible. But despite all of that, Shadowland is still enjoyable.  And it’s the collection that shows this.

Daredevil: Reborn #1 – Second Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Davide Gianfelice (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: A wandering Matt Murdock finds himself in a small town filled with secrets and nasty people.

What’s Good: On the art front, this is a comfortable and enjoyable book.  It’s not mind-blowing and some readers may be put off by the cartoony feel, but I’ve been a fan of Davide Gianfelice since his first issues on Northlanders, so seeing him on Daredevil is something of a treat.  Matt Hollingsworth’s colours are also wonderful and work very well with Gianfelice’s art.  If anything, the book ends up looking as different as possible from the Daredevil comics of the past, which I think is thematically appropriate.  Also, thanks largely to Hollingsworth’s fantastic colour choices this month, we get a comic that feels bright, dusty, and a little bleak and, as such, a perfect contrast to Hell’s Kitchen.  While tastes vary, there’s little to complain about on the art front.

As far as the story goes, the best I can say is that I’m glad to see Matt Murdock get back to basics and finally divorced from the larger Marvel Universe after the chaos of Shadowland.  That lack of focus was probably the worst thing about that event, so seeing the old Matt Murdock monologue text-boxes was more than welcome.  Certainly, it’s nice to once again feel connected to, and invested in, Matt.  I’m happy to see him riding solo once again.

Daredevil: Reborn #1 – Review

By: Andy Diggle (writer), Davide Gianfelice (artist), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), Alejandro Arbona (associate editor), Stephen Wacker (editor)

The Story: Reborn, Chapter One: Matt Murdock, walking through the desert of New Mexico, a man running from his past, comes upon a town that’s got itself some secrets.

What’s Good: I was completely swept up and immersed in Diggle’s writing and Gianfelice’s pictures from the first panel. Terse, personal monologue hovers over a barren landscape bleached of color and meaning. It’s a landscape that just persists, much like the character himself. Gritty, indistinct birds move in the sky while a lonely road crossing frames the view. And the monologue? Art. Pure art. “Nothing but the hiss of the wind in the needlegrass…” How much more evocative can the writing get? You don’t even need pictures to go with it, but luckily we’ve got Gianfelice. Diggle also pulled some fine work out of his pen with DD talking to the blind kid. I know there’s some symbolism that was planted there, but not yet exposed, so I’m eager to pull out the layers in the later issues.

Daredevil #512 – Review

by Andy Diggle and Antony Johnston (writers), Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Daredevil’s friends deal with the fallout of Shadowland as Matt is nowhere to be found in the city.

What’s Good: I really do enjoy Checchetto and Hollingsworth’s art.  The art has often been the best part of Diggle’s run, and even a more laid-back, conversation based issue like this one, the work really shines.  It’s moody and perfectly Daredevil and as such, it has its own look.  Wherever the Daredevil franchise goes after this, I hope Checchetto, Hollingsworth, and De La Torre have a major role.

Other than that, this is an issue that focuses on examining the emotional toll Shadowland has on series mainstays Dakota, Foggy, Becky, and Kurtz.  I thought that the place Kurtz ends up in is an intriguing one that could be quite fun in the future.  It’s something you could see coming, so I guess it’s not the most imaginative turn of events, but that doesn’t change it from being a good one.  Foggy meanwhile gets some solid characterization as well.  His unflappable dedication to Matt is exactly the sort of thing that makes the character fun to read.

Shadowland #5 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Billy Tan (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Guru eFx (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: The battle for New York City comes to its conclusion.

What’s Good: What, besides the fact that this is the final issue and that this mess of an event is finally over?

In all seriousness, though, my thought while reading this issue was that it could’ve been hell of a lot worse.  The event comes to a nice enough end and the point it leaves Matt at is a nice one and a natural fit for the character that holds hope for future creative teams.  While Shadowland has been many things, few of them good, Daredevil fans can breathe a sigh of relief that no irreparable damage is done to the character and nothing truly catastrophic is inflicted upon the series.

