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[rgj]

DD #94. What did you all think???

[Acerbus]

Points for Lee Weeks - but Bendis bashers, beware! This issue was boring!

[Clayton Blind Love]

A solid "B" grade.
In terms of story, this issue really isn't meant for us diehards. It reads very much like a recap issue and an decent jump on point for new readers. There is a treat here. Learning of Milla's history (you could call this her "origin" story) was fun. It was also interesting to see in her mind where she fits or where she seems to think she fits with regards to Karen Page. I thought that was some great writing moments.
In terms of art, this was some of the greatest Lee Weeks stuff. Wow! Flashback! Also, just look at this cover. I'm sorry, but it has to be said. The issue was worth the cover alone! 299 cents sounds cheap! They might sell more comics if they keep this price in pennies.

C.
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Love is blindness, I don't want to see
Won't you wrap the night around me

[Dimetre]

I gave it a B. Weeks' work this time looked exactly like Lark's to me. This is very different from his work with Chichester or the Winter Soldier one-shot for that matter.

This is very much a fill-in issue. It is a good study of Milla's character, whom we have barely seen since Matt went to jail and then went to Europe. As a character study, Brubaker did a good job. There are rumblings that as much as she loves Matt, she can't take much more of this marriage.

My problem is that I don't really care for Milla as a character. She came along at a time when Bendis was driving me insane with his pacing. It didn't really make sense for Matt, who was denying his identity as Daredevil left right and centre, to relent and admit he was Daredevil to her and take her out on date after date. And I rolled my eyes when I had heard Matt married her. Milla seems like a nice enough person, but I don't really like the book with her in it. All signs point to this relationship coming to an end. Good. [EVIL LAUGH]

[fox_limbo]

I have to say A-.

All-in-all, a very solid issue. I tend to like the Milla Donovan character (unlike a number of others), and since Bendis had exit stage-left on the title, Milla's character had been relegated to cameo appearances. This is the first time that Ed Brubaker really tapped into this character for any length of time (i.e. more than a page or two), and I felt the characterization of Milla was pretty well done. Like Clayton stated, it was a nice to see Milla's "origin", and esspecially her point of view of the Daredevil roller coaster she had punched a front-seat ticket for.

Very well done.

There were only two things that grated me a bit... one being Milla feeling afraid for the first time when the Yazuka ambushed Matt. That is untrue, unless the tears she shed, in DD# 49, were really tears of joy when Bullseye caught her alone in Matt's Brownstone. That moment alone, should have been considered for one panel of flashback, intermingled with all the others (that moment, I would think was a potent one for her character, where she collided with Matt Murdock's Daredevil world; in much the same way that Typhoid Mary's lighting Matt on fire was also a moment of intense internal recollection and a moment of absolutely powerlessness in the wake of all the craziness).

The other thing that grated me was Milla being present, and storming out of the Night Nurse's confines, at the discussion of Matt having a mental breakdown stemming from Karen Page's death. That, also, is very much untrue. Foggy was the one that confided that possibility to her (when she was showing Mr. Nelson her glory, right down to her lacy skivvies; ohhh, how soon we forget...). The fact is that that image (Milla running out of the medical / recovery "Night Nurse" facility) is completely absurd! It was not even a memory of her's... the only thing I can think was the author was trying to consolidate the situation and use it as some hap-hazard metaphor, which does not work one bit.

Those two things kept me from fully enjoying the tale. And it was a good, just as the "fill-in" issue from Foggy's point of view --DD# 88-- was before that. I very much evjoy seeing that world of Matt Murdock and the crimson tights through another set of eyes. And I feel Ed Brubaker has done a great job of capturing that.

It was great to see the work of Lee Weeks gracing the pages of Daredevil again. As it was pointed out already in this thread, it appears similar to Michael Lark's work; and I think a huge reason for that is Stefano Gaudiano's inking / finishing "style". In comparison to Michael Lark's work, Lee Weeks' work has a more deliberate and definable "line", where as Michael Lark's work is more sketchy, "smokey" and, I think, visceral. That's not saying one is better than the other. It is just two different styles, approaches and interpretations of the same encompassing "world" of Matt's Hell Kitchen. They both are abole to grab the atmosphere of that world by the throat. Artists of any media and approach can do much, much worse than that.

This was a good issue. To me, it was those two looming "hiccups" that I pointed out that kept this from being a very good issue (but that's rather easy for me to say from my comic book arm-chair quarterback's seat, isn't it?)

I look forward to seeing the Gladiator. I actually greatly dislike the character, but Bendis's characterization of him, in some ways like Frank Miller back in the day, painting him as a sympathetic figure. I am anxious to see what Ed does with him. It will prove to be very interesting, there's just no two ways about it.

[nott4141]

I gave it a "B" as well. I agree with Clayton that it's a good jump on issue, but it's not something I would necessarily seek out as a fan.

I have to disagree with fox, though. I'm not yet sold on Milla. This issue was her chance to show some real depth and strength, but she came across as weak and a somewhat linear "stand by your man" wife. She actually reminded me of Heather Glen in this issue.

In fact, looking at the cover--which I agree is a great throwback--I was reminded of those early '80s issues when it seemed Heather was always pictured as lost and distraught.

