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 #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 #500 – Review

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Ann Nocenti (second feature writer), Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Klaus Janson, Chris Samnee, and Paul Azaceta (art), David Aja (second feature art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Battles with the Hand and bad guys aplenty sees Matt Murdock finding himself in a role in which he never imagined himself.

What’s Good: Daredevil #500 succeeds where other landmark, giant-sized issues have failed in that it actually has a thrilling, must-read main feature.

The main feature is a kinetic thriller with electrifying action scenes coming one after another at a breathless pace.  The pages fly by and it is definitely a very, very fun read.  After the blandness found in Captain America #600, I almost feel that Daredevil #500 shouldn’t be allowed to be this exciting.

That’s not to say that it’s mindless, however.  Daredevil’s fight with the Owl in particular is brutal, thanks in part to its emotional savagery and DD’s final act this is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Of course, I can’t go without commending the cliffhanger that Brubaker ends his run on.  It really is a case of leaving the reader dying to know what happens next.  It’s so unexpected, it has Matt making a complete 180. Although Brubaker could be condemned, he nevertheless manages to pull it off through making Matt’s change of heart logical; making him grow out of his self-loathing.  It’s a natural choice and Brubaker successfully injects the sense of tragedy always present in Daredevil.

Ann Nocenti’s back-up story is absolutely, pitch-perfect fantastic. Brooding, cerebral, and at times downright surreal. It’s simply amazing work.  After taking a beating from Bullseye, Daredevil finds himself recovered by a retired boxer, Larry, and a schoolgirl, Gina.  The dynamic here is fascinating and both Larry and Gina are uncomfortably interesting characters.

On the one hand, Larry and Gina reflect different aspects of superhero voyeurism.  Larry’s the backseat driver, full of criticism, while Gina is the bloodhound, in it purely for the violence.  Yet, the genius is that despite this seeming division between DD and these two viewers, in their surreal dialogue, they almost seem to be parts of himself, Gina the off-kilter Id and Larry the curmudgeonly superego.

Aja’s art meanwhile is beautifully realized and thoroughly imaginative.  There are some truly inspiring images here, from DD’s fall through a cloud of balloons, to DD preparing to leave Larry’s bar, pausing at the doorway before breaking out into a run.  It’s very dark, yet oddly beautiful, poetic even, and that’s how DD should be.

What’s Not So Good: For the main feature, with so many fight scenes, some of them were just too quick and as a result, too easy.  Essentially, one side just totally steamrolls the other in a thoroughly non-competitive two page brawl.  Lady Bullseye in particular is far too much of a pushover.

Also, though I loved it for its mood, I at times found Aja’s stylized work to be a little too barren detail-wise.

My only real complaint about Daredevil #500 however is the package itself, which is absolutely brimming with filler.  Along with these two stories, you also get a preview of Diggle’s Dark Reign: the List entry, a pin-up gallery, a reprint of Frank Miller’s Daredevil #191, and a cover gallery.  The galleries offer some cool pictures, but  I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t prefer another story instead.

The Dark Reign: the List preview is even more offensive.  It’s pure advertisement, but it dwells right smack in the middle of the book, not at the end.  What’s worse, Dark Reign and Norman Osborn feel completely out of place in this book, as does Billy Tan’s slick, bright artwork.

Miller’s reprint is, well, a reprint.  A fantastic issue, yes, but also one that I’ve read before and have in a trade.

Conclusion: A very good main feature and an absolutely fantastic back-up in a book that would reach an A, were it not for all the damn filler.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans