A Series Of (Mostly) Meaningless Tangents: Civil War Marvel Universe Underwhelms.

The Good: She-Hulk chapter, Some of the artwork
The Bad: No character development, Only one interesting character in the book, Erratic (and often-poor artwork), No coherent plot or plot threads
The Basics: Picking up some of the stray stories from the Marvel Civil War Saga, Civil War Marvel Universe collects stories about the b and c-rate heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe.


As my She-Hulk Year continues, I have been exposed to quite a bit of new (to me) Marvel Comics. Because Jennifer Walters is part of the Civil War Crossover Event, I have been picking up other books, outside Civil War (reviewed here!), from that event. The first of the “spinoff” books is Civil War Marvel Universe. This book proved to me that Marvel is no better than DC when it comes to crossover events. Just as DC had dubious inclusions in its major events, like Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns (reviewed here!), that included stories of characters who had nothing to do with the event – like Jonah Hex and Starman – Marvel seems to try to make the bucks off the fringes of their events, too. Civil War Marvel Universe is that book for the Civil War Crossover Event.

It is important to note that Civil War Marvel Universe is not a single cohesive story. Instead, it is a collection of short stories – many only a few pages long – anthologized together because they are, essentially, the leftovers of the series. The only one that is truly vital is the She-Hulk story and it is the exact same chapter that is included in She-Hulk: Laws Of Attraction (reviewed here!). That it is available elsewhere in a superior book makes it impossible to recommend bothering with Civil War Marvel Universe.

Civil War Marvel Universe is a bit of fractured storytelling from the disparate parts of the Marvel Universe. It opens with the She-Hulk section, which recaps the time she went on Larry King to advocate in favor of superhero registration (that actual interview is still not included!). Following her appearance on Larry King Live and being cured of the spell that has made Jennifer Walters invisible to those who want to do She-Hulk harm, Jennifer Walters finds herself once more able to exercise her abilities, unregulated, to transform into She-Hulk. Jennifer Walters begins defending the civil liberties of the last two Warriors before being targeted herself. She helps take out the perpetrator before John Jameson proposes to her. The artwork in this chapter is good, but it contains a number of elements that are serialized to the main She-Hulk story, none of which have to do with the Civil War.

After selling his movie rights, Macdonald Gargan kills a S.H.I.E.L.D. team, then turns into Venom to accept the amnesty offer being offered by the government. This chapter has no character development and it makes it entirely baffling why S.H.I.E.L.D. would even work with a guy like Gargan. Moreover, if the government and the superheroes know who he is, it seems like Venom would be one of the villains they would try to take out (one way or another) as opposed to offer amnesty and a position in the Thunderbolts to. This mundane chapter is plagued by sketchy artwork that makes the brief, dark scene seem cheap.

Another pointless story has Ant-Man helping a girl out of the war zone before wandering off to be a peeping tom.

As a fan of Daredevil, I was psyched to see a vignette from his corner of the Marvel Universe included in the book. However, Matt Murdock – having either been undercover with a new alias or captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. at this point in the narrative – is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Danny Rand, The Immortal Iron Fist, takes over for Matt Murdock as Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen and walks into a trap. While the artwork in this story is consistent artwork with Daredevil, the muted colors and shady lines make less sense for his replacement. The artwork in Daredevil is arguably an expression of how Murdock “sees” the world, so it makes no sense for it to be the same in Danny Rand’s story.

U.S. Agent, who seems to be a cheap knock-off of Captain America, is almost killed by the Purple Man before joining Omega Flight in Canada. His story is irksome to read as it has two parallel storylines which are jumbled together . . . for no particular reason. This story has somewhat underdeveloped artwork.

In Cleveland, Howard The Duck tries to register but finds the local government denies his existence. This humorous, but somewhat pointless vignette has comic strip artwork.

“The Return” has Captain Marvel guarding the Negative Zone facility. A good chapter like this ought to get even those of us who do not know the character to invest in him or her. This chapter entirely failed to do that. I didn’t know the character and did not care about him after I was done reading this short story. This chapter does, however, have great artwork!

In another well-drawn, but pointless story, the Sentry decides to register.

