I'm actually kind of surprised to see this on time, given that Smith's other mini-series for Marvel is running so late. At any rate, this comic is timely not just in arrival but in all sorts of other ways, including tying in to September 11th and of course tying in to the upcoming Daredevil movie. Honestly, Smith's style plays more to the hardcore comics fan than the casual Daredevil enthusiast, and those coming off the movie and looking for a good comic will be better off seeking out Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra. That isn't to say Daredevil: The Target isn't good, though. While I found the September 11th tie-in a little weird given Daredevil's usual villains, Smith does an almost too-good job of establishing the evil of his bad guys in this issue, and I'm itching for the promised confrontation between Daredevil and Bullseye as a result.
Kevin Smith is a New Jersey native, so I can't fault him having a few things to say about the events of September 11th, but I do wonder if a year later in a Daredevil comic was the ideal place to do it. Daredevil has always been more about Hell's Kitchen than New York as a whole, and while it's certainly not out of character for him to mourn the events, building that aspect into the story sort of trivializes his personal loss, which is really what should drive his conflict with Bullseye.
Of course, even though I felt the use of 9-11 imagery was a misstep, Smith does convincingly portray Matt's personal grief as well. It's a little overwrought and melodramatic, but it will serve as a perfect reminder for those who read Smith's original Daredevil story and a good story cue for those who didn't, but who need to know the Daredevil/Karen Page/Bullseye history to get the most out of this issue.
When the book really shines, though, is when Daredevil is out of the picture and the bad guys enter. Roger, the mysterious financier/fixer who sets up Bullseye with his jobs, is a believable villain, one who puts money above his personal views and considers it to be a benefit of being professional rather than a failing as a human being. The terrorists are, as Bullseye himself notes, cartoons, and it's a shame that Smith couldn't make them a little more threatening and a little less goofy, but he gets by because terrorists have a bit of real world scary that carries over into their fictional appearances now. The real star of the bad guy show is Bullseye, though. He comes across as not just cold-blooded, but sadistic, and his "demonstration" for the new clients is chilling. In addition, though I still don't like the new non-costume (oh, let's be honest, I think it looks frikkin' stupid, even compared to the spandex), I can't deny that Smith provides a believable rationale for the change.
The last time Smith worked on Daredevil, he was working with Joe Quesada, whose art was fantastic and well worth the price of admission even when Smith's story didn't necessarily work for me. This time out, the work is by Glenn Fabry, who is considerably more uneven. Most of his work, especially the closing sequence with Bullseye and the terrorists, is fantastic, with very expressive characters and subtle, effective action. However, there's also the occasional page like the one that sees Daredevil fighting the ugliest-looking Owl I've ever seen, which is garish and ineffective.
