by Andy Diggle (writer), Roberto De La Torre & Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)
The Story: Daredevil continues to use the Hand as an instrument to battle corruption.
What’s Good: I continue to enjoy Diggle’s take on Dark Reign, which remains one of the most unique in Marvel’s stable. While most series simply have Osborn stomping about and occasional cameos by the Dark Avengers and/or the Thunderbolts, Diggle’s book best depicts how the world and society itself has changed thanks to Osborn’s rise. Daredevil is used to occupying his own little corner of the Marvel Universe, and much of this issue is a wake-up call that even the farthest/lowest fringe of that Universe is subject to this major shift in status quo. The series’ own isolation stands in relation to Matt’s obliviousness to the larger state of things, absorbed as he is in his own crises. Matt, and the comic itself, can now no longer ignore larger events, which do have an effect on Hell’s Kitchen, whether Matt realizes it or not.
While the theme is great, Diggle also writes some great dialogue this month. The conversation between Daredevil and Izo was a particularly good. Both men seem to be speaking in veiled threats and what seems to be the same old conversation we’ve heard a million times between the two takes on a tone of menace, where we’re forced to wonder who is trying to intimidate the other. Is Izo getting impatient enough to threaten Matt? Is Matt becoming inflated by his leadership of the Hand? And which character is the initiator and which the respondent? It’s a fascinating, multi-layered conversation that bears reading twice.
Other than that, the issue gives us everything we’ve come to expect from a good Daredevil comic. Diggle writes the kinetic, thrilling action scenes that have been the signature of his career, Kingpin is an absolute badass, Becky, Foggy, and Dakota are as lovable as ever, and seeing Matt hold a pep rally for his horde of devil-horned ninjas definitely gets the blood pumping. Meanwhile De La Torre continues to put out the best work of his career, as it’s clear that he was meant to draw this comic. It’s shadowy, grimy, and gritty in the utmost, but with no loss of detail or clarity. It’s quite the achievement, and he makes action and dialogue scenes equally engaging.
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Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews | Tagged: Alex Evans, Becky Blake, Black Tarantula, Dakota North, Daredevil, Daredevil #503, Daredevil #503 review, Dark Reign, Foggy Nelson, H.A.M.M.E.R., Hand Ninja, Kingpin, Lady Bullseye, Man Without Fear, Master Izo, Matt Murdock, Norman Osborn, Oscorp, the Hand, The Hood, the Owl, White Tiger, Wilson Fisk | Leave a comment »
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