Sure, trying to establish a life with someone who is out risking his life night after night maybe trying on one's soul, but I'd still like to see Milla go beyond mere anguish whenever Matt puts on the suit and jumps out the window.

I like the idea of Milla working to build Hell's Kitchen into a better place to live. I like the idea of Milla taking that frustration or anger or even that desperation and redirecting it into her social work in the community. I think that shows strength.

I can't remember which issue it was, but when Matt got that settlement from Uri Rosenthal for the libel case, (You'll have to forgive my memory here) he and Milla worked to put that money back into the community. They did it together.

[Forrest]

Eighty eight issues after Karen's death, I still felt the comic was worse off because of it and would have wholeheartedly supported bringing Karen back even if via a weak story or questionable continuity. After all those years of DD, I could never connect with any writer's illustration of why Karen's death was such an important part of DD lore that it shouldn't just be erased. In "Parts of a Hole," Mack & Quesada did an olympian job of nailing home the impact of Karen's death. (Smith actually did well in issue #8, as well.) Still, seventy eight issues after "Parts of a Hole," I was still felt like Karen's death was simply a hole in story of DD.

Eighty nine issues after Karen's death and I am OK with Karen's death. I can see how it fits into DD lore in a constructive way. Until now, Karen's death was a cheap plot device brought on by an insecure Hollywood writer and was furthered into my least favorite moment in Bendis's run. The 180 that issue #94 did for me puts this issue at a solid A.

I always liked Milla but I never cared about her. She could have died and it really wouldn't have bothered me. This issue changed all that for me, as well. A to A+.

I know an A+ may seem excessive but the amount of character development that Brubaker (and Weeks, et al.)accomplished in this single issue was amazing! #93 was an A+ because it accomplished an unreal amount of solid plot development. #94 is an A+ because it accomplished an unreal amount of solid character development.

It's a GREAT time to be a DD fan!
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"Flash is back. Worlds will die again!"

[Dave Wallace]

I really enjoyed this issue. A-, at least!

Here's my review:

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/117283744317029.htm

Dave

[Forrest]

"However, Brubaker also makes us understand why she stays with him, and the bittersweet lines which deal with their relationship as being defined by the things which go unsaid and the silent sacrifices that Milla makes for her husband (including her comparisons to one of Matt's other great loves, Karen Page) carry a ring of truth which helps to sell the relationship more convincingly than ever before."

Yep! Great review, Dave!
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"Flash is back. Worlds will die again!"

[Dave Wallace]

Thanks!

[MercifulAvatar]

I gave it an A.

I thought it was a very solid team effort and I enjoyed the story and artwork, which is what I expect from a comic. I think the need for this plot point could be argued (at least at this point, but who knows what Brubaker has planned ultimately).

A worker at my local StarBucks walked by while I was reading this issue and commented on how beautifully it was drawn. The DD Dedicati are definitely getting spoiled by one hyper-talented creative team after another; keep spoiling us, Joe!

Edit: I wanted to add a specific panel that totally blew me away. On page 29, panel 3 we see Milla's silhouette with her face reflected in the glass of the window. From the little practical experience I have with drawing, I think this would be difficult to convey. The face that a team executed the idea so masterfully makes it doubly impressive. I totally geeked out when I saw that!
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[battlin'J]

C+
It would have been a 'D' if not for the utterly fantastic cover by John Romita Sr and the return of one of my favorites Lee Weeks. This issue was boring and wasted time by retreading info from the last few years. A nice character study on Milla but executed poorly. Weakest issue by Brubaker to date.
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[Darediva]

I call it an A-, just because I feel some of the art is lacking. Mr. Weeks did a nice job recreating a lot of scenes from the past, but do your homework, sir. They don't call them "long canes" for nothing. Poor Matt and Milla looked like old folks bent over those short canes. That stuff went out before WWII; some artists just never bothered to research it. Maleev and Lark seem to have done that as they got it right. Minor sticking point, for sure. I have my reasons.

Call me a romantic. I liked the story, giving us a little background for Milla. I don't see her as a weak person at all; she seems to have done quite well for herself, and I can totally see where she's coming from sitting awake at night worrying about whether or not Matt will make it home. Anyone who was ever married to a cop, a soldier, or a firefighter knows this feeling. Being with a superhero would have to be a real nightmare!
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Alice




Those who throw dirt merely lose ground.

[MercifulAvatar]

I see something of a pattern here. I just re-read The Secret Life of Foggy Nelson (#88) and it had some commonalities with Blind Love:

Neither book was penciled by the main artist
Both books explored the life of a secondary character

I'm thinking:

Ed is using these issues to cleanse the palate, like crackers at a wine tasting.
It frees the main artist up to focus on the core archs.
It gets us closer to the other cast members.
It makes us hungrier for the Daredevil character when the next arch begins in earnest.

A question for those of you more familiar with Bru's work: is this something he's done in other titles?
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[Forrest]

Good points, MercifulAvatar! Brubaker is beyond one of the most talent writers in the industry, he has great publishing ideas. With the delays plaguing modern comics, more ongoings should be designed like this.