Basically, Shadowland was only ever meant to take Matt from point A to point B.  The story was cobbled together as a means to get him there.  Perhaps that ends up being the reason why this issue ended up being better than I expected.  While not particularly good, it finally shows us what that point B is, which was always probably the most well thought out portion of Shadowland even before we knew what it was.

As a result, the last couple of pages are quite good and very Daredevily, as is his disappearance from Shadowland.

Billy Tan also has some bright spots this month, particularly when it comes to the action scenes.  I loved the battle between Lord Daredevil and Iron Fist.

Daredevil #511 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Roberto De La Torre (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Foggy seeks out Daredevil and Dakota attempts to rescue Becky.

What’s Good: Last month’s Daredevil seemed to finally find itself, deciding to dedicate itself to the tribulations of Daredevil’s buddies Foggy and Dakota, characters who had been utterly neglected and whose perspectives should be invaluable.  Given Daredevil’s uneven quality of late, I wasn’t sure if Diggle would stick with this commitment, but he does.  Daredevil #511 focuses once again on Daredevil’s unique cast of friends and that’s good news in itself.

The end result is a book that feels really moody, desperate, and atmospheric.  It, unlike the main Shadowland series, captures just how dark and insane Hell’s Kitchen has become.  You really get the sense of New York’s devolving into an anarchic hell of indiscriminate and irrational violence and rage.  In so doing, this issue really makes it clear how this is something that Shadowland, the main series, should’ve doing much earlier.  The mood established this month and the depiction of Hell’s Kitchen’s madness and the price of Shadowland’s establishment and the events within are made clear this month, and it’s solid and it makes Shadowland appear all the more lacking by comparison.

De La Torre also continues to crank out great Daredevil art.  It’s dark and gritty as usual, but in capturing the riotous, insane Hell’s Kitchen core, there’s a constant sense of derangement to De La Torre’s art, owing to his rough lines and shading.  Better still, thanks in part to Matt Hollingsworth’s colours, the interiors of Shadowland remove some of the darkness in exchange for an undertone of disease and sickness.

Shadowland #4 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Billy Tan (pencils & inks), Victor Olazaba (inks), Guru eFx (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Izo’s band of heroes race to stop Daredevil as Elektra makes her move.

What’s Good: One of the big problems that the main Shadowland series has had has been finding its identity.  It seems divided on whether to approach this as a standard Marvel event or as a Daredevil comic.   The result has been that as an event, it feels strange and off-kilter while, as a Daredevil comic, it’s a failure.

The good news is that with this issue, I feel like I finally have a clear picture of what Shadowland wants to be, as the book finally settles into being just another Marvel event.  It seems the comic has given up on any loftier aspirations and has more or less given up pretending to be a Daredevil comic.  While this does make for a mediocre comic, at least it means that the book is far less confused and messy than it has been, even if it is a little straightforward.  Certainly, I feel that reader expectations can properly adjust as well.  Shadowland, with this issue, gives up on even attempting to be like the Daredevil comics of old; it’s a Marvel event comic that’s dedicated to getting the character, and the universe, to a particular point.  At least, now, we can know what we’re getting.

If you like action, there’s a lot of action this month and all of it is done fairly well.  Action scenes are fluid, dynamic, and exciting.  A lot of this is due to Billy Tan, who continues to do surprisingly solid work on this comic.

Daredevil #510 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Foggy and Dakota find themselves hunted by the Hand while Iron Fist and Luke Cage find themselves swayed by the Kingpin.

What’s Good: One of the things that’s made the last couple of issues of Shadowland, or the last couple of issues of Daredevil for that matter, somewhat underwhelming has been that they’ve tried to focus on too many things at once, winding up feeling insubstantial and mediocre throughout.  Daredevil #510 goes against this trend and is a significant improvement throughout.

