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DD Book Club - Golden Age
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Daredevil Vol. 2 #69 - Golden Age Part Four



Quote:

With Daredevil down for the count, a new hero must rise!!!

Who carries the legacy of the White Tiger?

The Eisner award-winning team of Bendis and Maleev continue to tell the story of the original Kingpin!


Due 8/3
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Dimetre
Underboss


Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 1366
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The previous issue ended with Daredevil in captivity. This issue doesn't advance the plot in any way, but it does fill in a few holes. Whether you care at all about those holes getting filled is up to you.

The only question I had was how Bont and the Gladiator captured Daredevil, and that still hasn't been adequately answered. Yes, we found out that Melvin has a four-year-old daughter that he has never met, and that Bont has threatened to harm her, thereby forcing Melvin to do what he says, but we don't see the act carried out yet. So now it seems that part of this arc's last issue is going to be spent showing that being played out while at the same time finishing off this caper. Seems like an odd storytelling choice to me.

As always, I find Bendis' pacing glacial. Four pages are spent on a conversation between Matt and Agent Del Toro. I don't think it's a bad scene, but it certainly didn't need to be that long. I also think Maleev could have done a better job. It's just panel after panel of Matt talking to the agent, but she's bringing up her uncle repeatedly in the conversation. Why doesn't Maleev mix it up and draw panels of Hector with her conversation overlaid? It's really uninteresting visually. Plus, he barely switches up Agent Del Toro's facial expressions when she gets frustrated, or when she says she's "freaking out." Maleev barely tried in that scene.

But even narratively, I have problems with this whole White Tiger development that suddenly appeared in this story last issue. As I mentioned before, it's obvious that the amulets were introduced last issue to set up Del Toro becoming the new White Tiger so she could rescue Daredevil. That's obviously still going to happen next issue. The problem is that it doesn't seem like an organic development. It seems like it's happening because the plot demands it. She's also acting out of character. She seemed like a tough as nails and highly capable agent before, but now she seems to be completely shaken up by these amulets. I have no idea why she is confronting Matt about them, and her decision to quit the FBI comes completely out of left field. Her choices don't seem reasonable or believable. If Agent Del Toro were ever a half decent character before, Bendis has now completely messed her up.

I wasn't aware that Bendis kept this Mutant Growth Hormone phenomenon going as long as he did. But I thought we had established that the stuff was worthless junk -- just skin scrapings from the Owl. I thought we established that the people taking it didn't know that it was from the Owl, and if they did they wouldn't touch the stuff. Now we have an MGH dealer who is actually telling his customers that it's from the Owl, like that's a selling point. And when Bont takes it, he actually gets some sort of power, like the power to stop a swinging bat. Why would skin scrapings from the Owl help him do that? Bendis can't even keep to his own continuity.

I also was underwhelmed by the Silver Age story involving Dr. Octopus. White Tiger stops Otto by punching him repeatedly in the face. That's the point of the scene, but we're not made to care about what's going on. We don't know what Otto and his henchmen are up to. We don't know where they are. We are made to think that Daredevil, Spidey and the Tiger are teaming up, but then it turns out that Daredevil and the Tiger hadn't even been introduced yet. It's another sloppy scene.

We are given more reasons why Bont has a huge hatred of Daredevil, but we already knew he did. I would rather the story moved forward than have it march in place.

This is another very frustrating Bendis and Maleev issue. I wish someone who liked them would join this thread and explain why they're so highly revered. However, I have to give this a low grade. Two out of five.
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the complete Daredevil readthrough I'm doing on the side, I just read the White Tiger miniseries. I'm hoping that gives me a bit more of an appreciation of this story because it feels like the only worthwhile addition. The flashbacks can be fun, but they feel like they won't matter after this is done.

