Purple Reign: A Review of Daredevil #10

written by Mark Waid
illustrated by Chris Samnee
colored by Matthew Wilson

The last issue had Zebediah Killgrave, a.k.a. the murderous Purple Man, standing over Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil after the latter had fallen off a bridge, having fallen prey to the overwhelming empathic powers of Killgrave's illegitimate children by several different women. Now, Matt must take on Killgrave and figure out how to deal with five kids with powers capable of crippling him with depression. Meanwhile, the father of Matt's current law-partner/squeeze Kirsten McDuffie, who also happens to be a successful publisher, continues to ask if he's interested in turning his life story into a book.

Waid wraps up a fairly compact three-issue arc with a healthy dose of action and Matt's trademark ingenuity in dealing with his adversary.  The manner in which Matt saves the day here is not quite as clever as the way he stopped a bomb from exploding in issue #1, but it is fun, and gratifying to boot. It's not quite what I'd call groundbreaking as far as storytelling is concerned, and while this may sound hypocritical of me, especially considering how much I complain about decompressed storytelling, there's a part of me that feels this story line could have benefited from one more issue. I would have loved to have seen more of Waid's and Samnee's take on Killgrave.

Ultimately, though, Waid and Samnee most certainly gave me my Daredevil fix with this issue, and this arc, and that's what matters.

I would especially like to sing praises for Samnee's inspired cover. This entire arc has basically been a sort of homage to Gothic horror stories, and it's a lot of fun to see Samnee really immersing himself in this particular brand of storytelling, particularly in terms of how he draws covers.

For me, though, the real treat in this story happens on the very last page, which is actually a surprise epilogue of sorts. I dare not spoil it, but suffice it to say that Waid and Samnee sell the readers a bit of a dummy as far as Matt's emotional state is concerned, only to trick us at the very last minute. It's a fitting ending given the light-hearted tone this series has had since Waid first relaunched Daredevil half a decade ago, and serves as a bit of a reassurance that Waid and Samnee still have several stories to tell without having to take DD down the "dark" path with which he is still most commonly associated thanks to the likes of Frank Miller.

Again, Waid, Samnee and Wilson have come up with a real winner here.

8.7/10

Quick Looks Part VII: The Amazing Spider-Man #s 1.4 and 1.5

(writer) Dan Slott
(artist) Ramon Perez
(colorist) Ian Herring

Dan Slott's look at the first few months of Peter Parker's career as Spider-Man concludes, as he deals both with his own issues of who he has to be, as well as Clash, the high school loner who has gone from Spider-Man wannabe to aspiring supervillian in the course of two issues.

I confess to being a little disappointed at how the series ultimately played out; the marketing promised answers as to why Clash has not been a part of the Spider-Man mythology all these years, and the comic book failed to deliver. As a retcon, then, this series is slightly problematic.

In all other respects, though, this is a pretty satisfying retro story in the vein of Daredevil: Yellow. Truth be told, it doesn't really bring too much that's new to the canon, but it is a nice reaffirmation of the values that makes Peter Spider-man. Also, it gave Alex Ross the opportunity to turn it some truly astonishing covers.

I suppose we'll be seeing Clash again soon, but even if we don't, Slott told a pretty decent story, even if he had to introduce a new character to do it.

8/10

Quick Looks Part VI: Ultimate Spider Man #6 and #7

written by Brian Michael Bendis
illustrated by David Marquez
colored by Justin Ponsor

Miles Morales has a rematch with Norman Osborn, one that spans two issues, and Peter Parker, apparently really and truly not dead, comes to an important decision. Also, the readers learn why it's quite a bummer for Katie Bishop to learn that her boyfriend Miles is actually Spider-Man.

This issue is brilliantly illustrated, and a pretty satisfying conclusion as far as the Osborn/Parker/Morales saga goes, but holy cow, it took Bendis two issues to say what could have easily been said in one, and as I will emphasize in my review of Daredevil #10 (which will be a full review, unlike this snippet), the extra twenty pages were completely unnecessary.