Instead of even attempting any half-assed gestures towards focusing on Matt and his shift in character and internal struggles, Daredevil becomes a book focusing on Daredevil’s friends, particularly Dakota and Foggy, a wise choice given that these two are integral to the Daredevil franchise who we don’t get to see in any other book.  This makes this issue feel more meaningful and more necessary.  While I would, of course, rather that Daredevil be devoted to shedding light on Matt’s character, Diggle and Johnston’s decision to focus on Dakota and Foggy at least gives the book a strong direction and a unique one.

It’s ultimately a good choice if only because Dakota and Foggy are naturally sympathetic characters.  Not possessing any superpowers or martial arts prowess, it’s easy to root for them amidst the madness of Shadowland.  When they’re assaulted by a horde of ninjas, the threat feels a lot more real and the danger much more substantial; this isn’t a case of Luke Cage busting the faces of a horde of faceless goons, but rather, this is two people fighting for their lives in a dingy apartment hideout.  Honestly, Dakota and Foggy felt more heroic this month than any other characters have in the entirety of Shadowland.

Daredevil #509 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Roberto De La Torre (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Dakota and Foggy come under attack and Matt Murdock finds an unlikely ally.

What’s Good: Much like last month, Daredevil spends time with Dakota and Foggy, which does a fine job of distinguishing it from Shadowland while also dodging some of the major problems that miniseries has had thus far in diffusing its attention among an overly varied cast.  I’m always happy to spend time with Dakota and Foggy and they definitely have a grounding effect on the book that is much appreciated.  Even when the “tight-pants brigade,” as Dakota calls them, shows up for the inevitable assist, it’s only the Luke Cage/Iron Fist duo.  Things feel much more contained, controlled, and a bit less impersonal as a result.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the sudden appearance of Daredevil’s new volunteer.  It’s another marker of the dire straights that Matt’s fallen into and I can’t wait to see the dynamic that the character creates in Shadowland, and how she’ll end up operating alongside the other personalities present there; if Diggle plays his cards right, I can see her really complicating things for everyone.  Either way, the character is a welcome presence and this was easily the highlight of the month.

Shadowland #2 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Billy Tan (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Christina Strain (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Luke Cage and Iron Fist try to talk to Daredevil and the Kingpin gets a little demonic help.

What’s Good: This issue tries to expand on the characters involved in Shadowland in an attempt to expand the book into a true event, rather than just a bi-weekly Daredevil.  Certainly, it’s great to see the Kingpin back again and looking to play a big role.  Diggle writes the character’s voice very well and fully capture that suave, Wilson Fisk tone.  I like the idea of Fisk teaming up with heroes for his own benefit; I’ve always enjoyed it when villains find themselves teamed with heroes, as it leads to a lot of dysfunction and distrust.  In this case, it also highlights the dark position that Daredevil currently occupies.  I look forward to seeing where this goes and Kingpin’s presence is definitely a strong point.

Another additional character that works very well, in at least the little time we get with him this month, is Ghost Rider.  The build-up to his entrance is fantastic, and totally misleads you until you see that leather boot.  Diggle cleverly makes Ghost Rider sound like some magical Japanese warrior for good, so when Ghost Rider shows up with his gruff dialogue, it’s a surprising touch of comedy.   His dynamic with Fisk is also really fun for this reason; the Kingpin attempts to speak in the stilted tone he expects a demon to converse in, while Ghost Rider talks like an average guy.  It’s great stuff and Billy Tan draws the character really, really well.

Daredevil #508 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Roberto De La Torre (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Foggy and Dakota try to get to Shadowland to talk some sense into Matt while Hell’s Kitchen finds itself in a state of martial law.

What’s Good: This issue of Daredevil does an absolutely fantastic job of establishing the mood and atmosphere of Shadowland, immersing us in the grim NYC of Matt Murdock’s construction.  If Shadowland #1 set the narrative groundwork for this event, this book sets the tonal groundwork.

