When I saw the two page splash of Daredevil leading an army of supervillains into battle with Frank Castle, riding a fire breathing dragon I thought to myself, “Yeah, this issue is going to rule.” And I was not disappointed. Chip Zdarksy has been writing “Daredevil” for over 46 issues, published since February 2019. (Wow, that’s right before the COVID lockdown.) In that time he’s had multiple crescendos and grand finales, and this battle felt as big as any moment in the series. “Daredevil” #8 is a serious, unsmiling story that embraces every last drop of silliness in the Marvel universe. It’s a miracle that it hangs together as well as it does.
Written by Chip ZdarskyCover by Marco Checchetto
Illustrated by Marco Checchetto
Colored by Matthew Wilson w/ Erick Arciniega
Lettered by VC’s Clayton CowlesAt last…WAR!
The truly baffling thing about Zdarsky’s “Daredevil” is how derivative it is. Every big storyline is a rehash of something that came before. Daredevil has struggled with the violence of his vigilante pursuits. He was also put on trial and served jail time (again). Now he’s renounced all mortal ties to devote himself to the shadow war against ninja-clan The Hand. He’s done that before too. Oh and he’s married. That’s happened before too! His ex-wife Milla is still confined to a mental institution in upstate New York, but now he’s married to long-time love Elektra.
None of that stops this run from being a blast. “Daredevil” comics need to adapt to Matt’s gothic style of drama. There are few runs that verge away from letter Matt narrate, and Zdarksy’s voice for the Man Without Fear is of a kind with writers who came before. “There are evil actions but no evil men,” Matt thinks to himself in square narrative captions. “Just people who have lost their way. That’s evil’s infection. That’s the heart of what I am trying to do here.” Aside from a couple of details, this could have been a line form any “Daredevil” comic published since 1985. I mean that as a compliment.
Adherence to house style can sometimes be a virtue in itself, but that brings us to the dinosaur in the room. Daredevil is no stranger from battling the sillier villains in the Marvel universe. Who can forget his epic showdown with (the also sight-impaired) Mole Man back in 2012? Still, there is something alchemical happening in these issues. In #8, Stegron the Dinosaur Man charges into battle against zombie ninjas. He does this alongside a maniac cop with nothing to lose, a cyborg ninja, and the irreplaceable Stilt-Man. A good comic would have a witty observation about this motley team-up. Zdarksy’s narration is instead purple and profound.
Marco Checchetto has been artist throughout this run, and his work has been extraordinary. Regretfully, there’s something off in this issue. There were panels when I thought I was looking at lesser latter-day work from John Romita Jr. Some of his cartoonish faces feel stretched and distorted, bending into uncomfortable proportions. Other panels were breathtaking, especially anything selling the scale of the aforementioned giant dragon. Checchetto has no problem with kinetic bombast, but the face and figure work in this issue look scratchier than usual. Everything is literally and metaphorically a bit too broad.
But there’s no denying that this issue hits hard. It brings the long-running conflict to a head, and it even finds a bunch of parallels from the earlier volume of this same series. Daredevil had a very memorable showdown with Punisher in 2019’s issue #4 which is reflected in this issue’s god-powered brawl. The more things change the more they stay the same. This issue ends with a set-up that looks to be a new spin on the Spider-Man confrontation from that same prior story. Matt is still fighting the same fights, only blown up to titanic scale.
I am unsurprising to report that Zdarsky’s “Daredevil” is still spectacular; an all-time great run for the character. Even while battling monsters and ninjas, it manages a conversation with the long-running comic series, finding subtle shades of nuance from what came before. Even if the artwork isn’t up to the series usual benchmark, it effectively tells a story of faith and justice, punishment and dinosaurs.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Some questionable art decisions can’t hold back this irrepressible series.
