Artist(s): Jorge Fornes
Colorist(s): Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel
Genre: Action, Drama, Superhero, Thriller
Published Date: 08/21/2019
Chip Zdarsky is one of the most welcomed surprises in the comic book industry in the last couple of years, and while he had some good stuff written on Spider-Man and Invaders, it’s with Daredevil where he has found his feet and the ideal character to work with. He has done great job in returning Daredevil to the forefront of Marvel’s best running comic books and doing so while maintaining the character’s core values and elements that make Matt Murdock who he is, which is an issue that this company has been struggling with in recent years.
His first arc with the character, Know Fear, would go down as Marvel’s finest story this year and a tremendous exercise analyzing Murdock’s mental state after betraying his biggest moral value, which is something that has been done in a very efficient and loyal manner to the character’s identity and personality. But the first arc ended with Matt quitting his Daredevil mantle, so now Zdarsky had to pick up where he left off and try to build up to a great return.
But enough of talk, let’s get down right to the action!
Plot.
In this particular issue, we continue with policeman Cole who is checking on his partner Higgins and things are not looking very well for him. The character of Cole has been a very interesting subplot in Zdarsky’s run, quickly poising himself as one of the focal points of the story and showing the corruption of New York through his eyes.
Meanwhile, we get to see Matt talking once again with Mindy, discussing about his Catholic upbringing and how he is so attached to guilt, which is something that he is currently learning to get over and to overcome. He also goes to the police station to deal with Joe, who is the brother of the man that Matt killed earlier in this run during the Know Fear storyline. Matt is also struggling with the fact that he may or may not help Mindy with her mafia husband, which is another factor worth taking into consideration as far as plot developments go.
Later on, we get to see Matt visiting the precinct, where he engages in a conversation with Joe Carraro’s legal consultant about the different situations regarding his particular case. Matt then senses that a heartrate is getting higher and wilder, which kick starts a lot of different events that result in Matt putting on his costume once again and a really good cliffhanger involving Elektra.
How good it was?
While Zdarsky’s first Daredevil story arc was fast-paced and with a lot of action, this second one has been slower with a lot of build-up and showing Matt’s internal turmoil ever since he retired his alter-ego, which is fine considering what happened (him killing a man), but this issue finally returns to the action and that is something worth pointing out because, at the end of the day, this is an action-based comic book series and that should be one of the focal points.
One of the biggest criticisms that I give to most modern Marvel comics is the lack of consistency in the way that their characters behave: in one issue they are portrayed in a certain way and by the next one they are the complete opposite. In this run’s case, that is not a problem and it actually works quite well: the characters are consistently well done and they are portrayed as flawed, trying to overcome odds and overall having an interesting drama, which is the basis of a good story.
This issue in particular was very well written, with a slightly faster pace than the recent ones and now jumping to a very interesting development, which Matt reconnecting with Elektra once again and that always has the potential for a very interesting story as a whole.
The art.
Jorge Fornes’ art is a little bit divisive, in my view, because it has a somewhat simple feel to it, but it has been generally praised and maintains a certain quality standard from the previous arc.
On the bright side, I have to say that Fornes’ art has a certain dark feel that really fits with the plot and the events that are evolving, which is something that is often overlooked when it comes to analyzing comic book artists: that the art style has to truly fit with the narrative of the comic book.
In general, despite not being a personal favorite of mine, I think that Fornes’ art does a solid job and doesn’t do the story any kind of disservice.
Overall.
Daredevil issue #10 is a very solid chapter in a very solid run made by a Chip Zdarsky who is constantly improving and staying true to the character’s roots and beliefs, which is something that I value and remark because, in these modern times, many comic book writers believe more in shock value that in writing captivating stories with what they have.
If you haven’t read this run yet, I advise you to read it because it is one of the most solid periods in Daredevil’s long existence for some time now and it’s by far Marvel’s finest book at the moment.
SCORE: 8.0
RECOMMENDED!
NEWLY ADDED PRODUCTS
TOP RATED PRODUCTS
-
GANTZ G TP VOL 02
€12.25
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 22
€10.25
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 18
€12.50
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 25
€14.99
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 21
€13.99
Gallery
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.