In this sense, Daredevil #508 feels like it puts meat on Shadowland’s bones.  Hell’s Kitchen feels nightmarishly sinister and Diggle and Johnston do solid work in putting forth a really oppressed environment.  Daredevil’s Hand ninjas create a sense of foreboding, particularly given how they seem to be everywhere.  It’s a paranoid atmosphere where Daredevil and his ninja are constantly watching.  More than anything, we really get the sense that Matt has reshaped and isolated Hell’s Kitchen; the roadblocks are ugly and cops are not welcome.  I loved how in this new Hell’s Kitchen, wearing a badge is dangerous to oneself, not protective.

Things only get darker when we see Matt’s new brand of justice in action.  His dealing with a group of thieves is unsettling and darkly iconic.  It puts an evil, nasty twist on a traditional, superhero action and it’s sure to give chills, especially thanks to De La Torre’s efforts.

Speaking of De La Torre, it’s great to have him back on Daredevil and he’s really well suited to this arc.  Everything is bleak, pitch dark, grimy, and generally unpleasant in the best way possible.  It’s the very darkest sort of noir artwork you can ask for, really, and that suits Shadowland perfectly.  De La Torre’s gritty style only makes Hell’s Kitchen all the more sinister.

Shadowland #1 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Billy Tan (pencils), Batt (inks), Christina Strain & Guru EFX (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Bullseye takes on a newer, nastier Daredevil while the Avengers grow increasingly concerned about that weird castle in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen.

What’s Good: As the first issue of an event, one could look at this issue as being a series of great choices by Diggle.  First and foremost is that it isn’t overburdened by a plethora of characters.  It certainly still feels like a Daredevil book, but has the Avengers, Luke Cage and Iron Fist in particular, be just enough or a presence to make things feel different and a little bit bigger.

Then there’s the central role that Bullseye has in this first issue.  I can’t think of a better way of showing how much Matt has changed than having him fight the guy he’s fought a million times.  It’s a wonderful choice by Diggle, who also writes a really great, crazy Bullseye.  It’s clear the dynamic has shifted when readers immediately get the feeling that Bullseye has insanely bitten off more than he can chew by challenging Daredevil.  It’s also quite the turn to see the “hero” be accompanied by a horde of faceless goons, ganging up on the lone villain.  This, of course, was no doubt what Diggle was going for.

That’s really the strongest point of this issue; there’s no doubt, during this issue and particularly at its end, that the Daredevil of Shadowland is a very, very different Daredevil.  He’s mean, he’s isolationist, and he’s darker than ever.  This, of course, is tied into another great choice by Diggle: debuting the new outfit this month, which looks absolutely fantastic and is a great representation of Matt’s shift in mentality.

But really, the best choices Diggle makes in this issue are related to pacing.  There’s no question that he hits the ground running, but we’re also not overwhelmed by breakneck plot progression and chaotic happenstance.  The plot is simple and straightforward, but filled with great action and status quo defining moments.

Then there’s the last page.  Whoa.  It’s the sort of cliffhanger that you suspect is coming, but can’t actually believe Diggle went for until you flip the page.  Just whoa.  It’s a major character death that gets Shadowland off to an explosive start while hammering home that this is a whole new DD.

I was also very much surprised by Billy Tan’s artwork, which was really solid stuff.  I thought his work was ill-suited to Daredevil after his work on the List one-shot, but this definitely worked.  His style is detailed, but seems a little grittier and Ron Garney-esque.  Strain’s work on colours also helps a lot, as she goes for darker hues with lots of reds and dark blues.

Daredevil #507 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Matt’s conflict with Bakuto comes to a head while the Hand continues to pull the strings.

What’s Good: I’ve really come to love Marco Checchetto’s artwork, particularly as it works in tandem with Hollingsworth’s colors.  The book looks unique in Marvel’s line, equal turns gritty and polished.  I especially enjoyed Daredevil’s fight with hand ninja in the snow; it’s always interesting to see a darker style forced to work with a mostly white palette.  Seeing Daredevil’s red stand out against a white background and a horde of white adversaries works out great and is something different from the usual red on black.  The snowy, feudal Japanese landscape has been a nice change from Hell’s Kitchen and it has made the story feel fresh as a result.

