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DD Book Club - Judgment

 
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 7:26 pm    Post subject: DD Book Club - Judgment Reply with quote

With the completion of Ann Nocenti's entire run, the only major writer of volume one I honestly am excited to cover is Denny O'Neil. It's a one-shot story, but I'll follow this with the next story after it. I normally try to put a synopsis or solicit when I list the issue and I'm surprised to see there isn't one, considering it's O'Neil's first story.

Daredevil Vol. 1 #194 - Judgment

Due 3/4
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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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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This issue is written by Dennis O'Neil with art by Klaus Janson, so that's a fairly exciting combo.

It begins with a weird flashback from 70 years prior. Then two people are at Matt Murdock's door to hire him. It's all a very sudden and jarring experience. It actually reminds me of Redemption so far. Either way, Matt decides to investigate as Daredevil. We're used to writers taking over with a dramatically different status quo. It's nice to just have a "stock" Daredevil issue.

That being said, the premise of this is weird. A fundamentalist, rural, quasi-Amish gangster wants to use Matt's persuasive skills to get forgiveness. However, since Daredevil broke into his home, he reaches out to the Kingpin for protection. The Kingpin sends some thugs to beat up the religious leaders and they run into Matt Murdock who does the blind person stumbling to create a diversion and turn into Daredevil thing. In the end, Matt realizes the congregation was poisoning the old gangster. He rushes and saves him.

This is a weird issue overall. It feels kind of like a fill-in. The art isn't Janson's best. It has a weird, scratchy quality. That being said, there are some cool color contrasts. Three and a Half Stars.
_________________
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: Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Several years ago Denny O'Neil was at Fan Expo in Toronto, and I couldn't attend. A friend of mine offered to get me something for O'Neil to autograph, and the next time I saw that friend he handed me this issue with the writer's signature on the cover. It was only a year or two before O'Neil died. It meant a lot to me because I think he was an incredibly important figure in the history of the comics medium, and he's one of my favourite Daredevil writers. I think his run is incredibly underrated.

This issue is an odd Daredevil debut for O'Neil. It's not a big splash against a supervillain -- it's a humble little morality play. Jeremiah Jenk and his brother Nahum grew up in a fundamentalist Christian community. Jeremiah became one of the greatest counterfeiters in the criminal community, and now that he's dying, he wants to be forgiven by his religion's elders, which includes his very judgmental brother. He hires Matt to plead his case, which is an odd choice.

Matt, of course, smells a rat, but it turns out Jeremiah is sincere. What follows is a lot of Daredevil avoiding booby traps, fighting dogs and people with pitchforks. Kingpin makes an appearance, but it's mostly to just send his henchmen in to try and fail to off Daredevil.

I can see how readers weaned on Frank Miller may find this issue somewhat underwhelming, especially in the action department. However, there's something charming about this story's simplicity. Matt is true to character, and he even gets to use his knowledge of the bible in an argument. At the root of this story is a critique of religious dogmatism. O'Neil obviously had something to say about how everyone deserves a shot at redemption, even someone who worked with The Kingpin. The story ends in a quiet way, with Jeremiah hitching up his buggy and riding over to face his brother, and his fate.

Linda Grant is listed as the guest editor, and I feel she could have done a more thorough job. She could have suggested that the Kingpin not have an underling named Wilson, since most fans know that's the Kingpin's own name, and it's needlessly confusing. Later on there is a passage where Matt fills a cabin with smoke to hide his quick change to his Daredevil uniform. There is some dialogue that I'm sure was intended for Matt, but the word balloon is pointed towards one of Kingpin's goons. That's another thing Grant should have corrected.

It's an unremarkable but charming story from O'Neil. Klaus Janson is legendary as an inker, but he's not my favourite penciler, rendering very rough figures. Still, I like the kinetic motion of his figures, and the texture of the smoke he and colourist Glynis Wein render is very impressive. I'm giving this issue a 3.5 out of 5.
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Technically, these are both standalone issues, but I figured there's no point in starting a new thread since they're back to back.

