Written by Andy Diggle
Illustrated by Davide GianfeliceThe apocalyptic events of Shadowland have left the once-proud legacy of Daredevil in tatters. Now, far from the mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen, a new evil is rising, and the only man crazy enough to face it is a man with nothing left to lose. The road to Hell was paved with good intentions, but the long road to redemption is the far harder path.
Shadowland may have been “apocalyptic”, but it’s fair to say that we at Multiversity were disappointed. However, we’re also huge Daredevil fans. So as Andy Diggle wraps up his Daredevil story, what are the thoughts produced by the first issue?
Find out after the cut.
Daredevil has had some of the most interesting runs in all of comics. The care that writers put into their stories is usually phenomenal to watch unfold, and with amazing stories by top name writers like Miller, Bendis, and Brubaker, by all rights Diggle was handed a heavy mantle. It’s understandable – the rumor of Daredevil is that every outgoing writer leaves the incoming writer in as difficult a position as possible to reconcile. So began the saga to Shadowland, in which Diggle wrote some absolutely fantastic stories of Daredevil falling into madness – but when Shadowland began, it all fell downhill rather quickly in a story that just didn’t hold up, either to previous runs or Diggle’s own run. With Daredevil’s fall, it’s time for Matt Murdock to be reborn, and for Diggle to show us exactly what he was trying to do in the first place.
The only problem is that, with one issue into Reborn, this doesn’t feel like a Daredevil comic at all. We’ve had several stories now of Matt, the fallen Christian seeking forms of redemption and clarity in a world gone mad as he tries to reconcile his own faults (see: the fantastic Born Again and even different elements of Bendis’ run), but at this current time it seems Murdock has resolved to simply become Kwai Chang Caine and wander until the world makes more sense to him. It’s not a bad idea, but one has to sort of wonder how a blind man – even with all his abilities – can have such luck wandering outside of his element in a place that doesn’t have a lot of sound (as Murdock admits). While a certain sense of disbelief goes into every comic, it just seems incredibly out of character for Matt to be wandering out in the world without even a walking stick. It also seems odd that it appears his religion has no part in this, as Shadowland did initially end with him collapsing in a church. There are certain things that are Matt Murdock staples, that no writer can get around, and Diggle appears to be doing too much of his own thing here to make this really seem like it fits into the larger Daredevil world.
Diggle is an incredibly strong writer, and he has certainly proven that time and time again. His most recent run on Thunderbolts before Jeff Parker was absolutely great and a wonderful followup to Ellis’ all-too-short run on the title. Diggle’s creator owned work such as the Losers also deserves to be a staple in every comic lover’s collection, and his initial run on Daredevil was just amazing. But with Shadowland, there appears to be a bit of a fall from grace both for the character and the writer. What started as an odd but seemingly natural shift with Daredevil as his stability disappeared has turned into a rather uneven story, which seems wildly out of place for a talented writer like Diggle. Diggle has claimed in interviews that the road to Shadowland as well as Reborn has always been his plan for the Daredevil character, and I’m fully willing to believe this – but the execution of the story, which now finds Matt in a town in the middle of nowhere being bullied by the locals and some cops, just doesn’t play out well.
Continued belowThe other admittedly unfortunate factor about Reborn is the art. This is not to talk down to Davide Gianfelice’s talents, but we’re talking about a book that has featured wonderful dark and gritty art by talents like Alex Maleev, David Aja, and Roberto De La Torre (whose praises I can’t sing enough ever). Gianfelice’s art style just doesn’t fit with theirs. While there have certainly been “non-gritty” takes in the art department on Daredevil before (such as Terry Dodson during Bendis’ run), but again – Daredevil has had a definitive feel to it for quite some time. We’re in a brand new chapter in Daredevil’s life, which includes a new attitude and location, and as I mentioned earlier Matt Murdock is basically taking the Kung Fu route at the moment, albeit a little less helpful. A new art style does seem appropriate in the grand scheme of things, but unfortunately holding this book up to previous Daredevil stories just doesn’t make the cut for expectations. While I’d enjoy Gianfelice’s art anywhere else (Northlanders, anyone?), expectations and a beyond great cover by Jock do weigh down the art.
I suppose one of the ultimate things that hurts the title here is, for me personally, expectations and hype. As I said earlier, Daredevil is an amazing character who has seen career defining run after career defining run. While Diggle’s initial run on Daredevil seemed to be on par with the highs of previous runs, the rebirth of Matt Murdock here doesn’t seem like it will match up to the incredible heights the character has seen before in stories of his own redemption. The first issue sets the pace for the rest of the story, and on an initial reading of the book the expectations are no longer high. I put trust into Diggle to see the story through and come up with somewhat of a satisfactory pay-off, but it’s unfortunately a weak start.
Final Verdict: 6.1 – Browse