Diggle and Johnston use this vibe to work their way towards telling another story where Matt finds himself in an impossible situation, only faintly aware of the danger surrounding him, manipulated on all sides.  Great Daredevil writers have often found success in putting Matt under tremendous strain and Diggle and Johnston are certainly moving in that direction.  We’re just heading into Shadowland, so it’s just yet a full-on pressure cooker, but already it’s beginning to feel suffocating.  Partially because of his being on alien, unfriendly territory and even moreso because of White Tiger’s betrayal, which he’s still unaware of, Matt Murdock seems completely isolated.

This is especially the case because Diggle and Johnston seem intent on delivering a clear message with this issue:  the most crippling, dangerous, and threatening enemies are those you can only ever, at best, suspect.  Even if they have yet to make their move, their planning and bad intentions alone make for something of a crushing narrative.  At issue’s end, there’s no doubt that the headfirst animosity of Bakuto is nothing compared the greater machinations of his peers.  Hell, Bakuto’s such a lesser evil that he’s almost a sympathetic character by comparison.

Daredevil #506 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Matt tries to gain Bakuto’s trust, but he doesn’t realize the traitor in his midst.

What’s Good: With every passing issue, Diggle carves out Daredevil as his own, continuing to distinguish his take on the title from those who came before.  This month, that becomes all the more clear.  This is a far cry from the noir tinged brawling in Hell’s Kitchen that we’re used to.  Instead, this is a straight up ninja story in an environment that is essentially a pocket of feudal Japan in the  modern Marvel Universe.

This time, Diggle expands this further by re-introducing Hand magic.  There are exploding bodies a-plenty here.  All told, it’s a good amount of fun, if only because it’s different from what we’ve become used to in Daredevil, setting the book even further apart from the rest of Marvel’s offerings.  Diggle has crammed more or less every variety of ninja related awesomeness he can into this book, while distancing it from the gritty realism of his predecessors’ work on the title.

Daredevil #502 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Roberto De La Torre (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: An out of touch Matt Murdock becomes familiar with the current Dark Reign environment.  Meanwhile, the power shifts continue in Hell’s Kitchen.

What’s Good: It seems that most Marvel comics are more focused on Osborn and his Avengers running about and appearing at inopportune moments.  While this can be fun, it glosses over the larger, overall effect of Osborn’s rise to power.  This issue of Daredevil is thus somewhat refreshing as it takes a street level look at Dark Reign, a world where the police and the entire justice system are under Osborn’s sway.  Daredevil isn’t battling the Sentry, but rather Osborn’s diseased system itself.  In many ways, this approach only makes Osborn seem all the more powerful: we never see or hear him, but we see his effects on the world and the people he has in his pockets.

This ultimately makes Matt’s use of the Hand all the more interesting.  It’s the always-fun trope of beating bad guys by becoming a bad guy.  Matt’s using the ninja deathcult to combat police officers, and this really encapsulates what Dark Reign should be about, as the positions of good and evil are reversed.  Meanwhile, behind this all, the Kingpin still lurks, plots, and consolidates.

Roberto De La Torre meanwhile continues to put out some of the best work of his career.  It’s clear that he was born to draw Daredevil and is the perfect choice for the series.  Art-wise, it’s a real challenge to think of a book currently on the racks that’s any darker, grittier, or more shadowy than this.  De La Torre’s work is in this sense really quite daring, as its far darker and grimier than you might expect from such a mainstream book.  The design for Matt’s DD-inspired ninjas is also completely awesome.

