In a move that is perhaps a little confusing (at least to me), it looks like despite the fact that Mark Waid’s run on “Daredevil” with Chris Samnee is ending in print with #36 in February, his actual final Daredevil story will be found as a digital Infinite Comic with “Daredevil: Road Warrior.” As revealed on Marvel.com, the story puts Matt on a road trip pending whatever happens at the end of #36 (and, I suppose not dissimilar to “Daredevil: Reborn,” the story that acted as Diggle’s finale and a prelude to Waid’s) Waid describes it as a fish out of water story that is “a coast-to-coast adventure/chase with thrills aplenty.”
Joining Waid on this Infinite Comic will be Peter Krause, who illustrates Waid’s “Insufferable” on Thrillbent. Which, if you’ve never read, means that this is a rather perfect pairing for this kind of story.
The only reason this is inherently confusing to me is that, for whatever it is worth, I don’t think we’ve seen any evidence that these Infinite Comics are doing really well as digital sales numbers aren’t something we’ve had access to accurately analyze yet. The past two Marvel Infinite Comics of this style, starring Wolverine and Iron Man respectively, are comics with accomplished creative teams writing those characters currently (Aaron on Wolverine, Gillen on Iron Man — both with co-writers), and yet these books don’t get discussed or any kind of buzz. When they do, it’s not particularly favorable.
While I’m not a print purist and the combination of Waid and Krause on a digital comic makes more than enough sense, it does strike me as strange that Waid’s final story on one of the most critically acclaimed comics Marvel has won’t be a print story. It’s the epitome of a first world problem for readers, but I also question whether it makes too much sense from a business perspective — specifically in that these digital comics are $2.99 weekly and usually get collected without all the digital ricketa-racketa for a more “fair” price (however we want to define that). “Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted” would’ve cost you nearly $40 to buy digitally (plus tax), but the collected hardcover retails for $34.99 and you can pre-order it on Amazon for $25.
I think Marvel taking more steps into this digital world and bringing the right creators to do it is smart. But in this instance, when it is tied to a critically acclaimed print run, I find my eyebrow raised and my head slightly cocked.
Either way, “Daredevil: Road Warrior” launches in February after the arrival of “Daredevil” #36. It is unknown at this time what role Lord Humungus will play, or if Daredevil will just walk away. (And to those of you who get that joke without going to Google or YouTube, you get a no prize.)
