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.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Thanos Imperative #1 – Brightest Day #3 and and Thanos Imperative #1 tussled for a while in my brain for the number one spot, but the Champion of Death edged out DC’s newest cosmic chapter. Thanos the scene-stealer (which is a lot to say, considering he has to share the book with Drax and Rocket Raccoon) remains true to Starlin’s vision as one of the most frightening, sociopathic, genocidal, multi-dimensional villains in any universe.

Most Anticipated: Batman #700 – Grant Morrison is taking the wheel with a raft of great artists. The big price tag is softened by the big page count. Morrison has done some excellent Batman work (I know there are detractors because his vision of Batman is outside-the-box), and I look forward to seeing where he takes this.

Other Top Picks: Batgirl #11, Daredevil #507, Uncanny X-Men #525

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Sweet Tooth #10 -Whenever an issue of a comic makes me want to write an academic essay on it, that pretty much guarantees it “pick of the week” status.  When that essay would be about the conflict between humanity and science, this is doubly the case.

Most Anticipated: Captain America #606 -Holy crap, it’s Baron freaking Zemo!  YES!  YES!  YES!

Other Picks: SHIELD #2, Daredevil #507, Invincible Iron Man #27, The Unwritten #14, Secret Six #22, Punishermax #8

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Irredeemable #14 – Even with a shipping snafu that caused me to miss getting a load of my books, I have no problems giving Irredeemable #14 some love.  After spinning its wheels for a few months to create a jumping on point for new readers, the story that I love really got back into gear in a major way.  This has become so much more than a “superman gone bad” story.

Most Anticipated: SHIELD #2 – This week is really stacked with books that I’m looking forward to, but after that stellar first issue how could I really pick any other book?  Seriously, if you’ve ever complained that comics don’t create enough new stuff and aren’t going to read this… you’re missing out because this feels more like an indy-comic that is just playing in the Marvel Universe.

Other picks: Batman #700, Hack Slash: My First Maniac #1, Meta 4 #1, Uncanny X-Men #525, Daredevil #507