I've enjoyed almost everything that Bendis has written during his tenure at Marvel. However, if there's anything that I think I'll revisit time and time again in the future, anything that I think I'll consider a classic, it's his Daredevil work. Starting almost two years ago, Bendis has told a story in a series of arcs that build upon one another. This issue might be my favorite of all the issues he's written, an affirmation of many of the plot elements he's written and a deliberate undercutting of some of them, and while I don't always agree with Bendis's take on superheroes, I have to say that Daredevil may be one of the best analyses of vigilantism and how it relates to being a superhero that we've seen in comics. I also have my issues with Alex Maleev, especially in that he isn't really suited to the costumed action side of storytelling that I feel is important to most superhero books, but his work has a mood and a style to it that is ideally suited to Bendis's work in general.
It's funny, because this issue feels like the kickoff of a new story as much as it does a turning point for the old stories, and it's that sort of strange accessibility that has been a defining element in Bendis's run. Anyone can easily get into this book with any given issue, can enjoy it for what it is, but those who have been reading will get more out of the book by knowing the relationships between Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones or having seen the history of the FBI agent who features prominently in the opening. I really love how some of the elements of this issue undercut assumptions from early on in Bendis's run, showing us that for all of Daredevil's well-reasoned arguments about being a proactive superhero, he was still doing it for the wrong reasons and in the wrong way. Or the funny acknowledgement of common fan complaint that Daredevil hasn't been seen in costume in this book very much. Again, this is the sort of thing that reads well on its own, but is even better as the payoff for long-running story elements.
There are some terrific turning points to be found in this issue. I'm always glad to see Ben Urich shown to be the smart, strong-willed reporter character that he is, and his role as Matt's reality check in this issue was a perfect role for him. Probably my favorite moment, though, was when Daredevil went to Luke Cage for help. Not just because it was a nice payoff for the failed intervention that Daredevil underwent a couple issues back, but because it meant we got to see Luke and Jessica together again. The way these characters interact with Matt makes me feel the history and the friendship that they have, even when they're annoyed with him, and the dialogue also happens to be some of the funniest in the book.
If they were ever to do a movie adaptation of the Bendis/Maleev Daredevil (and let's all hope they don't, because we saw how the last Daredevil movie turned out), they'll be able to save a bundle on lighting. The majority of the characters in this issue, from Milla to our FBI agents to Luke and Jessica, are shrouded in shadow. Really, half of the panel is given over to pure black, and more is suggested than actually shown by Maleev's artwork. However, for the most part, this look really works. It gives the whole thing a moody, noir feel that turns this into more than a superhero comic. Daredevil has long read like superheroes by way of crime noir, like superheroes as HBO original series, even moreso than Bendis's mature readers Alias or Powers, and Maleev's art style is a big part of that. The heavily-photoreferenced look results in some stiff-looking characters, but most of the emotion is carried in Bendis's dialogue, and it also gives way to a weakness in terms of action sequences, but on the other hand, the opening shooutout and pyrotechnic explosion is pretty impressive. I'm not terribly convinced that Maleev will be able to deliver on the potential of the superhero team up promised at the end of this issue, but I'm willing to have faith, because he really is the perfect artist for this book.
Daredevil is very much not your average superhero comic right now. Indeed, it reads more like Marvel's take on The Sopranos or The Shield than it does a superhero comic. However, while maintaining an intelligent, dialogue and character-based style, Bendis has also used Daredevil to explore the nature of the superhero, from secret identity to methodology to psychology, while staying true to the source material and providing a solid, intriguing plot with surprises a-plenty.
