Customer Reviews

Daredevil Vol. 13: The Murdock Papers (v. 13)

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During the long, celebrated run of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev on Daredevil, Bendis has single handedly become Marvel's top writer on a number of various series'. Hence the Murdock Papers being his and Maleev's swan song, as everything that Bendis has set up over the past few years comes to a tragic close. Wilson Fisk, the ex-Kingpin of Crime, has made a deal that will make him a free man, and make Matt "Daredevil" Murdock an incarcerated one. As the hunt for Daredevil is on, many of his friends and enemies come out of the woodwork, each with their own agenda. The climax and conclusion finds Bendis leaving on a down note, but leaves the door open for new writer Ed Brubaker (Sleeper, Captain America) to create something really good. Longtime Daredevil fans will love the guest appearances from Elektra, Black Widow, and Bullseye (particularly the dream sequence), and Maleev's art still impresses. All in all, though it's sad to see the best Daredevil writer since Frank Miller leave the book, Bendis does so in a fitting way that suits everything he's set up over the past few years.

As a Daredevil fan who liked Bendis, but loves what Brubaker is currently doing with the book, my feelings with regard to this particular story arc are mixed. To start on a positive note, I'd say that this is a fun and relatively fast-paced story that ends on a high note, with the last issue of the arc being the absolute best part of the story. On the other hand, this arc is full of questionable logic and there is not as much respect for continuity as one would have liked. To an extent, these are things the seasoned fan has to learn to live with, and the new fan most likely won't even notice, but Bendis was often a little too careless in this regard in ways that are particularly evident in this arc. Still, it is a fun ride with a sensational ending, and a must-read for fans. Enjoyable, despite some not-so-minor plot holes.

For years, many comics fans declared the Frank Miller run on Daredevil to be the best the series had ever been. Miller's reign on the Man Without Fear went unchallenged for many years. And then Brian Michael Bendis came along. He managed to take the character down new and exciting roads (for us), without losing any of the grittiness that the character had become known for. First of all, he outed him to the press. He then married him. Then, he made him suffer a nervous breakdown and become the new Kingpin. So, after all of that, you would think there was nowhere else Bendis could go. You would be wrong. It turns out, he was holding one more trump card. That card is volume 13: The Murdock Papers. So, here's the basic story. Wilson Fisk is in jail. Daredevil is still the Kingpin. And the FBI want nothing more than to put Matt Murdock behind bars. They get their chance. Fisk makes a plea deal with the Feds, claiming he has irrefutable proof that Matt Murdock is indeed Daredevil. That evidence is locked in a safe, in the office of Fisk's lawyer. It doesn't take long for the Black Widow to find out about this and tell Matt. Aided by the Widow and Elektra, Daredevil must race across town to get to the info before the Feds do. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong! Standing in his way is Bullseye! Yeah, Bendis saved the best for last on this one. If you think this story has a happy ending, you obviously haven't been reading Daredevil for long! 5 out of 5 stars!

A perfect icing to the cake. Bendis/Maleev's swansong sub-series to their entire DD run.

Wilson Fisk is negotiating for prison release by trading proof (The Murdock Papers) that Matt Murdock is DD. The FBI Director has to decide whether to take the deal or not. The excellent double-dealing Wilson Fisk gets the reluctant Ben Urich involved by first luring him with a headline story, and then when all the chips are down, reveals to all that he (Wilson Fisk) never had the proof in the first place but that Ben Urich would be able to supply the info on where to locate DD now that he was mortally wounded and would have to seek help from the Night Nurse. The change in Ben's expression from shock to disgust is excellent.

The Night Nurse is drawn as some kind of Doctor/Nurse male fantasy. A pity then that Bendis decides to change tack and instead have ninja mojos try to heal DD. Anyway, great story-telling and a perfect ending to this series.

Bendis and Maleev is a duo that have written and illustrated my favorite of superheroes so I am a little biased on my point if view. This TPB is the best way to complete the series. With DD favorite ladies coming out of the wodwork to the return of one of my favorite villains. It is a must read. Fighting in the streets and saving the day to the realization of a pitfall that one just has to step in to save others. I love this book and the writerss it is truly te end of an era and it is a hard act to follow. Well until Lady Bullseye comes along that is.