“The Initiative” has Michael Pointer, “The Collective” brought in for Omega Flight. Civil War Marvel Universe concludes with stories wherein Hurricane is hunted by the villainous Thunderbolts and brought in and Carol Danvers, Ms. Marvel finds Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman, and tries to talk her into registering. If it seems like I am not evaluating these so much, that it true, but there is not anything of substance to evaluate. Civil War Marvel Universe is not about significant plot or character developments; it’s about making sure every obscure character who can get a page in the narrative gets one. And it didn’t make me care, so I feel like spending no more time upon it!

For other Marvel graphic novels, please visit my reviews of:
The Avengers: The Search For She-Hulk
Deadpool Classic, Volume 1
Daredevil: Return Of The King

3.5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please visit my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Enemy Makes An Awkward Ally In Daredevil: Return Of The King

The Good: Decent story, Interesting character development
The Bad: Mediocre artwork, Plot requires other books to be fully comprehensible/enjoyable.
The Basics: Daredevil: Return Of The King has the Kingpin returning to Hell’s Kitchen, ostensibly to help Daredevil rid Hell’s Kitchen of the Hand, while he works to get revenge on Lady Bullseye.


I like evolving characters, I always have. In the character arc for Daredevil and his many villains, the Kingpin is one of the few characters who actually evolves, even if it takes quite a bit of time. In Daredevil: Return Of The King, it is ironic because Wilson Fisk appears in the book as a man who has made his changes, fighting to retain his new self and on the opposite side there is the Owl, who returns as villainous as ever. Daredevil: Return Of The King has the foils of the changed Fisk and the unchanging, monolithic villain in the continuing dynamic world of Daredevil. Daredevil’s Hell’s Kitchen is moving in a dark direction and Daredevil: Return Of The King is the direct prequel to Shadowland.

Focusing much more on the Kingpin, Daredevil: Return Of The King is an engrossing character study of one of the more compelling villains in the Marvel Universe. At this point in his character arc, Wilson Fisk has been is exile in Spain. He has given up his life of crime and is living quietly out of the thrust of any storylines. Daredevil: Return Of The King, smartly, opens with a retrospective, a full look at how Wilson Fisk has been living since his wife was killed and he fled the country.

After the revelation that Wilson Fisk has tried, again, to go on the straight and narrow and let love redeem him on the Costa Da Morte. Lady Bullseye kills his love and her children and wounds him, luring Wilson Fisk back to Hell’s Kitchen. When Fisk comes back to New York’s underground, Matt Murdock is still desperately fighting his wife’s parent’s lawyers for custody of his mentally-incapacitated wife. Master Izo uses the opportunity to illustrate to Daredevil how he has lost his way.

Wilson Fisk reaches out to Daredevil to make a deal, attempting to destroy the Hand with Daredevil. When the work of killing off the ninja crime gang is going too slowly, Fisk springs the Owl from jail and sets him to attacking the Hand to draw out Lady Bullseye. When Master Izo is able to prove to Daredevil that his attentions are too divided, Matt Murdock steps up and makes a decision that puts him on a collision course with utter disaster.

Daredevil: Return Of The King is wonderful in that the plot intricacies come down to deeper character traits. So, for example, when Wilson Fisk springs the Owl, he knows that he is getting someone who is harder to control and exceptionally liable to betray him. Fisk is, in many ways, like the Lex Luthor of the Marvel Universe and he is consistently characterized as smart and cunning. Daredevil: Return Of The King maintains that characterization. At the same time, Fisk has a sense of humanity to him that was lacking in most of his earliest books.

Fans of Matt Murdock will stretch to find much of Daredevil in Daredevil: Return Of The King. However, facing the loss of everything and everyone he knows and cares about, Matt Murdock finally turns a corner. Daredevil: Return Of The King is an important turning point for Murdock and his willingness to surrender his liabilities is extraordinarily well-executed.

But largely, Daredevil: Return Of The King puts Wilson Fisk in play in order to have a wildcard for the Shadowland Saga. The artwork in this book is consistent with what one expects of Daredevil, with a somewhat under-developed sense of sketches to almost all of the panels and washed out colors. The artwork looks painted, but without the detail of, for example, an Alex Ross book. It is not bad, but it is in no way extraordinary.

That is much like Daredevil: Return Of The King; in order to get the most out of it, it requires other books, but on its own, it is good. As a standalone book, it is not as impressive as those who know how far Wilson Fisk has grown and how much the encounters in the book challenge his resolve, but it is a compelling character study, even if it is only a bridge into Shadowland.

