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DAREDEVIL #32
(Best of the Week!)
"Out"
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Stuart Moore
Price: $2.99 US/$4.75 CAN |
I am continually flabbergasted by how much I am enjoying Daredevil these days. This issue is a fascinating look at the story so far, from the point-of-view of FBI agents trying to put together the picture on limited information. This is both a riveting read for regular readers, who know what has been going on, and a great entry point for new readers, who can get a very solid primer on Bendis and Maleev's Daredevil up to this point. And the finale of the issue
is a great kick in the gut that will leave the reader anxious for the next
issue.
Bendis has long been famed
for his dialogue, and this issue brings that skill front and center. The give
and take between the FBI boss and the agents under his command shows a
familiarity and a camaraderie that makes for some often funny and honest
interchanges. In addition, the somewhat jaded views that these FBI agents have
towards organized crime and vigilantes makes for an unusual look into
Daredevil's world. The analysis of Daredevil's origin from a more jaded and
realistic eye is particularly fun, and shows off why his secret identity has
remained a secret for so long, despite how careless he's been about sharing it.
This arc, though it does
involve a threat on Daredevil's life, has largely been about the Kingpin and his
organization. This issue keeps up that trend, as the FBI agents spend a great
deal of time laying out the shape of the Kingpin organization and the upheaval
that's been going in within it. Despite the Kingpin's survival of the attack on
his life, it's pretty clear that Bendis intended to shake up the status quo, and
he has succeeded.
Maleev continues to provide
the book with a look that is as realistic and distinctive as Bendis's story.
Attention to background detail, whether it's an agent on the phone, a street
sign or a stocked newsstand, gives the world of New York a texture and a
believability that it needs to support the story. And Maleev does a great job of
conveying the facial expressions in a realistic and subtle manner, hinting at
story developments with the nervousness of an agent or delivering on the
incredulous reactions of an FBI agent without going over-the-top. This serves
him well when he needs to go over the top with Foggy's reaction shot, so that we
get a sense of how big the story is.
If you haven't been reading Daredevil, this is another chance to get onboard and see some of the finest Daredevil since Frank Miller was on the book. If you have been reading Daredevil,
you'll enjoy seeing the story through some new eyes, as well as getting a
cliffhanger ending that promises some big shake-ups for the character in the
future.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
