Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brubaker's Daredevil returns to form., April 7, 2009
Ed Brubaker, arguably the most talented writer currently working at Marvel Comics (Fred Van Lente being the most prominent competition), started his run on Daredevil with a bang: "The Devil in Cell-Block D" (collected in "Daredevil: The Devil, Inside and Out v.1"), which saw the title character deal with imprisonment and exposure. Following that, Brubaker's run tapered off a bit. Daredevil's European tour and his return to a New York status quo lacked the snap of the first arc, and the following "Without Fear" mega-arc lasted a year, and, while it reads better collected, in the single-issue format it dragged (Brubaker is normally the most practiced craftsman in the slow-burn writing school). Then, Brubaker's old "Gotham Central" co-writer, Greg Rucka, arrived on the book for an arc focussing on Daredevil and Dakota North, his private eye ally, which recharged the series. "Lady Bullseye continues that upward trend.
This five-issue arc (#111-115) follows two major plot threads. The first of these is the introduction of the title character, Lady Bullseye. Now, the revelation of the name set numerous people a-groaning at what sounded like a very lame concept. The distaff counterpart to a more established male character has a lengthy history in comics, beginning with Captain Marvel's sister Mary Marvel. The idea has become something of a cliche, so anyone looking to use it has to bring something new or really sell the core concept. Brubaker is a master at both innovation and reviving the best parts of the superhero formula, and he succeeds once again here. Lady Bullseye, an assassin for Daredevil's ninja enemies the Hand, is my favourite new villain of 2008. Brubaker constructs her as a black inversion of the traditional concept of heroic inspiration: after being 'rescued' by Bullseye, she sees his sadistic brutality as admirable.
Continuing the theme of Daredevil's troubles with women, Brubaker delivers fascinating developments in Daredevil's personal life. At the end of "Without Fear", Daredevil's wife Milla was driven insane by the villainous Mister Fear. In the following arc, Milla's parents intervened, suing to obtain custody of their daughter from him, and cutting off his access to see her. Driven into a state of despair, Matt finds himself drawn towards Dakota. There are only a few characters with which this sort of thing would work, and Daredevil is one of them. One can understand and sympathize with Matt's situation.
Brubaker introduces a cliffhanger final plot point that sets the stage for his next arc (and apparently also his final one) on the series, which so far has been excellent. Add in some strong new characters like Lady Bullseye and Master Izo, skillful use of guest heroes like Iron Fist (it's nice to see Brubake writing him again), Black Tarantula, and White Tiger, and excellent art from both series regular Michael Lark and guest Clay Man. Brubaker's run looks to be headed for a strong finale.
Highly recommended.
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gaining back the head of steam, April 14, 2009
This arc shows the Hands plans coming to fruition. All the characters involved with Murdock are affected in the book. We see him have an affair that he immediately regrets, and in true DD fashion, it blows up in his face not long after. It seems Bru is moving away from Milla as a character. Which is good, because there's no real direction to go with her. We've seen DD's loved ones die before...a lot, so that's not really an option. And it's not like DD can actually have a real marriage, so having her go insane and leave is a logical move in order to keep the overall story making any sense.
As always, great artwork and compelling storytelling. This arc sets up what looks to be a dynamite arc next. Im really glad to see DD back to what it should be. Chaotic and fast paced.
|
|
|
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely worth a look, May 29, 2009
Having read some of the more significant/hyped exploits of Daredevil (Daredevil: Born Again TPB, Daredevil: Guardian Devil 10th Anniversary Edition Premiere HC) I can can recommend this with little hesitation.
This doesn't really compare well with the greatest adventures of Matt Murdock, but it's still pretty compelling. You've got a great new villainess in Lady Bullseye, the art is pretty outstanding, as well as a suspenseful story.
The only real negatives here are that the motivation behind Lady Bullseye and the Hand don't really make a whole lot of sense. Also, this is missing issue #116 (this volume collects issues 111-115) where Lady Bullseye attacks the Kingpin.
Having said this, I enjoyed the book and give it an enthusiastic thumbs up.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
