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.

Shadowland #4 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Billy Tan (pencils & inks), Victor Olazaba (inks), Guru eFx (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Izo’s band of heroes race to stop Daredevil as Elektra makes her move.

What’s Good: One of the big problems that the main Shadowland series has had has been finding its identity.  It seems divided on whether to approach this as a standard Marvel event or as a Daredevil comic.   The result has been that as an event, it feels strange and off-kilter while, as a Daredevil comic, it’s a failure.

The good news is that with this issue, I feel like I finally have a clear picture of what Shadowland wants to be, as the book finally settles into being just another Marvel event.  It seems the comic has given up on any loftier aspirations and has more or less given up pretending to be a Daredevil comic.  While this does make for a mediocre comic, at least it means that the book is far less confused and messy than it has been, even if it is a little straightforward.  Certainly, I feel that reader expectations can properly adjust as well.  Shadowland, with this issue, gives up on even attempting to be like the Daredevil comics of old; it’s a Marvel event comic that’s dedicated to getting the character, and the universe, to a particular point.  At least, now, we can know what we’re getting.

If you like action, there’s a lot of action this month and all of it is done fairly well.  Action scenes are fluid, dynamic, and exciting.  A lot of this is due to Billy Tan, who continues to do surprisingly solid work on this comic.

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.

Daredevil #509 – Review

by Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston (writers), Roberto De La Torre (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Dakota and Foggy come under attack and Matt Murdock finds an unlikely ally.

What’s Good: Much like last month, Daredevil spends time with Dakota and Foggy, which does a fine job of distinguishing it from Shadowland while also dodging some of the major problems that miniseries has had thus far in diffusing its attention among an overly varied cast.  I’m always happy to spend time with Dakota and Foggy and they definitely have a grounding effect on the book that is much appreciated.  Even when the “tight-pants brigade,” as Dakota calls them, shows up for the inevitable assist, it’s only the Luke Cage/Iron Fist duo.  Things feel much more contained, controlled, and a bit less impersonal as a result.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the sudden appearance of Daredevil’s new volunteer.  It’s another marker of the dire straights that Matt’s fallen into and I can’t wait to see the dynamic that the character creates in Shadowland, and how she’ll end up operating alongside the other personalities present there; if Diggle plays his cards right, I can see her really complicating things for everyone.  Either way, the character is a welcome presence and this was easily the highlight of the month.

Daredevil #503 – Review

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.

Daredevil #114 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Michael Lark and Stefanao Guadiano (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors)

The Story: In this penultimate installment of the “Lady Bullseye” arc, Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, faces the reality that custody of his ailing wife has been legally black-mailed away from him by her parents. Meanwhile, Master Izo, the near-immortal, drunken kung-fu master, plots counter measures against the Hand by leveraging the Immortal Iron Fist and the Black Tarantula on separate missions. Unfortunately, Lady Bullseye and the Hand are one step ahead of the ancient master and are coming for Daredevil with a couple surprise fighters that he may be unable to battle, let alone defeat.

What’s Good: The opening scene is exceptional with perfect symmetrical beats between Matt’s dialogue with Foggy and Matt’s inner monologue. I enjoy how Brubaker, like Bendis, puts Matt’s self-righteousness and border-line insane sense of self-entitlement (even when he totally in the wrong)  out-there for the reader to see. It shows that Daredevil is a flawed hero; a characterization that obviously  fuels  the”real” feel of this series. Additionally, the supporting cast in this arc is great. Everybody plays a role rather than just taking up space as throw-ins.

Lark’s art is solid. The violence is presented accurately and devastatingly. He also seems to excel at positioning characters in just the right pose to reflect Brubaker’s script.

What’s Not So Good: Not too much. It should be noted that this is one of those issues when Matt never dons the costume. Also, there is way to much legal drama in Daredevil as of late. Yes, yes, the whole “justice is blind” as the underlying metaphor for Daredevil has to be there for the character to work, but I really think this volume of Daredevil has had more than enough explicit legal drama.

Conclusion: I find Brubaker and crew to be at the top of their  game on this current arc and this issue holds true to that. Perhaps there is justified frustration in the slow build of this issue that detours into heavy back story (Milla and Matt never signing marriage papers, etc) that seems irrelevant to this arc. But then again, long time fans will be very fulfilled with this approach.

Grade: B+

-Rob G.