Daredevil Vol. 1 #195 - Betrayal

Due 3/12
_________________
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: Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Denny O'Neil had the ability to get deep inside a hero's character, and here he does a real nice job playing with Matt Murdock's professional conflict. Sure, Frank Miller did similar work during the "Child's Play" story with Hogman, but here we have the case of Bruno, who killed a little girl, but went out and hired Nelson & Murdock who got him cleared on a technicality. Foggy is less conflicted about the matter, and states his position clearly.
Quote:
Look Matt, our job isn't to judge these bozos. It's to defend them. We do that any way we can or we find another line of work. I wasn't happy about taking Bruno as a client, but I didn't see how we could ethically refuse him.

Foggy is absolutely correct, but that doesn't make it easier for Matt to handle. He obviously feels guilty for his part in allowing a murderer to walk the streets, so he tails him to his victory party.

O'Neil set up his story in an unorthodox way. We open on the boat where Bruno's victory party is. We don't know who Bruno is, and the opening splash page doesn't even make it clear whether or not Matt is here. But a waiter has guided Bruno to safety, and it becomes clear that the waiter is Matt. He changes to Daredevil lightening quick, and foils the attack on the ship. What I like about that choice of opening scene is that it appears like Daredevil is being heroic as usual, but at the end of the scene it's obvious that he is horribly conflicted. The scene with Foggy follows, and for many pages the Bruno matter vanishes....

It's been a long time since I read this issue, and I forgot how much dislike O'Neil seemed to have for Heather. I don't really have a problem with that. Throughout Miller's run Matt's relationship with Heather became less healthy the more confused he became over Elektra. In this issue Heather gets drunk and reveals Daredevil's secret identity to a handsome man named Tarkington Brown who works in the mayor's office. It turns out Brown is terminal and is determined to make "a contribution" to society. Brown turns out to be one of these guys who thinks the world is getting to soft, and Daredevil is part of the problem.
Quote:
You're on their side...the weaklings. You see the problem but you don't have the courage to solve it. Not you not the politicians. Not the police. There's a war and we're losing. And the punks and the terrorists and the hoodlums are winning. There's only one solution. Be more ruthless than they are. Eliminate them. Kill them.

The media landscape is platforming goons like Brown more today than they were in 1983. You see these guys all them time, crowing about the disappearance of "Alpha males". Brown is a nice problem for Matt to have. He has to save his own life and Heather's and then stop Brown. This shouldn't really be a problem for Daredevil, but artist Klaus Janson does a great job setting it all up before our eyes. I especially like the Milleresque panel layouts, like when Daredevil's hands pop into a panel to grab a sniper rifle out of a shooter's hand, or when he jumps from one building window in a panel, crosses another panel and then crashes his feet through still another window in the third. Janson did a great job in this issue.

My problem with this issue is that Brown's story takes centre-stage, shoving the Bruno case into the background, and I think it's Bruno case that has the lasting impact when the issue is over. Honestly, as problematic as Brown was for Matt, he handled it pretty decisively.

I'm giving this issue a 3.5 out of 5.
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Sat Mar 11, 2023 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This issue starts with an action scene. The bad guys are trying to murder someone because he was a murderer but got his charges dismissed due to a police mistake (it's not elaborated on, but the assumption is some essential piece of evidence was obtained unlawfully so the court excluded it). Daredevil stops them from murdering someone because that's what he does. What's interesting is Nelson and Murdock defended the murderer. I think the book goes back and forth with the idea of Matt representing someone who factually committed a crime. Most lean towards the idea that he could never do it and only represents innocent people. I think Redemption handled that idea the best where he still can act ethically without compromising his belief. That being said, I have no problem with this idea. He's protecting the integrity of the criminal justice system. Either way, Matt's moral ambivalence is contrasted with Foggy, who is more concerned about his sandwich.

Heather Glenn is at a party where she's drunk and accidentally tells Tarkington Brown (who is related to the bad guys) that Matt is Daredevil. It's a very sudden development that honestly feels like the beginning of the character assassination of the character (she does get one small moment later, though). Tarkington sends people to kill Matt, but Matt manages to stop them all.

In the end, Matt makes a moral compromise that he thinks he can live with. Tarkington only has a few months to live so Matt decides to let him stay out as long as he keeps Matt's identity a secret. It's handled very matter of factly and not dwelled on, but it's definitely a big compromise for Matt. In the end, he finds out another big deal. The murderer from the beginning killed again and Matt feels he is to blame.

I like the moral issues in this story. I don't think they were executed well. I think the questions were raised but not really followed up upon. Still, the story flows well and is enjoyable enough. Three and a Half Stars.
_________________
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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