Speaking of, the flashbacks have White Tiger this time. I'd have to double check, but I remember the Sons of the Tiger being around when Iron Fist started so I know Hector Ayala was not the White Tiger at that time. I'm also almost positive that Iron Fist post-dates the yellow uniform for Daredevil. So that's obviously a continuity error (that being said, the yellow uniform somewhat serves as an indicator of "way back" without getting bogged down in the specifics. I'm sure writers would have more fun if it had lasted longer). Another minor continuity error is that Bendis's Daredevil is Matt Murdock headline wasn't the first and, arguably, Bont should have been angry then. That being said, people in the Marvel universe apparently have the attention span of a gnat and forget these things when D.G. Chichester writes them.

I like the Del Toro scenes, but there's also something shockingly drawn out about them. Arguably, Daredevil could get her killed but I'll accept that he knows her limitations better than her. That's really all the issue had. The revelation of what Bont had on Potter was pretty dumb. Why a daughter he didn't know about? It seems just as easy to give him a daughter he did know about at this point in time. Oh well, that's pretty minor.

Three Stars. It feels like we get one drawn out good moment per issue and then a whole bunch of filler.
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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Sun Aug 04, 2019 8:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Daredevil Vol. 2 #70 - Golden Age Part Five



Quote:
The story so epic it needed an extra issue to tell! The shocking conclusion to the Daredevil tale that spans the history of the Marvel Universe.

A hero will be born and an empire will fall, bringing an important chapter of the history of Hell's Kitchen to a close.


Due 8/10
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Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe about a year and a half ago, I read the original Deadly Hands of Kung Fu issues with the Sons of the Tiger (not all of them, but a few). I love that Bendis is drawing from this history because it's a history that most readers wouldn't know. I think it does read a bit like he's reading it off a wikipedia page, though. I'm trying to decide if the fight is the best way of showing off this dialogue. I tend to think that Maleev does action very stiffly so it might have been more exciting to have a flashback to the Sons of the Tiger and the original White Tiger. But the point of the scene is the training and the third page where she successfully blocks Matt's punch and returns the blow. The scene concludes with Del Toro stopping a robbery. I don't know why, but the fact that she shot someone rubbed me the wrong way. I get that she then got to kick someone, but it still makes her too much FBI. It doesn't explain "why be White Tiger" rather than an FBI agent.

The fight at the end was fine. The sad moment of Melvin Potter going back to jail is what stood out. I've read this issue before and I remember the end of the fight but I can't remember if I was shocked at how Bont died. It feels like the logical choice given everything they set up. Having him connected to Jack Murdock's death seems fairly pointless. It doesn't even technically make Bont a worse person if you think about it.

I'm really debating how I feel on this one. It seems that Bendis has been having a trend where there's an apparent A-plot but the B-plot is where all the interesting things happen. And I think Del Toro is interesting as a character. She's exactly the kind of character that works well with the plot Bendis developed with Matt's outed identity plus the White Tiger story. But I don't see the point of Bont at all. All the development we've had so far just seems an excuse to draw in an older style (not necessarily spectacularly either) and take up time. Three and a Half Stars.
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Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons
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Dimetre
Underboss


Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 1366
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Sun Aug 11, 2019 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The issue begins with a series of panels showing various New Yorkers with blase expressions. We find out that they're watching Matt Murdock get tossed out on the street in chains and with his DD shirt exposed. I suppose showing a bunch of unimpressed seen-it-all New Yorkers is a choice, but wouldn't a more interesting choice have been to show a bunch of shocked New Yorkers? I mean, if these people don't care, then why should I?

Alex Maleev has previously shown he can draw action, especially during the "King of Hell's Kitchen" story, but here he is completely stiff. I had to backtrack after Agent Del Toro said, "Did I do that?" to see what she had done. Did she catch his foot and fling it away? Couldn't she have done something more impressive like a flip or a takedown, so her question would have had more weight?