For other Daredevil books, please check out my reviews of:
The Essential Daredevil Volume 1
Daredevil Vs. Bullseye
Daredevil: Visionaries Volume 1 - Frank Miller
Marked For Death
Born Again
Typhoid Mary
Guardian Devil
Parts Of A Hole
Daredevil: Yellow
Batman/Daredevil - King of New York
Daredevil Noir
Daredevil: Golden Age
The Devil: Inside And Out, Volume 1
The Devil: Inside And Out, Volume 2
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 1
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2
Lady Bullseye
Daredevil: Shadowland
Shadowland
Daredevil: The Official Comic Adaptation

7/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Prelude To Shadowland, Daredevil: Lady Bullseye Is Unfortunately Unremarkable On Its Own.

The Good: Moments of plot, character conflict, and foreshadowing
The Bad: No sense of character resolution, Not really a complete story, Most of the artwork.
The Basics: Daredevil: Lady Bullseye is a necessary component in the build-up to Shadowland, but on its own it is an utterly unimpressive trade paperback anthology.


I love long, complicated stories. I honestly do. I am finding, however, that I loathe the business of Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics is an impatient publisher and they (and, I suppose, their fan base) are utterly unwilling to delay gratification (or profit). I write this because they have an annoying tendency to publish trade paperback anthologies of their comic books that are designed for speed, as opposed to completion. In the storyline of Daredevil, this is particularly annoying in the lead-up to Shadowland.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Shadowland Saga was a Daredevil-centered vigilante crossover event that found Daredevil, possessed, retaking the streets of Hell’s Kitchen by using the Hand, the assassin’s guild that he long fought against. As the head of the Hand, Matt Murdock was twisted into a mockery of what he once stood for. It might be an interesting story, but there is no omnibus version that collects the complete story, so readers have to bounce between several anthologies to try to piece the plot together. As it happens, like most truly important events in a comic book hero’s arc, the major event did not come randomly. There was a build-up to the Shadowland Saga and, as I occasionally pick up a Daredevil book these days, I am tracing my way back up to it. One of the earliest volumes to lay the groundwork for the Shadowland Saga is Daredevil: Lady Bullseye/

Lady Bullseye tells a very simple, suspiciously direct Daredevil story. The Hand is in chaos after, apparently, Electra was replaced by a Skrull, exposed and killed. Now, months later, the Hand is operating with at least two major factions vying for dominance. Lord Hirochi uses a young woman, one who was once sold into sexual slavery, but was liberated by Bullseye when the assassin just happened to be passing through killing people. Taking up the mantle of Lady Bullseye, she arrives in New York and begins waging a war of her own and executing the will of Hirochi.

At this time, Matt Murdock, who is still married to Milla (who is upstate in an asylum), has a one-night stand with Dakota North. Lady Bullseye implicates Daredevil in a murder and Dakota provides Murdock with an alibi, complicating his life. But when Lady Bullseye sets operatives of The Hand against the Black Tarantula and the Iron Fist, they go running to the beleaguered Daredevil. Visited by the ancient Master Izo, Daredevil and his friends try to stop the Hand as they repeatedly attack at night, while during the day, Matt Murdock finds himself under assault from Milla’s parents, who want custody of their daughter.

Lady Bullseye is fine . . . in context, which is what makes this slim volume that collects only five comic books, all the more annoying. On its own, it is very much an incomplete book, the first (or second) chapter in a much, much larger Saga. And Marvel could have easily held off and made a large “Prelude To Shadowland” book that gave readers a single, linear narrative to follow that took readers from whatever the Skrull event was through to the official Shadowland books. But, alas, that is not to be (at least not here).

As a result, Ed Brubaker’s Lady Bullsye is a thoroughly underwhelming book that slowly builds a conspiracy and sets up an inkling of a character conflict without either exploring or resolving the conflict. Instead, this is like the “Phantom Menace” Effect; something is going on, but readers will have no idea (unless they already know what is coming . . . four books from now!). The fundamental problem here is that, despite Matt Murdock’s moralizing about how he is a married man and he is appalled with himself for having had an affair, there is not a compelling conflict within the book for the readers. The book opens with him hanging out with Dakota and until the affair is done, there is no mention of him actually being married (Marvel, rather stupidly, provides no “previously in Daredevil” notes at the beginning of Lady Bullseye). And while he asks the question – “Why am I clinging to this dead relationship with Milla?” – the book ends before that question can be truthfully explored or resolved.

