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Dave Wallace
Paradiso
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
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jumonji
Guardian Devil
Joined: 23 Sep 2007
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Location: Too close to the Arctic circle
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 Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: Daredevil #103 (spoilers) |
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Great (and spoiler free) review Dave! I was already looking forward to reading this issue and now I feel like I can't wait! It looks like the current team will keep the good stuff coming. 
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Dave Wallace
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| Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:31 am Post subject: Re: Daredevil #103 (spoilers) |
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| jumonji wrote: | | Great (and spoiler free) review Dave! I was already looking forward to reading this issue and now I feel like I can't wait! It looks like the current team will keep the good stuff coming. |
Thanks! Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the end of this arc. The book feels like it's been building to it for a while now - and the last page of this issue suggests that things are going to get even more intense in the next. |
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Gloria
Redemption
Joined: 28 Apr 2007
Posts: 711
Location: Suburbia around Barcelona
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| Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:36 am Post subject: |
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Whew! finally got my issue! (so I can comment now).
Dave, I agree with Christine that yours is a fine review... And let me tell you one thing: I greatly missed your review about Issue 102! (though I imagine that it was due to work, etc... issues).
There's one part of your review I specially liked:
"(...)Readers of Daredevil will begin to appreciate how much they've been spoiled with quality stories lately when an issue that's as good as this one feels like a fairly run-of-the-mill instalment of the title. For most other superhero books, this would be a standout story - (...)="
Aye, seeing some reviews, I think DD fans are spoiled indeed. In my case, I'm completely sold to Brubaker's Daredevil, so I'm unable to see the bad side some point to, but I strongly disagree with those who say that "nothing has been happening" or that "the story advances slowly"... well, to that people I'd just point the last dozen or so Spidey issues for an example of a story going slow and getting nowhere.
But I digress... Anyway, the good thing is that Brubaker knows where is he going, and he walks firmly towards his end.
It was good to see Matt acting clever and not rushing to things without thinking... And I think that the main point in this story is that it is about crossing lines: Fear has done so, and Matt has thought that enough is enough and he's not taking that from anyone anymore.
There has been talk about Matt crossing a line in this story, and most of us were led to think that it could be about Matt killing someone (i.e. that despickable Cranston guy), but I'm thinking now that Matt might cross an even nastier line: torture.
OK, OK, DD has always clobbered/intimidated thugs in order to make them sing La Traviata, but here, his methods are... well, more sadistic, like something a professional South American military torture pro would do (I'm putting a very exxagerate example, but you get the idea)... Even us readers may be crossing that line, too: I confess I wasn't sad at the prospect of DD giving the baddies a taste of their own methods.
Not that Matt is the only one crossing a line: Foggy uses Lily and her pheromone powers in order to help Milla. He's clearly uncomfortable about using a non truthful testimonial, but goes ahead nevertheless... In fact, the whole scene made me wonder whether Brubaker (who is not forgetful about previous continuities) is considering that Foggy is still itching about an occasion in the past when he was similarly manipulated: namely, when his ex-wife Debbie pushed him into giving a false testimonial against Becky and Matt in the Micah Synn saga.
And I loved to see Merv and Chico again, and knowing about their "quid pro quo" agreement with Ol' Hornhead was funny (as was Chico's reflection about Turk: LOL the guy's got an analytical mind!)
And, well, there are at least a couple of cliffhangers which will make us wait eagerly for next issue 
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Gloria
Devuélveme el rosario de mi madre y quédate con todo lo demás
"Para la cuesta arriba quiero mi burro, que la cuesta abajo yo me la subo" |
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jumonji
Guardian Devil
Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 636
Location: Too close to the Arctic circle
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| Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 10:16 am Post subject: |
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You brought up so many great points in your post Gloria, that I'm just going to "borrow" you comments and add my own!
| Gloria wrote: | There's one part of your review I specially liked:
"(...)Readers of Daredevil will begin to appreciate how much they've been spoiled with quality stories lately when an issue that's as good as this one feels like a fairly run-of-the-mill instalment of the title. For most other superhero books, this would be a standout story - (...)="
Aye, seeing some reviews, I think DD fans are spoiled indeed. In my case, I'm completely sold to Brubaker's Daredevil, so I'm unable to see the bad side some point to, but I strongly disagree with those who say that "nothing has been happening" or that "the story advances slowly"... well, to that people I'd just point the last dozen or so Spidey issues for an example of a story going slow and getting nowhere. |
I've noticed this too, and I can't believe my eyes reading some of the stuff out there. Some reviewers are talking about the good ol' Bendis day when "something actually happened." No offense to Bendis, who did some fine work for the most part, but he sure knew how to drag things on for issues on end. One reviewer missed the "title-altering" stories of the past, but the point of the book should be more about telling stories which feel new and fresh (which Bru's do) than creating big events for the sake of creating big events. The whole "out" thing was fine and very interesting, but you can only drag it out for so long.