I also found Daredevil's exposition dump ridiculous. He's trading blows with Del Toro, which means he has to spout all of this dialogue in the time for these jabs to happen. Visually, couldn't something have been done to make this look more interesting? Couldn't Maleev had at least changed the angle? Couldn't we have been shown what Daredevil was talking about? Do Bendis and Maleev understand what comics are good at doing -- illustrating a story?!?!

Another question, when Daredevil says "That's why," referring to why he wears a costume, to what exactly is he referring? Is he referring to the gratitude expressed by the convenience store worker? Or is he referring to the sense of satisfaction expressed by Del Toro's smile over what she's now capable of doing? To which do you think Daredevil is referring, because it's not clear to me.

As for the rest of the issue, it hits the beats it has to. We see Melvin reluctantly activate his trap for Matt. I suppose it was within his means to set up a bunch of remote controlled blades, which makes me wonder why he doesn't still use circular blades on his wrists. Of course Del Toro came in and saved the day. That's why Bendis made her the White Tiger when he did. Bont ended up being killed by the Mutant Growth Hormone he was abusing.

I did find it genuinely sad that Melvin ended up going back to jail. I hope somewhere in the rest of Bendis' run we see Matt coming to Melvin's defence.

As for the ending, I don't like seeing Wilson Fisk doing work as menial as tending bar. To me, Volume 2 #13 is the perfect story of how Fisk came to be the Kingpin, and he would never lower himself to washing glasses. He would never speak in some lower-rank Bogart speak like "Maybe we should take a ride out to the Kitchen. See what's what." Bendis has actually written great scenes with Fisk previously. To me, this little scene gets Fisk's character completely wrong.

Remember when we reviewed "Underboss" and james castle kept track of how the story was unfolding in chronological order? If you did that to "Golden Age" I think this story would be totally anti-climactic. It held absolutely no surprises for me as it was. The second Del Toro emerged with the amulets, I knew how the story was going to end. I didn't know Bont's heart was going to explode, but that was the lamest way his story could have ended. I found connecting him to the history of Fogwell's gym totally pointless. I don't think Bendis had much of a story here, and used the mixed up chronology to disguise how little he had.

I think I found Bont a more interesting character than Mike Murdock did. It's not a bad idea to have an old world character step into the present day, be disgusted by what he sees and take one last stab at making a difference. I just think every bit of potential Bont held was squandered by making him a Mutant Growth Hormone addict. Also his plot was completely sidelined by the White Tiger story. It's as though Bendis set out to write Bont's story five issues ago, and then changed his mind three issues in.

I really wish someone who enjoys this run would contribute. I know I can be negative, but my negativity is sincere. I don't understand how revered this run continues to be. Even people who don't like what Bendis went on to do with The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Superman point to this run as actual quality Bendis work. I found "Golden Age" a waste of a good character (Bont) and sloppily executed. I give this issue and the arc as a whole a 2 out of 5.
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dimetre wrote:

I did find it genuinely sad that Melvin ended up going back to jail. I hope somewhere in the rest of Bendis' run we see Matt coming to Melvin's defence.


Out of curiosity, have you read Brubaker's run (particularly the "Without Fear" story arc)? I had honestly forgotten how Melvin Potter ended up in Golden Age but, thinking back, it made sense because of where the status quo was for that story.
_________________
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons
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Dimetre
Underboss


Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 1366
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike Murdock wrote:
Dimetre wrote:

I did find it genuinely sad that Melvin ended up going back to jail. I hope somewhere in the rest of Bendis' run we see Matt coming to Melvin's defence.


Out of curiosity, have you read Brubaker's run (particularly the "Without Fear" story arc)? I had honestly forgotten how Melvin Potter ended up in Golden Age but, thinking back, it made sense because of where the status quo was for that story.

I'm a huge Brubaker fan. I haven't missed a Daredevil issue since Brubaker took over the book with Volume 2 #82.

When I read "Without Fear" I didn't know why Melvin was in jail. I suppose this explains why. I'm curious if Matt is going to try to defend Melvin in Bendis' remaining eleven issues.
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