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.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Brightest Day #9 – Brightest Day has been delivering the goods, albeit slowly, and I am still enjoying this series, even knowing that its other readers are dropping it or, like me, chomping at the bit for something more conclusive. That all being said, this is still a series worth watching and #9 is best of the past week.

Most Anticipated: Batman and Robin #14 – It’s a tie between Green Lantern #57 (a male Star Sapphire??) and Batman and Robin #14 (Batman Must Die, part 2 of 3!). Green Lantern is going to push forward Brightest Day, while Batman and Robin have one kickass villain. Both books are armed with great writers and amazing artists!

Other Top Picks: Batman #703, Batgirl #14, Red Robin #16, Daredevil #510, The Thanos Imperative #4, The Green Hornet Strikes #3

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Last Days of American Crime #3 – Not only was this a great issue, it was a great ending to a story.  We’ve all read a lot of stories that started with so much promise, but fell on their face in the final chapter.  Not so here as Rick Remender has created a wonderful crime story with a neat sci-fi hook.  Keep your eyes out for the trade!

Most Anticipated: Daytripper #10 – I am very excited for the final chapter of this great maxi-series from Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon, especially after they started to tie their story of poignant moments in a man’s life together.  Continuing the theme from LDoAC #3…..I will be sooooo disappointed if this falls on its face (but I don’t think it will).

Other picks: Batman & Robin #14, American Vampire #6, X-Men #3, Irredeemable #17, 28 Days Later #14

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Sweet Tooth #13 – In a week that was actually kind of lousy overall, Sweet Tooth was an easy pick.  This wasn’t even a particularly awesome or remarkable issue either, it just didn’t suck, delivering the same consistent quality the book has delivered throughout its run thus far.

Most Anticipated: American Vampire #6 -For me, this is probably the best new series of the year thus far and I can’t wait to see how Snyder will kick off his second arc, particularly now that he’ll be handling the book in its entirety.  Stephen King fan that I am, I actually preferred Snyder’s portions of the first five issue, so I’m expecting this to be absolutely killer.

Other Picks: Batman & Robin #14, Green Lantern #57, Daredevil #510, Invincible Iron Man #30, New Avengers #4, Thor #614