On the plus side, the title character is not simply a female retread of Bullseye, so there is something potentially compelling going on that makes Lady Bullseye worth reading. Like so many decent villains, Lady Bullseye’s backstory is steeped in personal tragedy and has the potential to be something intriguing for most readers. Unfortunately, Lady Bullesye never quite gets there. She is almost a peripheral character – the instigator of the action in the book, but not genuinely the subject of it – in Lady Bullseye.

The artwork in Lady Bullseye is mediocre. The coloring is vibrant and has good depth, but it is shading in blockish artwork that is less distinctive or compelling.

In the end, Lady Bullseye is a fair start or step along a more complicated storyline that is only hinted to in this volume.

For other Daredevil books, please check out my reviews of:
The Essential Daredevil Volume 1
Daredevil Vs. Bullseye
Daredevil: Visionaries Volume 1 - Frank Miller
Marked For Death
Born Again
Typhoid Mary
Guardian Devil
Parts Of A Hole
Daredevil: Yellow
Batman/Daredevil - King of New York
Daredevil Noir
Daredevil: Golden Age
The Devil: Inside And Out, Volume 1
The Devil: Inside And Out, Volume 2
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 1
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2
Daredevil: Shadowland
Shadowland
Daredevil: The Official Comic Adaptation

5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Daredevil Goes International When Matt Murdock Is On The Run In Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 2!

The Good: Sense of scope, Artwork in the Foggy Nelson story
The Bad: Most of the artwork, Surprisingly light on character.
The Basics: Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 2 puts Daredevil on the run to Paris with the alternate Daredevil fighting to maintain order in Hell's Kitchen.


As my Daredevil Year rushes toward the end, I have actually managed to get in some volumes of Daredevil that I have generally enjoyed. With the newer stories, there has been a far more serialized sense to the book and less of an emphasis on transitional villains. As such, I have been enjoying some of the books written by Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker and Kevin Smith. I generally enjoyed Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 (reviewed here!). So, if anything, I went into Volume 2 biased toward the book.

Sadly, though, Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 2 did not live up to my hopes for it, especially on the art and character fronts. Ed Brubaker does not have the psychological complexity working for his Matt Murdock in this volume the way he did in the first. Instead, this is a split book and part of the problem is the sketchy artwork that lowers the readability of the book. Having read what comes next, Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 2 has almost no relation to what comes next and the reader needs only two essential elements from this book for the story that follows.

"The Secret Life Of Foggy Nelson" finds the recently-killed best friend of Matt Murdock very much alive. In the witness protection program, Foggy's story is explained. Recruited by the government, Nelson sees the opportunity to protect Murdock and get himself out of the impending bloodbath in Hell's Kitchen. With his death faked, he is able to better investigate who is after Matt. This first chapter of the book features amazing artwork. The pages are almost airbrushed and feature excellent shading and subtlety of colors. The characters look good and in this chapter, Foggy Nelson comes alive remarkably well. It is refreshing for the recurring character to get the spotlight and seem much more human and viable.

The rest of the book is "The Devil Takes A Ride" and in that, Daredevil follows clues out of the country to the one who not only framed him to get him arrested, but may have orchestrated the jailbreak that set him free. He journeys to Paris and back in Hell's Kitchen, the alternate Daredevil continues to rule over the streets. What Daredevil discovers overseas sends him careening back to Hell's Kitchen on a collision course with his old nemesis, Wilson Fisk.

On the character front, Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 2 is very light on character, though the plot machinations do make it appear like Murdock's character is taking quite a leap. The book makes a tie between Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock and the brutal turn of the characters is actually more plot based. When Murdock comes face to face with a surprising adversary, he actually finds himself having something in common with his worst enemy. That bond is more flimsy than truly incredible and while the final diatribe by Murdock is interesting, it is not truly incredible.

On the other front, the Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen is a plot thread that is not as engaging as one might suspect. The replacement Daredevil is not given room to develop and who the replacement is is not all that interesting. There is not much of a mystery to it, or at least not one that has much consequence. When the alternate is revealed, the conversation between him and Murdock is nothing deep.