Apart from Bendis' penchant for decompression, though, I think the reason for the ultra-long two-part climax to this story; is to definitively establish Miles Morales as a force to reckon with in the Marvel Universe. Norman Osborn, in this particular world, is the definitive "ultimate universe" bad guy, and Miles takes him on without blinking. Bendis has put Miles through the wringer since creating him, and seeing Miles really cut loose is cathartic, in a way, as it would surely be for the character after all he has endured. To be fair, despite the extra length, Bendis' story manages to pack quite a few narrative punches.

The star of this show, though, is Marquez, and whatever happens to this title or the Ultimate Universe in general, I hope he continues to illustrate Spider-Man adventures for a long time to come, whether it's Miles or Peter under the mask.

There are some unresolved threads, apart from the one introduced at the end of the issue; in particular the "Spider-Men" who have been on a robbery spree remain on the loose, but clearly Bendis has more stories to tell in the little time this book, and this imprint, have left. I just hope they're a little more compact than this rather bloated seven-issue story has been.

7/10

Quick Looks Part V: Daredevil #8 and #9

(writer) Mark Waid
(artist) Chris Samnee
(colorist) Matthew Wilson

After taking two issues off, regular series artist Chris Samnee rejoins Mark Waid for this genuinely chilling story arc which sees the return of longtime Daredevil foe Zebediah Killgrave, otherwise known as the Purple Man, who gathers up various children he has sired by women using his mind-control powers. He has two goals: one being to rule the city or something like that, and the other and apparently more primordial one being to enjoy the affection of people who aren't forced, by his "talents," to love him. It all goes horribly wrong for him, however, as his kids have other ideas. Meanwhile, Daredevil's blossoming romance with his law partner and life coach Kirsten McDuffie takes a turn for the interesting when Kirsten's father, a self-made publishing magnate, offers Daredevil a book deal for his life-story, with a hefty advance. The problem, however, is that for all of his eloquence in the courtroom and acumen in hand-to-hand combat, Matt is apparently a terrible writer. He's about to have about several bigger problems in very short order, though.

While I certainly missed Samnee during the last two "Original Sin" issues, I'm more than happy for his time off, because his art on both of these issues visibly benefits from his brief hiatus; the level of rendering is quite impressive, even by his already considerably high standards. It perfectly captures the decidedly dark atmosphere Waid has set for this particular story line.

Killgrave, like most of Daredevil's original villains, was actually kind of goofy when he came out (Kingpin, often regarded as DD's ultimate nemesis, was originally a Spider-Man bad guy), but in the last ten years or so, thanks in large part to Brian Michael Bendis, who reworked the character in the now defunct series Alias, he has metamorphosed into a rather frightening character in the mold of Hannibal Lecter. Waid teases the reader with the prospect of Killgrave using his army of kids to make life very difficult for Daredevil, before taking an abrupt, very interesting left turn and setting the stage for what could not only be an interesting showdown, but a very interesting team-up as well. That's all I'll say on the matter.

This storyline kind of eschews the swashbuckling tone that has pervaded this series for the last half decade or so, but rather than revisit its more famous noir roots it goes for a more gothic horror, "Children of the Corn" kind of approach, and I'm very interested to see what Waid and Samnee, joined by new series colorist Matthew Wilson, have in store.

9/10

Quick Looks Part IV: Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #s 4 and 5

(writer) Brian Michael Bendis

(artist)  David Marquez

(colorist) Justin Ponsor

In issue #4, Miles Morales gets into a fistfight with Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin. Peter Parker (yes, Peter Parker) helps out. In issue #5, they escape the police. Save for a few other pages of dialogue between other characters, little else actually happens. 