Things are definitely happening in Bru's issues, and if people don't recognize that (I saw some reader comment that she "hadn't been this bored with Daredevil in years"), they are obviously immune to some of the finer points of dramatic storytelling. Huge fight scenes are not necessary to advance a plot and character development is a big aspect of understanding the overall picture of a story. I loved this issue tremendously and actually found it more satisfying than #102 (which I thought was good for its protrayal of Mister Fear).
| Gloria wrote: | It was good to see Matt acting clever and not rushing to things without thinking... And I think that the main point in this story is that it is about crossing lines: Fear has done so, and Matt has thought that enough is enough and he's not taking that from anyone anymore.
There has been talk about Matt crossing a line in this story, and most of us were led to think that it could be about Matt killing someone (i.e. that despickable Cranston guy), but I'm thinking now that Matt might cross an even nastier line: torture.
[...] Even us readers may be crossing that line, too: I confess I wasn't sad at the prospect of DD giving the baddies a taste of their own methods. |
While Bru isn't doing "title-altering" stuff (yet), he is very good at knowing when to break comic book clichés, which Dave mentioned in his review as well. Not jumping into those fights was a smart decision. As for the threat of torture, I loved that last scene, and I have a complete understanding of Matt's rationale here. Not only is he desperate to get to Fear, he also knows that Ox knows where Fear is. Add to that the fact that Fear is likely controlling Ox in some way which forces Matt to instill more fear in him than Cranston is capable of. Creating a very real and palpable threat when dealing with Ox might be the only way of getting the information out of him. Matt's actions in that scene felt very real, and surprisingly in character.
| Gloria wrote: | | Not that Matt is the only one crossing a line: Foggy uses Lily and her pheromone powers in order to help Milla. He's clearly uncomfortable about using a non truthful testimonial, but goes ahead nevertheless... |
Yeah, the conflicted Foggy works great, and Lily has turned into an even creepier character. It's hard to know what to think of her. She's obviously not completely innocent in any of this, but you don't get the feeling that she's messing things up intentionally. When she's talking to herself out on the doorstep before going to visit Milla, you get the feeling that she's doing it out of genuine concern (although she should know better), but her whole speech, not to mention the look on her face, when the nurse opens is just really creepy. Time will tell...
Other random tidbits: Did you guys notice the joke in the top right hand corner of the paper Matt is reading in the kitchen scene where it says "'Brubaker old as sin' according to panel of judges."? I doubt Bru knew that was going in there.  I also, like Dave, thought the cab moment was pretty neat, and how Matt almost seems a little proud of it when he talks to Ox (we can safely assume he doesn't get to drive very often...).
One scene that I felt didn't work as well as it could have was the kitchen scene which falls a little flat in my opinion. This should have been a "shades off" moment as you don't get a lot of expressiveness in their faces otherwise. While I get that Matt was probably on his way to work, I wonder why on Earth they would draw Milla with her glasses on (in bed even!) when it's clear that she's not going anywhere. What should have been an intimate scene game off as a little goofy, I think.
To sum things up, love this stuff, can't wait for the next issue.
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Gloria
Redemption
Joined: 28 Apr 2007
Posts: 711
Location: Suburbia around Barcelona
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| Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 10:50 am Post subject: |
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| jumonji wrote: | | No offense to Bendis, who did some fine work for the most part, but he sure knew how to drag things on for issues on end. One reviewer missed the "title-altering" stories of the past, but the point of the book should be more about telling stories which feel new and fresh (which Bru's do) than creating big events for the sake of creating big events. The whole "out" thing was fine and very interesting, but you can only drag it out for so long. |
Well, as someone who took the train in the "Good Ol' Miller Days" I'm a bit annoyed when i hear/read comments about the unatainable greatness of Bendis' DD.
While a great fan of Miller's work in DD, I never dissed authors following him: I found O'Neill, Nocenti, Chichester or Kesel (to mention a few) could pull very good DD stories... as good as Miller's? maybe not, but I never jumped off the train cause Miller was leaving the series.