What’s Not So Good: It’s hard not to be incredibly let down, even frustrated, when Diggle completely reverses the giant twist he dropped on us last month.  It was such a daring move and to see it completely taken back only leads to a bevy of “what ifs” and a feeling that the book has somehow been dumbed down, that it’s become less brave and risqué and more typical.  It also makes me feel like a lot of page-space has been wasted these past couple of months on what is essentially a very simple, even unimaginative, trick.

Indeed, instead of the relentless forward progression that last month’s twist furthered, we end up spending a couple of pages listening to the same old conversation we’ve heard several times already: destroy the hand, or try to use it for good?  It’s as though we’ve gone back to square one, replete with psychological water-treading.  The relentless rush of story progression that the last couple months have seen for DD slows this month to your bog-standard, steady trickle.

Conclusion: It’s by no means a bad book, but it’s hard not to be aggravated by Diggle going back on what made his first issue so great.

Grade: B –

-Alex Evans

Daredevil #501 – Review

By Andy Diggle (writer) Roberto De La Torre (art) Matt Hollinsworth (colors)

The Story: A new era in Daredevil is launched as Matt Murdock begins life anew as leader of the ninja death cult The Hand as his friends try figure out if he is behind the murder a rogue judge and two dirty cops.

What’s Good: Wow. I am really, really surprised with how good this comic was and how great a touch Diggle has for Daredevil. I was ready to give up on this series when I heard Brubaker was leaving and Diggle was taking over. But when Brubaker signed off in issue 500 by having Matt take leadership of the hand, I decided to stay on board to see what was next, and man, am I happy I did.

Diggle takes an enthralling set of circumstances and succeeds in making them even more interesting by producing a great take on Matt and his motivations. First off, Diggle essentially kills off Matt Murdoch and replaces him with a new, darker, yet more righteous Daredevil. Daredevil is not getting out of his costume and showing up to the law firm anytime soon- if ever again. Daredevil’s commitment to The Hand to be used for his own machinations and desires are set to make for all types of original and interesting dilemmas. Diggle deals with a big one here: what and who is Daredevil willing to sacrifice to protect Hells Kitchen. The short answer seems to be “anybody.”

Perhaps my favorite part about this comic was all the black panels that served as a cinematic transition from one scene to another.  The black panels are a great moment of repose in the story that allow things to sink in and also signal that this comic is dealing with serious stuff.

De La Torre’s art is alongside Lark’s and Maleev’s. There are certain moments that in this comic destined to be iconic, like the last panel. As with my concern of switching from Brubaker to Diggle, my apprehension of losing Lark to La Torre is so far fully unjustified.

What’s Not So Good: Most reviewers won’t touch on the subject of covers, but to me it is an important part of the total package. The cover to this issue was well done stylistically but the content was so ridiculous that it hurts the overall comic. Why is Izo eating Sushi on a roof as he gets choked-out by DD? Huh? The decision to have this scene is mind-boggling. Would Izo really set a candle lit Sushi and Saki dinner, table cloth and all, on a roof? Silly, silly, and silly.

Besides that, the scene with Foggy and Dakota were way too long. I was hoping the Hand would swoop in and finish them off for being so long winded and predictable. Seriously, how many times can Matt’s supporting cast have the SAME discussions about him? “Matt is really good, he wouldn’t do that” “This isn’t the real Matt” “He’s been pushed too far” “I’m his best friend” “I hope he’s Okay” “Matt can take care of himself.”  Just cut and paste those phrases into different panels and you’ve read eighty percent of all DD cast dialogue, ever.

Conclusion: I suggest anyone who has been waiting to start reading Daredevil jump on now. Once again this character is in a totally unique and insane situation. Bendis left him in jail and Brubaker leaves him as an evil ninja gang leader. Diggle has made him into “Lord Daredevil.” Great stuff that’s only looking to get greater.

Final Grade: B+

-Rob G.

Thunderbolts #136 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Pop Mahn & Carlos Rodriguez (art), Frank Martin & Rain Beredo (colors), and Albert Deschesne (letters)

The Story: Black Widow and Songbird find themselves in a bad spot, as a divide begins to form between the Thunderbolts.