This book is turning into one big anti-climax, which Bendis is unduly dragging out for reasons I cannot quite understand. Bendis didn't do this too often on his first run with this character. His longest story arc on the previous iteration of this title was seven issues, but here, five issues in, things don't feel anywhere near resolution, and it's largely because of his insufferable propensity for decompressed storytelling. 

The good news is that artist David Marquez is at the top of his game here, and his art for both issues is nothing short of amazing, ably abetted by Justin Ponsor and his color palette. Bendis' dialogue, particularly the exchange between Miles' girlfriend, Katie Bishop, and her older sister, is fairly enjoyable, if a little repetitive, considering how most of his characters seem to have identical speech tics. Truth be told, the story overall is rather enjoyable; what detracts is the feeling that so little has happened over two whole issues, and even over the last five.

It's been said that Marvel looks like it's finally calling time on the Ultimate imprint (though people have been saying that for some time now), and considering the sagging sales its titles have experienced for over half a decade now if they've decided to make that call I can hardly blame them. Maybe that's why Bendis is dragging this series out a bit; maybe he knows the world in which it moves is on its last legs.

Either way, I really hope Bendis has a really butt-kicking finale in store for this arc. 

7/10

Quick Looks Part III: Guardians of the Galaxy #18 to 20 (spoilers)

(writer) Brian Michael Bendis
(pencils) Ed McGuinness, Valerio Schiti (some pages of issue 20)
(inks) Mark Farmer
(colors) Jason Keith

Peter Quill, a.k.a. Starlord, for some time, was believed dead, having trapped himself, Drax the Destroyer, and the missing hero Richard Ryder, a.k.a. Nova, in the dreaded Cancerverse with Thanos the Titan. Quill, Drax and Thanos have since returned from what was believed to be certain death, but Ryder has not. In the course of three issues, Quill explains what happened to Gamora, who had some kind of romantic liaison with Quill.

I'll be honest, I didn't follow this series before Bendis relaunched it with Steve McNiven last year, but it really felt like it was designed to sell the then-upcoming movie, from Star Lord's revised, mask-free look to the stories that didn't seem particularly n any kind of preexisting continuity. With the movie having come, seen and conquered, Bendis and crew now revisit some of the past of the title, and it's pretty gruesome.

I wasn't particularly a fan of Bendis' decompressed storytelling, which is on full display as he takes three issues to tell what is basically a two-issue story, but I will give him credit for telling a pretty moving story about a hero's last stand (at least, until some other writer decides otherwise). Richard Ryder makes a pretty heroic decision in the face of a pretty grisly fate, but personally, and even without any real attachment to this character, I wasn't quite happy with the denouement he was given, which really felt like an afterthought.

I get that there was some kind of imperative for the Nova title to be rebooted for younger readers, starring the (kind of annoying) character that Jeph Loeb created for the Ultimate Spider-Man TV series, but I don't believe that they had to dispatch with Ryder the way they did. But then, I'm not Marvel.

I only picked up this book for some Ed McGuinness art, and while I will say I was happy with what I got, I have to say I would have preferred for him to have worked with his more frequent collaborator Dexter Vines. Mark Farmer's softer inking style doesn't quite do Ed's pencils justice.

All in all, I really could have done without this in my collection, but at least, unlike the issues illustrated by Nick Bradshaw (and company) that came before it, this had a more meaningful narrative and some pretty good art.

6.5/10

Quick Looks Part II: A Review of Daredevil issues #6 and #7

(writer) Mark Waid
(artist) Javier Rodriguez
(colorist) Alvaro Lopez

In the months that I was unable to purchase any new comic books due to a heavy work schedule, being away from this title was the most difficult for me to endure. This title is, hands-down, my very favorite on sale today, and not being able to follow it was an honest-to-God bummer.

These two issues constitute the title's tie-in to Marvel's "Original Sin" event which wrapped up a couple of months ago. The premise is that Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil is given a memory from his past involving his mother and father. It's an unpleasant image that suggests that his father physically abused his mother, but it is not a complete memory, and as a result, Matt hunts down the enigmatic nun known as Sister Maggie, whom he also knows to be his mother. Much to his shock, however, she is in jail for reasons that no one seems willing to disclose to Matt, but which involve the sovereign nation of Wakanda.

