by Randy Lander

DAREDEVIL #28 Recommended (8/10) Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Alex Maleev Colors: Matt Hollingsworth Letters: Comicraft Editor: Stuart Moore Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN Quite honestly, this felt like an interruption in the story that Bendis and Maleev have been telling, and given that Bendis's greatest strength is probably his dialogue, doing a silent issue seems ill-advised. However, while Bendis and Maleev are forced to drop the ramifications of the Kingpin's death for this issue, the story does take on another aspect of the ongoing tale, that of why someone was trying to kill Matt Murdock. It's a weaker tale than the stories that this creative team have given us before, but it's certainly not a weak tale. Silent stories are great for action, and that's the direction that Bendis and Maleev take this book in. Daredevil battles a succession of assassins after his alter ego, and they are all very well-choreographed. Though the flow is sometimes a little off, feeling more like stop motion than movement, I was especially impressed with Daredevil's fight sequence with an assailant on the roof. It's clear that Bendis, an artist himself, can express his stories visually, and that Maleev in in synch with the story Bendis wants to tell. Though I'm unsurprised at Maleev's ability to maintain atmosphere or handle action, I'm surprised at how well his somewhat gritty style conveys softer emotions like vulnerability and love. The emotional intensity to this book is very strong. In particular, I love how a few gestures and words on paper conveys so much about the tragic relationship between Daredevil and Elektra. Though the two of them are in different books and their stories don't really intersect, the "non-crossover" between this book and Elektra #6 promises to deliver an interesting look at their relationship. Throughout this series and in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Bendis has given us a convincing look at how Daredevil's senses work. With the help of Maleev, he does an equally job here without any captions to help. The sea of faces and Daredevil's attempts to find enemies using his various senses come through quite well without any words at all. While I missed Bendis's dialogue quite a bit, and I'm disappointed to see such a clear interruption in the death of Kingpin story, this was a solid read, based largely on Maleev's fantastic show in the artwork department. And for those seeking out the usual Bendis wit, all is not lost; the script that fills the last few pages both gives more insight into the story and provides readers with a few chuckles and examples of Bendis's funny writing style, usually reserved for his own letter columns. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.