A Return to Form, Somewhat: Daredevil #4

(writer) Mark Waid
(artist) Chris Samnee
(colorist) Javier Rodriguez

Last month's "Daredevil #3" was extremely disappointing in that it had Matt Murdock acting extremely out of character, putting his fate in the hands of someone who had not shown him, at that point in the story, if he could be trusted.

Here, Waid changes gears a little bit as Max Coleridge, a.k.a. the Shroud, helps Matt out against one of his oldest enemies, the Owl, whom the pair of them teamed up to take down last issue. Still, the Owl's got an ace up his sleeve that keeps the blind crimefighting duo from taking him in, and Matt is back to square one. Thanks to some valuable intel picked up by his new partner-in-crimefighting Kirsten MacDuffie, Matt is soon back on the trail of his old nemesis.

I still don't buy that Matt would trust someone like the Shroud, but Waid at least moves on from that story point quickly enough to make me forgive that lapse and enjoy the rest of the story, even if it isn't quite up to the standard Waid has set with this series. There isn't much of Matt using his brain here, just his acrobatic and fighting skills as he escapes from one tightly guarded place in the beginning of the issue and breaks into another towards the end. Still, the issue is well-paced, and I have to admit I'm intrigued at how Waid appears to be setting up a pretty significant story arc for the Owl, even as he wraps this one up. That would be a welcome development; apart from the time Brian Bendis used the character to develop the "Mutant Growth Hormone" drug during his run on Daredevil, very few writers have taken the character too seriously. I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing Waid and Samnee take a crack at making him a proper menace for my favorite blind superhero.

Speaking of Samnee, he's firing on all cylinders, as usual.  This guys has really cemented his status as one of my favorite artists of all time, and my favorite on this particular character. The thought of him and Waid cooking up a storm for DD in the months to come has my mouth watering. Javier Rodriguez is in top form as well, and I'm looking forward to him taking over the book for two issues for the "Original Sin" crossover in a few months' time. This book has, to my mind, the best rotating creative team in the business right now.

I found Foggy Nelson's absence from the issue quite conspicuous, and the last page made it clear that next issue will be pretty much all about him. Given how oblique the storytelling has been on exactly what the game plan is regarding his character, I am extremely interested to see what happens next issue.

8/10