Sending Daredevil on international adventures isn't exactly a new thing; a few years back he was in Monaco during Ed Brubaker's run and only a few years ago, under the tenure of Mark Waid, he paid a visit to Doctor Doom's native Latveria. This story is a little less ambitious than those were, as it only spans two issues compared to the four or five issues, but it does contain Waid's patented dynamite storytelling ability, which hinges on Matt's hero worship for his dad, and how this fragment of a memory comes close to shattering that mental and emotional image he has of his father. It's a pretty potent story, even if it isn't all about shifting the status quo or anything like that, and has something fairly interesting to say about post-partum depression. Also, it answers the long standing question of why Daredevil's mom left his dad in a way that is neither cloying nor judgmental.

Regular artist Chris Samnee takes a break for these two issues (though he is back for the next two with a vengeance), and Javier Rodriguez, his usual fill-in guy, does an admirable job illustrating this compact tale, though he isn't quite on par with Samnee's regular work. I chuckled at the realization that Samnee is probably not Catholic, though; his cover of issue #6, which features several nuns in prayer, depicts one of them holding what is supposed to be a rosary, one which is incorrectly drawn. Well, research into religious iconography isn't one of his strong points, then. It's not exactly a deal-breaker for me, especially considering the work Samnee turns in for issues #8 and #9. But that's another review altogether.

Yet again, Mark Waid delivers!

8.5/10

Quick Looks Part 1: The Amazing Spider-Man #s 4 to 6

(writer) Dan Slott
(penciler) Humberto Ramos
(inker) Victor Olazaba
(colorist) Edgar Delgado

Work has kept me away from this blog for something like three months running now, so there are literally over a dozen reviews I would have wanted to write that I simply could not find the time for.

These three issues see the end of the first arc of Peter Parker's inaugural return as Spidey, and to the credit of Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos and the rest of the crew responsible, they are three very eventful issues as they contain some pretty significant developments not only for Spidey, but for longtime supporting character Felicia Hardy, aka the Black Cat, who seems to have made the transition into full-blown bad guy, and for the relative newbies, like Peter's business partners Sajani, and his body's ex (from the time Doctor Octopus was running around in it) Anna Maria Marconi. The arc also introduces a new character with Spider powers, Cindy Moon, aka Silk, who comes across to me as one of the most pointless retcon jobs I've seen in recent years, but one which may yet prove important to the "Spider-Verse" storyline, which has already begun with issue #9. In the meantime, I'm so darned far behind in my reading that I only just finished with #6.

I'll say this for Slott: he may have put Peter back in the driver's seat, but he certainly isn't about to go easy on him. It looks like he's about to have a pretty serious dose of "the Parker luck" coming. Also, the fact that the Black Cat has gone from one-time Spidey friend to full-on Spidey foe is some of the fall-out from Spider-Ock's tenure that I was sincerely hoping to see.

For me, the jury is still out on Moon a.k.a. Silk, but if nothing else I'm glad Slott has, through her, revisited the Morlun character, first introduced by J. Michael Straczynski during the inaugural arc of his celebrated run on the book over a decade ago.

Ramos is...well, Ramos. There has been some improvement to his style but it is still essentially the same bundle of barely-controlled chaos that it usually is during the action sequences. His character work has improved quite a bit, and at least Peter doesn't look like he's twelve years old, as he did when Ramos first started drawing him many years ago.

All told, it's a respectable story that will probably play out well as a collected edition, but it was hardly the big bang I was expecting from the team that was welcoming Peter back after over a year away from his own body, especially considering they took six issues to tell the story.

It's a pity I had so many comics to catch up on, as I would have wanted to dive right into "Spider-Verse" after so many months away. Ah, well. Next time.

7.5/10