What’s Good: It’s really quite tragic that in Diggle’s final issue,  the team finally feels fully established, with its members feeling legitimate and competent.  Each character is fully defined, and I found myself caring about each and every one of them.  The bad guys on the team felt like nasty, powerful adversaries, while I was firmly cheering for the good guys on the team.   While Ghost has been awesome for some time, Headsman is now very lovable in his own right, Paladin gives off a twisted Scott Summers feel, Ant-Man is in intriguing character that’ll be trouble later on, and Mr. X is the evil, all-powerful badass that he should be.

All of this comes courtesy of the team breaking apart early on in the issue, which allows each character to shine in his own right.  It fully manifests the sort of bizarre team dynamic that should define the Thunderbolts;  Diggle spends much of the issue with half of the team acting like heroes, or at least anti-heroes, while the other half are flat-out villains.  This is the sort of moral impasse that can make Thunderbolts such a fascinating comic, as while none of the characters are good guys, each represent a different sort of villainy.

Beyond that, the action has the fast, slick, and frenetic feel that you’d expect from Thunderbolts, with fancy explosions aplenty and a fun chase sequence.  This is really dynamic, yet shadowy stuff with the great shading that has come to be a requirement in a Thunderbolts book.

What’s Not So Good: It’s hard not to feel a little frustrated as you realize that Diggle has left his book in a state where nothing has really changed.  Through some rather convenient techno-wizardy, Ghost ensures that the team will have no memory of their infighting – meaning that the roster stays the same and the internal strife that made this issue so interesting is put back into the closet.  Meanwhile, a “new” member introduced at issue’s end essentially  undoes the biggest twist of Diggle’s entire run.

Diggle just feels overly concerned with making the series as accessible as possible for incoming writer Jeff Parker.  It’s as though we’re back to issue 3 of Diggle’s run, with Parker merely inheriting Diggle’s original team, but almost none of the events that came after that roster selection.

The unmasking of Scourge was also underwhelming.  It really is a C-list character, one I can imagine many people being totally unfamiliar with.  Worse still, those who are familiar with the character probably saw this coming a mile away.

Also, perhaps due to having a larger art team, things can feel a bit scattered and a little too frantic, with a few too many angular panels, some faces looking off, and some panels being clearly done by a different hand.

Conclusion: A great issue that makes me feel that Diggle’s leaving too soon.  It’s too bad that so much is undone.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

Dark Reign: The List – Avengers One Shot #1- Review

Avengers feature by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) & Marko Djurdjevic (artist); Daredevil preview by Andy Diggle (writer) & Billy Tan (artist)

It seems to be a prerequisite of all mega-maniacal geniuses in the Marvel Universe to carry a list.  Reed Richards has one.  I’m pretty sure Tony Stark’s got one too, although he may no longer be able to remember where he left it.  And now Norman Osborn has compiled his very own list of things to do now that he is the man in charge.  Compiled in part to finally assassinate people he’s had longstanding grudges with, it also contains some strangely logical goals, like dealing once and for all with Hulk’s mindless rampages, arresting Nick Fury for training “youth terrorists,” and apprehending the unregistered New Avengers.  In short, it’s a list that will change the very status quo the Marvel Universe has operated under until now because, as Osborn observes, if the old status quo had actually worked, he wouldn’t be in charge now.

The first eight months of “Dark Reign” have been largely uninspired and unfocused, full of talk and petty spats blown out of proportion by writers. The stories out of “Dark Reign” were made to seem more impressive than they really are. As the year winds down though, Marvel’s latest storyline moves into its second phase with “The List,” in which Osborn seems to be finally ready to take his abuse of power to new heights and let villainy reign supreme. I have to admit, from what I’ve read in this issue, my interest in this storyline is fully renewed, and I’m excited to see if “Dark Reign” can be salvaged.