Don't misundertand me: I like Bendis' DD. I believe he did very interesting things with Matt Murdock overall, but, as you, I believe he had good stories, and other who were less so... It seems that, for some, DD didn't exist before Bendis, which he did... anyway, I can understand the enthusiasm about Bendis DD, as I think it was, yes, a very good run (particularly if I think of the people who consider's Smith's Guardian Devil as a story better than Born Again)
Similarly, while I think Maalev is a fine artist, I don't agree with those who think he's the best Dd artist ever: in my personal DD pantheon, I bow to David Mazzuchelli, but I digress...
| jumonji wrote: | | Yeah, the conflicted Foggy works great |
You know, one of the things why I'll always have a soft spot for Bendis is what he did with Foggy, and one of the things I love about Brubaker is the fine charactherization of the Fogster: Overall, while being essentially a nice and loyal guy, he's grown in complexity and is not without shadows, weaknesses and contradictions... Three dimensional characters: don't you love them?
| jumonji wrote: | | (..) and Lily has turned into an even creepier character. It's hard to know what to think of her. She's obviously not completely innocent in any of this, but you don't get the feeling that she's messing things up intentionally. |
Yes, with taht last issue, my impression of her is that she's not intentionally evil, just not very clever to realize that she's about to stick a foot in a bucket. Lily is a girl who no doubt has grown spoiled by his papa, and isn't used to people denying her anything... I bet she had her own powers of persuasion before ever using Fear's perfume: Have you noticed her annoyed look whenever Foggy gives her a "no" as an answer?
(aside: it just crossed my mind the following scene... Daredevil finally finds an antidote to Lily's perfume: she drinks it, and it turns out that, without the perfume, she looks like Lena the Hyena: the Law partners run away screaming!)
| jumonji wrote: |
To sum things up, love this stuff, can't wait for the next issue. |
Ditto, ditto and ditto
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Gloria
Devuélveme el rosario de mi madre y quédate con todo lo demás
"Para la cuesta arriba quiero mi burro, que la cuesta abajo yo me la subo" |
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Dave Wallace
Paradiso
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 1074
Location: Birmingham, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Gloria wrote: | Whew! finally got my issue! (so I can comment now).
Dave, I agree with Christine that yours is a fine review... And let me tell you one thing: I greatly missed your review about Issue 102! (though I imagine that it was due to work, etc... issues). |
Thanks Gloria! Yeah, I don't have time to review every issue, but I try to cover them when I can.
There's another great review up at SBC (by fellow reviewer Jason Sacks) which talks a lot about the way Milla's character and situation is handled. I thought it made some very good points: http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/119917464086381.htm |
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SouthernHero
Flying Blind
Joined: 09 Jul 2007
Posts: 33
Location: The Dirty South, USA.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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Bendis (and Kuljit) got me into DD, Bru kept me here, and now I doubt I'll ever leave.
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harryhausen
Playing to the Camera
Joined: 20 Apr 2007
Posts: 129
Location: U$A
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| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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Ok, I know it’s the dissenting opinion here, but I got to say that a few things about our current DD are starting to bother me. I’m not trying to gripe and be negative, I’m really curious about what others might think about:
a) As much as I like the art, on the whole, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s increasingly “TV-feeling.” All these establishing shots and zooms and whatnot. Like I’m looking at stills from a (really good) TV show. But still, my tastes run toward the stylized and bizarre (yeah, I think DK2 is great) and this is hardly a complaint. It’s just so .. straightforward. I think it’s a shame because DD seems like a good character to play with in this department.
b) Man, I’m still waiting for Matt to seem more focused or something. I would prefer to see him really dismantle some villains. Batman wouldn’t put up with this sh!t, Matt needs a plan for some sort of ass-kicking apocalypse. Man, call Luke and Danny and clean this stuff up! Call Spidey … wait he doesn’t remember Spider-Man? Mr. Fear. The Enforcers. Come on, DD!
c) Why wouldn’t DD just continue to follow Ox instead of capturing and threatening to torture him? Perhaps he’s hoping for information about the Fear organization beyond just the whereabouts? Still, seems he could have just kept with following Ox and gotten the scoop, too.
d) OK, here it is. If there’s one hero in the MU who shouldn’t be married, it’s DD. I don’t even care about Milla anymore. She’s just crippling him. Hey, Matt, get a divorce. Your wife’s crazy and, curiously enough, boring at the same time! Sure it’s your fault, but you should content yourself with no-strings attached, stress-relieving sex with fellow heroes (Widow, etc.) and focus on your crazy mission, you blind maniac.
And last, I am TOTALLY spoiled. I reread 103 recently and, despite these little things, realize that it’s a great book with complex plotting (for the medium) and taut characterizations. Never a wasted line. Just up the craziness and metaphor in lieu of the stalwart march of the plot every now and then and it’s perfect for me.