The real problem with Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume Two is in the artwork. "The Devil Takes A Ride" portion of the book is terribly illustrated. The book features lines that are erratic, like sketches and the unrefined quality of the artwork makes the overseas adventure more unsettling. The panels do not feature a strong sense of movement or anything interesting or accurate in the coloring department. Instead, the book is unrefined and the characters are frequently unrecognizable as a result.

Ultimately, Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume Two is a middle act and while it sets up some character elements for what follows, the book is mostly unnecessary and poorly concludes the story that set it up.

For other Volume 2 Daredevil books, please check out my reviews of:
Guardian Devil
Parts Of A Hole
Daredevil: Yellow
Batman/Daredevil - King of New York
Daredevil Noir
Daredevil: Golden Age
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 1
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2
Daredevil: Shadowland
Shadowland

4/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 Puts Matt Murdock In Prison And Foggy Nelson In The Ground!

The Good: Decent story, Good artwork, Most of the character elements
The Bad: Not the whole story, Foggy Nelson subplot is not written convincingly enough.
The Basics: Returning to Daredevil, I discover Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 is an engaging superhero story.


Having had some time today to read new (to me) graphic novels, I had a chance to return to my Daredevil Year in style. I found Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1, which would continue the story from a point my Daredevil Year had, before now, been neglectful of. Curious about the Marvel Civil War arc, Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 fills in Matt Murdock's role in part of that crossover and it stands up remarkably well on its own. Lauded as the start of writer Ed Brubaker's run on Daredevil, Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 is a compilation of comic books that follow half of Matt Murdock's incarceration for the vigilante actions he took as Daredevil.

Remarkably easy to follow, Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 does not require much of a previous knowledge of Daredevil comic books. Brubaker has a decent understanding of Matt Murdock and his role in the Marvel Universe and the only real initial gripe I had with the book is that Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 is not the entire story of Matt Murdock's incarceration. Having found both Volume 1 and Volume 2 today, the story could easily have been told in one larger volume, but Marvel opted for greed as opposed to the full story by making two comparatively more expensive volumes.

Matt Murdock is in prison, awaiting trial for the crimes he might have committed as Daredevil. Even so, the vigilante is holding things together while incarcerated and denying that he was Daredevil. That assertion is made easier by well-publicized articles in the Bugle that have Daredevil on the outside still fighting crime. Kept in solitary confinement for his own protections, inmates like Wilson Fisk and others continue to fight amongst themselves, knowing that Murdock is nearby. But while Foggy Nelson uses his clout to keep Murdock out of the general population, a note makes Murdock believe that Nelson's life is in jeopardy. Helpless to save him, Foggy Nelson is killed while leaving the prison.

With Foggy dead, Murdock is moved into the general population and there he is attacked by the criminal who had been The Owl back in the day. Easily thwarting him, Murdock looks for a way out while on the outside Daredevil tries to keep Hell's Kitchen from falling to organized crime. When an opportunity arises, Murdock is in a place to exploit it and discover who has taken up his mantle while he has been on the inside.

Daredevil: The Devil, Inside And Out - Volume 1 succeeds for the most part because of the interesting characters and the great artwork. More than any full Daredevil volume I have read of late, this book actually has impressive and consistent artwork. Michael Lark has sharp lines and realistic coloring that is dark and faded, creating a dingy look that makes prison seem grim and real. Matt Murdock is now a depressed-looking man in a prison cell who does not have the means to calculate his way out of his predicament and with the loss of Foggy Nelson, he is left without a panel where he smiles. For a character who is blind, Lark is one of the few artists to present Murdock as a visually interesting man without much in the way of an emotive core to his visualization. Murdock looks depressed, but he is still interesting to watch panel to panel in this book. Lark gets a decent depth to the artwork that few other Daredevil artists ever have.

Ed Brubaker has a decent start with Daredevil with this book. The Devil, Inside And Out has Matt Murdock as a fully realized character, attempting to understand the full weight of the consequences of the way he has lived his life up until now. What reads in Brubaker's voice for Murdock as very true is the way Murdock continues to deny his involvement as Daredevil, while still bristling that there is a Daredevil still out on the street.

