Daredevil Message Board

[rgj]

Daredevil #95. Did it make the grade? Share your thoughts.

rgj

[Acerbus]

A perfect Daredevil comic. Action-oriented, but as always, story driven - with a hint of mystery in there, as well.

[fox_limbo]

I say A (at the very least).

It's not quite an A+, but close. Very, very close.

The issue did not blow me away, but it did an incredible job of setting things up. And it was a very solid, very entertaining read.

It jumped right into the mystery and intrigue of finding Melvin Potter being pigeon-holed as the murderer of a couple of in-mates and Melvin being physically restrained. It was a brilliant opening of the issue and arc (and something I've been looking forward to for a number of arcs, since "The Golden Age"... the following of the thread of Melvin Potter being incarcarated). I have stated once before that I have hated the character (and the characterization of the Gladiator character, but only two writers have made him worth-while and empathetic; those writers being Frank Miller and Brian Michael Bendis. WEll, make that three, now, with one mister Ed Brubaker). I absolutely loath the chracter, but Brain Michael Bendis's usage of the character actually made me care (imagine my surprise), and I have been waiting to see what happens with this character for quite some time now.

Like Frank Miller and Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker painted Melvin Potter as a human and empatheiric character. He is a lovable loser, who has stumbled in the wrong place, at the wrong time; after having been been seemingly framed for a couple of viscious murders at Rykers Island.

Another stroke of "great" characterization was the use of Becky, standing up to Matt and Foggy to actually take the case. Even though Matt's reasons for not taking the case are very sound, it was good to see Becky stand her ground and dig her feet in by her beliefs as two lawyers make their arguements for and against taking the Melvin Potter case.

There was the action scene of Daredevil swinging in against a couple of thugs. On first look, it looks almost gratuitous, done for action's-sake in amongst all the mountains of chracter-development... but it hints at a deeper intrigue that pulls the story forward. And there was a beautifully tragic scene of old-man store clerk having been pistol-whipped into a coma, and his family hoping that he doesn't come out of it so they don't face what brain-damage really is. When I read that, it floored me. My jaw hit the ground. Those words were so colorful and immensely powerful, my mind's-eye having the "wind knowcked out" at the brillant tragedy of those words. I couldn't help but clamber for a breath after that.

And the lay-out of those pages. Naration on the stark white left-hand margine, and the frames arranged in, primarily, a forizontal format... it felt to me like I was reading a Chichester / Lee Weeks ("Last Rites") book. To me, it was THAT well done. I'll talk more of the aertwork in a moment...

It was also good seeing Ed Brubaker continue to use Milla Donovan, directly after the momentum of her character-development in the previous issue. And the danger of her being stalked by a trolling car by unidentified assailants, as she walked down the sidewalk, was chilling and palpable. I shudder to think what will obviously happen. As much as I like her as a character, that moment heightened my care for her.

Another delicious use of character by the writer.

Despite all the great character development, the final stanza of the issue really made me scratch my head. As an incredible cliff-hanger as it was, the abrupt use of Melvin Potter killing the badgering in-mate and the officer in the stairwell. His actions were so abruptly viscious and violent, it reminded me of the murderous moment of DD# 66, when Alexander Bont killed the person that was apparently his friend and noticable presence of the underground world of the Hell's Kitchen Mr. Bont found himself in. This act was just as carnal. I made me sit up and take notice. Is Melvin Potter bi-polar? Is he schitzophrenic? He snapped from being a violent murderer back to being a dosile "victim" of circumstance.

I'm sure Ed will expand on that; but to me it was a painfully abrupt transition from the three-dimentional and empathetic (and essentially likeable character) to this blood-thristy, two-dimentional monster was, to me, sad to see.

The artwork, to me, was some of Michael Lark's best of the series. The action sequences were vivacious and fluid with motion, while his "talking-heads" moments was... well, reminiscent of Alex Maleev. The entire issue was spot-on, visually. And Matt Hollingsworth colors were incredible. He has tried to create a color scheme for each "episode" within the story. And this issue was no different (using the color scheme to make one moment different from the next). But, to me, it was much less muddy and garbled than most other issues since he began working on the title with Michael Lark. There were some night scenes that would have lost the crispness and vitality of the "episode" and moment, as it had done in recent past issues; but his colors were superb!! The coloring and the way he made the headlights actually illuminate in the car-chase scene was brilliantly, brilliantly done.

This issue was, all the way around, very, ve-errry well done.

It was just short of being a perfect, A+, issue.

Great job, guys.

[The Overlord]

[Isaac]

Is that Gus the mastermind behind it all? He has had acces to Potter all this time. The first time I saw him, it didn't give me a good impression. If he was not the mastermind, he would be a prescindible character. I hope that Brubaker wants to add more characters anyway. Daredevil is claustrophobicaly alone. Can you please make he make some more friends?
When did the relation between Potter and Murdock become friendly after what he did to him in "Kings of Hell's Kitchen"?

Thanks to the guys who scan Daredevil every month so I can read it from Russia. God bless you.

[Clayton Blind Love]

A-

As a longtime fan of Daredevil, I can help but feel spoiled seeing Melvin and Becky play an important part in this issue and, hopefully, the rest of the arc. Ed, again, shows that he has great pacing ability by giving us the right doses of action, drama, and mystery. He is definetly my kind of writer, but he is not the star here today. No, the real magic in this issue is found in the art team of Lark, Gaudiano, and Hollingsworth. LGH is the drug here and it is worth every penny. The car chase and street fight looked great in the online preview. But when you hold the pages in your hand, you have no choice but to slow down and soak it all in. This was some killer work. Well done team! This art has really come a long way since their work on Gotham Central and I thought that was some great work.

I'll confess. I do miss Bermejo's covers. Something about Marko's first DD cover seems a little off. I think it might be in the coloring department. Still though, not a bad cover.

C.
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[Dave Wallace]

A good solid A.

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/117526028489441.htm

[Forrest]

A for me as well.

...It's getting to the point where I can justify my A vote based on one word: "Brubaker."

If you'd like a second word, I'd go with "Lark."



Seriously, I couldn't be more pleased with this book, right now!
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[battlin'J]

C+
Good cover. Good art. Recycled DD stories filtered thru Bru. If not for him and Lark the grade would D-.
We've seen all this before. It's all been done. Sometimes it seems as if Daredevil has been spinning its wheels since Miller.

Maybe just to change things up Marvel should have DD go back to being a lighter, wisecracking type character. After all Spidey isn't doing it much lately since he lost his smile and now he means business because he's in black.
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[Dave Wallace]

[Forrest]

[Neilan]

[rgj]

A-.

Solid set up issue for the arc. Many interesting things, the chief among them being Melvin's state of mind. Like George Costanza said, "It's not a lie, if you BELIEVE it." And, I disagree with fox, I think this makes Mevlin more interesting for the time being. At least until we know what's really going on.

Still hate Milla. But, Bru is using her to good effect. Don't want to continue seeing the blind, damsal in distress bit (Bendis did that to death), but what I find more interesting is that she is seeing a shrink. That's got to be leading to something. Mayhaps, her shrink is some evil dude.

Great action sequence by Lark. This was one major thing that was missing from DD during the Bendis/Maleev run (and, Maleev was a good artist, except for action sequences). Daredevil can be a swashbuckler and still be crime-noir.

Like I said, good, solid, set up issue.
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rgj

[MercifulAvatar]

An A

Zebediah.
Effing.
Killgrave.

Anyone have any better guesses?
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