Alright, light me on fire ….
P.S. And mark my words, Lily is not to be trusted. She's either working for Fear or just stupid. |
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SouthernHero
Flying Blind
Joined: 09 Jul 2007
Posts: 33
Location: The Dirty South, USA.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for your thoughts. This has got to be the most positive board on the internet (especially comics-related) which is an awesome thing, it seems like it has been forever since anyone offered any (mild) complaints about the current series.
I love Brubakers writing (he gained alot of credibility with me when he first jumped on the title) so I'll give him a long leash.
I agree though, let's see Matt get more focused, less confused and start to work on kicking some serious butt.
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train
Guardian Devil
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 659
Location: Hell's Pantry
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| Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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| jumonji wrote: |
While Bru isn't doing "title-altering" stuff (yet), he is very good at knowing when to break comic book clichés, which Dave mentioned in his review as well. |
this is something that i find to be really refreshing. i don't want every arc to be title altering. it's nice to see some old school DD villians and some good storytelling. one thing that i do miss is the single issue story. there's been such a drive to have stories packaged into a TPB friendly format and the single issue stories have been a casulity. does Bru have it in him to write one? hope so... |
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Gloria
Redemption
Joined: 28 Apr 2007
Posts: 711
Location: Suburbia around Barcelona
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:32 am Post subject: |
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| harryhausen wrote: | | a) As much as I like the art, on the whole, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s increasingly “TV-feeling.” All these establishing shots and zooms and whatnot. Like I’m looking at stills from a (really good) TV show. But still, my tastes run toward the stylized and bizarre (yeah, I think DK2 is great) and this is hardly a complaint. It’s just so .. straightforward. I think it’s a shame because DD seems like a good character to play with in this department. |
I understand what you say, comic can take advantage of being a drawn medium and not necessarily clone photography, Tv or movies.
This having been said, and since I can get non-realistic drawn comics anywhere else (and there's a wide choice), I must say that I love how Dd is being drawn right now.
More than a good TV series, I'm left with the impression of watching an old movie, and this is meant as a compliment, for good old movies have a classic, yet utterly effective storytelling, that abides and endures. The scene with the Wrecking Crew in Hell's Kitchen was like something filmed in cinemascope. The indoors scene at the District attorney offices, with the subtle interplay between characters, was like a scene of a Mankiewicz film.
Personally, I don't dislike all the film-type narrative here, since it is the kind of solid narrative which may not be spectacular but will no doubt pass the test of time. And I feel it suits Brubaker's DD well.
And there is no "jerky Camera" as in many video-clipped films of nowadays... Hey, you gotta love that!
| harryhausen wrote: |
b) Man, I’m still waiting for Matt to seem more focused or something. I would prefer to see him really dismantle some villains. Batman wouldn’t put up with this sh!t, Matt needs a plan for some sort of ass-kicking apocalypse. |
I'd like to think that Brubaker intends the current arc as a turning point. SO far the thread of the stories, as in the times of Bendis, is about DD being targeted (by the media, by his enemies, by the FBI, etc...), and his life being miserable as a result.
I hope we get a "reborn" Matt at the end of the story, and instead of DD being "back to the wall" and forced to react, he gets more proactive, and we get a DD who is able to solve other's people's troubles, and not just a cornered man all the time.
| harryhausen wrote: |
P.S. And mark my words, Lily is not to be trusted. She's either working for Fear or just stupid. |
True. She's the new Pandora, spreading trouble around (paging the Flying Dutchman!... No seriously,there's something very Ava Gardner-ish about her current looks).
Yet, as it seems that she's really not meaning to harm anyone, she's more pitiable, being the victim of both her lack of cogitation and her uncontrolable pheromone power
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Gloria
Devuélveme el rosario de mi madre y quédate con todo lo demás
"Para la cuesta arriba quiero mi burro, que la cuesta abajo yo me la subo" |
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Dave Wallace
Paradiso
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 1074
Location: Birmingham, UK
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:06 am Post subject: |
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| train wrote: | | one thing that i do miss is the single issue story. there's been such a drive to have stories packaged into a TPB friendly format and the single issue stories have been a casulity. does Bru have it in him to write one? hope so... |
Brubaker's done a couple of decent one-shot issues, though (the ones which focused on Foggy and Milla). I'm hoping to see another similar issue soon, since we didn't get one between the last arc and the current arc (unless you count the #100 issue, which sort of functions in the same way). |
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