Where Brubaker falls down is with the death of Foggy Nelson. Foggy Nelson has been around since the very beginning and when Kevin Smith killed off Karen Page, a year of subsequent comics had Murdock dwelling on that murder. Matt Murdock was mired in loss and in The Devil, Inside And Out the death of Foggy Nelson is not treated with a similar weight. That was a glossing over of Matt Murdock's character that does not read as true. Similarly, Murdock shows a decent level of trust in his new lawyer after Foggy's death, which does not seem right for a character who is usually so paranoid.

Even so, Volume 1 is an interesting start to the story and the idea of so many characters converging on Matt Murdock in disbelief of his blindness and his denials of his status as Daredevil makes for a surprisingly strong character study that Brubaker succeeds with. There is certainly enough to make readers want to see what comes next, even if it is not as compelling as this setup.

For other Volume 2 Daredevil books, please check out my reviews of:
Guardian Devil
Parts Of A Hole
Daredevil: Yellow
Batman/Daredevil - King of New York
Daredevil Noir
Daredevil: Golden Age
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 1
Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2
Daredevil: Shadowland
Shadowland

7/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Finishing What They Started, The Villain Is Revealed In Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2!

The Good: Moments of artwork, Moments of character development
The Bad: Plot still feels very familiar, Much of the artwork is pretty bad
The Basics: The resolution of Daredevil: Hell To Pay is a very familiar feeling comic book story.


As my Daredevil Year progresses, I have been increasingly disappointed by the graphic novels that I have found. I have been waiting for them to tell engaging stories that are interesting enough to hold my attention and original enough that I feel like I am not just rereading something I have already read. With Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2, I did not get that feeling of reading something original, though it did hold my attention. Actually, reading the graphic novel, which picks up where Volume 1 (reviewed here!) left off, made me feel more like I was reading a Batman book.

The fundamental problem with Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2 is not that it is bad, it is that the book is erratic. This is especially true with the artwork. So, while Ed Brubaker creates a fairly straightforward superhero story, Michael Lark presents the artwork for it in a remarkably inconsistent or sloppy way that makes the story seem less worthwhile. This is made more problematic by the fact that there is some pretty amazing artwork in this book.

The worthwhile artwork comes when Matt Murdock is having a drug reaction, a hallucination, which causes him to see the world through other styles of animation. This sequence highlights some of the different looks and feels that Daredevil has undergone over the decades and is a visual treat. Unfortunately, it is only a few pages out of the book and as a result leaves much of Daredevil: Hell To Pay - Volume 2 looking sloppy and disorganized.

As Daredevil investigates what happened to make Melvin Potter revert back into The Gladiator, Milla finds herself in shock over apparently pushing a man to his death in front of the subway. As Milla falls apart, Daredevil comes under the influence of Mister Fear, who is using a new drug. That drug is administered in gas form and causes Murdock to hallucinate. It also causes the villainous group of Enforcers to be able to attack Murdock with impunity and force.

As Daredevil fights for the antidote to the toxin, Matt Murdock tries desperately to get Milla the help she needs while avoiding being killed by the Enforcers. With the climactic battle between Daredevil and Mister Fear imminent, Murdock discovers yet another one of his relationships is likely to be a liability instead of an asset.

Unfortunately, there is not much more to the book than that. Yet again, Matt Murdock finds his loved ones in peril because of his superhero activities. The end with the Enforcers is especially unsatisfying and the resolution with Mister Miracle, though entertaining, is fairly predictable.

That said, Ed Brubaker's story is engaging enough to recommend. The fact that Milla is put in shock makes for some interesting ramifications for both the supervillain plot and Matt Murdock's somewhat dulled tone. Part of the problem Murdock was having in Volume 1 was that he was not entirely connecting emotionally with Milla. In Volume 2, he takes up the mantle of protector and partner and there is a depth of emotion whereby one could see how the two might have been married in the past.

In the end, the story is simple, the hunt is direct and the complications come more from the character reacting to another villain who has it out for Hell's Kitchen. It works, even if it is not the most exciting comic book compilation ever.

For other Daredevil books, please check out my reviews of:
The Essential Daredevil Volume 1
Daredevil Vs. Bullseye
Daredevil: Visionaries Volume 1 - Frank Miller
Born Again
Typhoid Mary
Guardian Devil
Parts Of A Hole
Daredevil: Yellow
Batman/Daredevil - King of New York
Daredevil Noir

5.5/10

For other book reviews, please be sure to click here to visit my index page! Thanks!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Missing Something . . . Daredevil: Hell To Pay, Volume 1 Does Not Resonate So Much On Its Own!