The feature of this issue involves an incredibly intense, well-executed infiltration of Avengers Tower by Clint Barton, who is dead set on killing Osborn before he can cause any more problems for the superhero community. In a world populated by people who can fly and shoot lasers from their eyes, it’s easy to underestimate a hero like Ronin who has no powers, that is, until you watch him stalk the night and take on the Dark Avengers by himself. To his credit, Bendis has defied my expectations here and set the stage for what seems to be a story full of betrayal, ulterior motives, and lethal action, all qualities I wanted to see more of in “Dark Reign”.

Rounding out this issue is a preview of Daredevil’s role in “The List,” and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the Avengers story, which is mind boggling since I haven’t touched a Daredevil story since Miller left the title. Andy Diggle and Billy Tan seem to have a good handle on the character, and I was so impressed with the title’s new direction, first revealed in Daredevil #500, that I’m now planning on following the comic!  This one shot was a surprisingly entertaining issue and a great jumping on point for anyone that has managed to avoid the baggage of “Dark Reign” until now. I’m convinced that there’s real potential to be found in “The List.” I’m alsomore than willing to stick around and see what happens.

Grade:  B

-Tony Rakittke

Thunderbolts #135 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Miguel Sepulveda (art), Frank Martin (colors), and Albert Deschesne (letters)

The Story: Black Widow and Songbird make a run for it.

What’s Good: Diggle writes an interesting script for this issue, one that’s self-referential in many ways.  Whenever a character says a line that sounds ridiculous, cliche, or out of character, another character immediately picks up on it. It’s actually fairly clever.  They pick up on the failings in each other’s dialogue or the more ridiculous aspects of certain characters. There’s an especially funny line regarding the cliche nature of Nick Fury’s voice that isn’t to be missed.

This is overall a fairly solid issue, and one of the reasons for that is perhaps the first time since the beginning of his run, Diggle actually makes his team feel not only competent, but nuanced and outright intimidating. All too often, Diggle’s Tbolts have felt woefully ineffective. It was great to hear them finally speak of with fear. By placing them in the role of pursuers as opposed to main characters actually does wonders for the team and has given them a shot of legitimacy. Too bad this comes at the end of Diggle’s run.

Character-wise, I’m glad that Mr. X was finally was put to good use in this issue, and unlike most martial arts monsters, he actually is as invincible as he should be. Mr. X is a scary, scary dude and his action scene was fantastic, lightning quick stuff that looked and read great. Norman was also oddly competent this month. Dark Reign has often made him seem a bit bumbling, but this month, he puts out the brainpower that one would expect out of someone running the show, in a twist on a twist that’s really rather cool.

On art, Sepulveda brings his awesome shading techniques that make the book look unlike any other, giving it a neat “painted” feel.

What’s Not So Good: But that’s all I can say that’s good about the art this month, which is quite inconsistent. Close-ups of faces often look completely strange, even muddy and distorted. Nick Fury in particular looks horrible, and it’s clear that Sepulveda can’t draw beaten and battered faces. He also struggles with people shouting.

Unfortunately, many of  the other panels aren’t much better. When the shot is zoomed out a bit, a lot of detail seems to be lost, to the point of looking flat-out weird. Inexplicably, Sepulveda’s action scenes look great and don’t suffer from any problems. It’s only in zoomed out panels without action that it all becomes a bit blank and blurry.

Frank Martin’s colors certainly don’t do Sepulveda’s art any favours. It’s clear that Sepulveda’s art looks best with dark colors, but with much of the book taking place outdoors, Martin makes the book look damned bright; and it just feels very off, inappropriate even. Worse still, I feel that the strong bright colors ended up battling Sepulveda’s equally strong shading, resulting in a very weird looking comic book.

Despite the cool action scenes, there’s some sloppy work here, and the overbearing colors don’t work with Sepulveda’s drawings.

Conclusion: A fairly decent issue held back by off-putting artwork.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans