Daredevil #2 – Review

By: Mark Waid (story), Chris Samnee (art), Javier Rodriguez (colors)

The Story: This town ain’t big enough for two blind superheroes.

The Review: The exciting thing about moving Daredevil out of New York, where he and several dozen superhero pals are taking down the same army of villains day in and day out, is the chance of encountering new enemies—or, at least, not the usual suspects. For San Fran, this could be a mixed blessing. On the plus side, their ordinary crime rate is sinking fast. The minus is that now all of the city’s exotic threats are coming out of the woodwork.

The one that’s weight most heavily on Deputy Mayor Charlotte Hastert’s mind is actually not a villain, but a vigilante. Unlike the sunny Matt, Maximillian Coleridge (a.k.a. the Shroud) embodies all the worst qualities of the modern superhero, “[v]iolent, sociopathic, defiantly uncooperative with the law.” Not coincidentally, he’s modeled in no small part after Batman (“Saw his parents gunned down by a mugger when he was a boy…”), although in other respects, his skills and strengths parallel Matt’s.

Daredevil #2 – Review

by Mark Waid (writer), Paolo Rivera (pencils), Joe Rivera (inks), Javier Rodriguez (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Matt discovers that there’s a lot more weirdness behind Ahmed Jobrani’s case than expected, but first he has to dodge the big, red, white, and blue shield aimed squarely at his head.

What’s Good:  After last issue’s extra-sized big splash, this issue sees Waid and the Riveras settle into a nice groove, giving us a better idea of what we can expect month in and month out from this series.

As we really get into the meat of the story of Jobrani’s case, Waid really delivers a massive twist that hammers home the fact that this is going to be a Daredevil series very different from those we’ve been getting for the last ten years.  In so doing, he also made me realize how strongly my narrative expectations have been shaped by Bendis, Brubaker, and Diggle when it comes to this series.  Sure, we get the superhero legal drama: Daredevil needs to find out why Jobrani won’t press charges in his case, but as Matt gets closer to the bottom of things, they take a distinctly weirder direction.

Leading up to the big reveal, the story has all the hallmarks of a cut and dry street-level story.  You expect that the pressure on Jobrani will come from mobsters, crooks, or something along those lines, but Waid ends up going in a direction so opposite to this, that it feels almost surreal.  Instead, we get a Daredevil comic that takes an abrupt left turn from street level grit to retro sci-fi kookiness and boy is it awesome.  It’s so different, so refreshing, and completely shatters the mold that Daredevil had settled into as a comic.  Waid’s story ends up feeling both nostalgic and unique.

More than that, Waid also continues to make great use of Matt’s powers in his storytelling.  Of course, those wire-frame illustrations by Paolo Rivera are still amazing, but Waid serves up another old-school, forgotten villain that is absolutely perfect for DD.  I mean…a man made of sound?  There is no way that that isn’t awesome in a Daredevil comic.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Detective Comics #881 – The finale to one of the best Batman stories ever from the industry’s hottest new writer is, in my mind, quite possibly the best single issue of the year.  All too often, great series or runs end in lackluster fashion.  This is not one of those instances.  At all.

Most Anticipated: Journey into Mystery #626 – It’s a big statement, but I’ve officially decided to proclaim Kieron Gillen and Doug Braithwaite’s Journey into Mystery the pound for pound best monthly comic currently being put out by Marvel.  With every installment, I know that I’m going to be getting top of the line storytelling starring a character I’ve come to truly love and artwork impressive to the point of making me wonder how this book is so consistently on time. If you are not reading Journey into Mystery, you are very much in the wrong.

Other Picks: Daredevil #2, Captain America #2, X-Men: Schism #3, Superboy #11, Avengers #16, Invincible Iron Man #507

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Detective Comics #881 – Endings are hard, but Scott Snyder, Jock & Francesco Francavilla aced this one.  Not only did they bring an end to their instant classic year-long tale on Detective Comics, but they brought down the curtain on Detective Comics itself.  I know there will be a new #1 in a month, but it really won’t be quite the same so it was wonderful to see Tec end with such a wonderful story and issue.  If you haven’t read this storyline, you simply must do so immediately.  Runner-up: American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #3

Most Anticipated: Hulk #39 – This run on Hulk by Jeff Parker, Gabriel Hardman and a few other artists has been flat-out awesome.  Just as Snyder’s Detective Comics has been the best thing at DC for the past year, Parker’s Hulk has been the best ongoing at Marvel.  And this issue features (a) the final bit of the series drawn by all-star artist Hardman and (b) the culmination of a much teased storyline featuring this OMEGEX villain who is some kinda cosmic planet-killer.  Sounds awesome (and pretty)!

Other Picks: The Walking Dead #88, Avengers #16, X-Men Schism #3, Sergio Aragones: Funnies #2, Spider-Island: Spider-Girl #1 (with art by Pepe Larraz who I really enjoy)

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week:You know it was an underwhelming week when you’re choosing between Squirrel Girl and an X-men book that only got a C-. On a week when my personal pull list is this thin, I’d better not give out this award.

Most Anticipated:X-Men Schism #3 – I’ve been enjoying this run quite a bit. The production values are good and the whole arc is about waiting for the other shoe to drop…. And who doesn’t love the Hellfire Club?

Other Picks: Journey into Mystery #626, Thunderbolts #162, Deadlands: Death Was Silent One-Shot