Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Paolo RiveraDAREDEVIL’S BACK…BUT NOT EVERYONE’S HAPPY! Given his recent past, Matt Murdock has a lot to answer for and Captain America is doing the cross-examining. Daredevil’s quickly learning that burned bridges with his friends and former allies aren’t easy to repair particularly when Klaw, the Master of Sound, is on his tail!
Mark Waid returns for a second issue of Daredevil-Go-Lucky. I was sour on the issue, but came back for Round Two anyway. Did this issue improve on what I didn’t like previously, or am I still being a grump?
The answer to those questions after the jump!
I suppose, before I even begin my review, I should note that I am very much of the belief that Daredevil is best when he’s full of grit and grime. I’m not opposed to new ideas, but every Daredevil I love is dark, both in terms of story and visuals.
Now we have Daredevil in a much brighter and optimistic tone. After the fallout of Shadowland and Reborn, Daredevil has decided that being down in the dumps and being full of self-loathing, doubt, and existential quandaries are of no use. The darkness led to being infected with a demon (literally), so let’s cheer up and get back to what works: fighting crime and being a lawyer. This is all well and good, but I essentially have one big problem with the entire execution: why is a good portion of the issue Daredevil making lawyer-based jokes?
This is what really gets to me: I don’t think Mark Waid is right for this book at all. At least, not current-Waid. Mark Waid is perfectly able to write dark stories, and particularly ones that are multi-layered and ask interesting questions about the nature of superheroics. He did with Kingdom Come, the first thing I ever read by him, and he does it on Irredeemable quite frequently. It then seems odd to me that this book has to have such an odd tone throughout. The lighter storytelling doesn’t work here; Daredevil sparring with Captain America and treating the entire conversation like a courtroom defense while Cap essentially growls doesn’t make sense for either character. Matt doesn’t have to be brooding the entire time, but this sarcastic character that goads Cap on with what are supposed to be clever remarks are just very ill-fitting for what has made Matt Murdock work for the past couple decades.
My issues with dialogue don’t start there. Just about every character in the book – even the brand new ones – all have dialogue that seems forced. This seems like Waid trying to write as someone else with a snappier Sorkin-esque dialogue, which I suppose makes sense given a) that’s what is “in” right now and b) that’s partially what made Bendis’ run so note-worthy. Yet all of the snappy dialogue Waid tries to do all seem forced, or even tongue in cheek at times. Most of the characters read more like teen girls who tilt their heads and giggle after every silly remark, especially in the scene with Foggy and newcomer to the book, Kirstin the DA. Foggy makes sense as a goofy side-kick role, but it’s a bit early to leave me not taking Kirstin seriously.
I love that Daredevil has an opportunity to grow. Now is the perfect time to reshape the character. But since Shadowland, Matt Murdock hasn’t been Matt Murdock – at least, not the character I had been reading. First he was an out of control villain (which is excusable I guess, what with the whole “it wasn’t really him” bit). Then Reborn came along and missed the opportunity to be the second Born Again. Now that Daredevil is here, it seems like Waid decided to skip a whole bunch of character development that Diggle skipped himself, and now there is a character named Daredevil in a comic called Daredevil. Without it specifically saying Daredevil, I would never have known that was what I was reading (and I don’t mean that in the obvious “books need titles” sense).
Continued belowHowever, I find myself very conflicted when it comes to Paolo Rivera’s art. On my “grump hand”, as it can be known, it is far too poppy. Maybe I’m stuck in the past, but between Miller, Maleev, Aja, and De La Torre, I prefer Hell’s Kitchen, the grit and the grime. I even prefer Francavilla on the Black Panther title to this (but, as a side note, it’s Francavilla – how could I not?). Daredevil might be moving all around New York, and New York will obviously have a different cityscape, but it just plays out with a “fish out of water” scenario, and not the entertaining kind.
On the other hand, Paolo Rivera’s art is so damn good that I almost want to keep reading just to see what he’ll do next. Rivera understands how to attack the page with Daredevil, a character whose world is defined by sound and full of movement. Rivera’s illustration of the “audio” elements of the book is entirely inspired and beautiful to behold, and the way he illustrates Daredevil in motion is astounding, truthfully. Rivera’s artwork keeps your eyes frequently moving around the page, and the Cap battle is so well illustrated that the images look like they’re actually animated. I may not buy into the pop-aspect of the book, but I could never ever say that Rivera doesn’t have a mass amount of talent. It’s just a shame he’s beautifully illustrating a title I have zero interest in reading anymore.
I honestly tried very hard to enjoy the book. I have many problems with it as a Daredevil fanboy, but I did my best to look past my initial complaints and just enjoy the new take on Daredevil that everyone but me seems to enjoy. However, I couldn’t do it; as much as I tried to find things to enjoy, every time I started to get into the story something would throw me out of it again. I’m essentially at the point in my comic reading habits where, with certain characters/titles, I know what I like and I know what I prefer to read (as I have noted with other favorite characters in the past). Waid’s interpretation just doesn’t work for me.
Final Verdict: 4.0 – Behold it for Rivera’s art, but save your money for something else