The Good: Dark tone, Character moves forward
The Bad: Repetitive feel, Artwork
The Basics: Daredevil: Hell To Pay, Volume 1 is the first half of a very dark story that puts Matt Murdock on the outs with Milla, his ex-wife, and the law.


Every year, the two big comic book companies come up with major crossover events in order to try to sell more books – including the ones few people ever buy. I’ve enjoyed some of the big DC ones, like Blackest Night and Justice League: Generation Lost, but I’ve yet to read any of Marvel’s – though this year’s Fear Itself seemed like it had potential to be better than this summer’s DC outing, Flashpoint. I mention this at the outset of my review of Daredevil: Hell To Pay, Volume 1 because it is the first Daredevil graphic novel I have read that takes place after their Civil War event. Having not read it, all I know about the Marvel Civil War is that the superheroes are supposed to register and many of them, like Matt Murdock apparently, are outed.

So, as someone coming to this volume - pardon the pun – blind, it was a little inaccessible. It seems between the volumes I last read and this one, Matt Murdock has not only gotten married, but gotten divorced as well. I can live with that. The tone of the book, however, is much darker and much more oppressive than most other volumes of Daredevil. The problem – because I do like darker stories – is that I was hoping for something more original. The plot structure becomes so mundane and predictable in the formula for this type of superhero story that I soon found myself not actually caring who was behind the mystery murders. Instead, I just felt like I was reading an especially violent or melodramatic soap opera.

Returning to the streets of Hell’s Kitchen at night as Daredevil, Matt Murdock begins to try to rebuild his life. Without the law to practice, he is more invested in his nighttime activities, which puts a rift between him and his ex-wife Milla, whom he has been hooking up with again. But Murdock takes a personal interest in a case coming out of prison when it appears Melvin Potter – The Gladiator – is killing inmates. Potter claims to have no idea how the murders are happening and pleads innocence, which Murdock comes to believe is the truth.

As Murdock searches for the answers as to how Potter could be killing, but not be responsible, Milla begins to feel more and more distanced from him. At night, Daredevil tries to confront the mystery and deal with cleaning up the streets, while avoiding being arrested. But as he nears the truth about how Potter is being used, Milla is put into peril . . .

. . . and that peril would be remotely interesting were it not for the fact that this is pretty much what happened to Karen Page. And, from what little I know about her, Gwen Stacy. The families of Marvel superheroes (and a few DC ones!) do not fare well and that could be interesting, except that Ed Brubaker writes Milla much like virtually every other writer wrote Karen Page. Having not read anything beyond this volume (except volume 2), the resolution to the conflict with Milla seems like they are doing another Karen Page-type story, but with Milla and Murdock twisting in the wind for awhile. It would not, for example, surprise me if Milla became a demented supervillain.

My point here is that great stories do something different and mix it up. Too frequently, Daredevil: Hell To Pay, Volume 1 reads like writers saying “What if we had another crack at Karen Page? What would you do?” “Well, I’d torment the hell out of her for much, much longer.” “Great idea!” Instead of having something substantive, this volume finds Matt Murdock in yet another downward spiral as Milla becomes more and more of a liability to him. Moreover, Milla’s character starts making less and less sense as she takes less and less solace in Matt’s presence and she becomes targeted by the hidden villain.

Having read a lot of Daredevil now, this story feels pretty old. The Kingpin’s recurring strategy was to wear Daredevil down and then try to kill him and this reads a very similar way.

As for the artwork, Michael Lark’s presentation of Daredevil is sloppier than many of the other graphic novels. The colors – dominated by grays and browns – have a washed out look to them that looks runny and I did not care for the style at all. I prefer my artwork clean, crisp, vivid. This is too frequently messy and there is not a great sense of movement within or between panels. The result is an ultimately average book that leads into Volume 2, but makes it hard to care where it is going. This book is probably better for the neophytes as those with familiarity to this character will find too much of it . . . familiar.

For other Daredevil books, please check out my reviews of:
The Essential Daredevil Volume 1
Daredevil Vs. Bullseye
Daredevil: Visionaries Volume 1 - Frank Miller
Born Again
Typhoid Mary
Guardian Devil
Parts Of A Hole
Daredevil: Yellow
Batman/Daredevil - King of New York
Daredevil Noir

4.5/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here.

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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