written by Charles Soule
drawn by Ron Garney
colored by Matt Milla
I have been a fan of Daredevil for over twenty years, and the creative run of writer Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, that ran for over four years, remains one of my very favorites. I initially had intended to drop the title after their run ended late last year, but when the new creative team of Charles Soule and Ron Garney started getting favorable reviews I decided to give at least the first full story arc a shot.
As I had predicted, the new creative run marks a return to a more "noir" storytelling approach, and the color palette Matt Milla uses here is so muted that the comic, save for parts of Daredevil's costume, is actually in black and white.
Matt Murdock has left California for New York, and through a method that has been left unexplained to the reader for now, he has managed to get everyone in the Marvel Universe, save for one person, to forget his secret identity. He's been reinstated to the New York bar, but rather than work his traditional role as a defense attorney, he's taken on a different challenge; he now works at the district attorney's office, where he faces a considerable challenge in attempting to prosecute a mysterious religious leader named Tenfingers. Now that he's a prosecutor Matt fights Tenfingers on two fronts; in the courts and as Daredevil, but from the look of things he may have met his match, especially since Tenfingers has learned a thing or two from the group he used to hang out with, namely the Hand. Fortunately, Daredevil has a bit of help in the form of an apprentice/sidekick, the undocumented immigrant Sam, who moonlights as the crimefighter Blindside to protect Chinatown from the likes of Tenfingers.
I'm actually glad Soule and Garney made a clean break from the past status quo, and that the reason it came undone was apparently something to do with the recently-concluded Secret Wars event. I'm especially glad that it's with regret that Matt realizes what he gave up, as a firm nod to what came before, even as the new team heads in their own direction.
That said, even though this run sets out to do something entirely different, it still doesn't quite grab me the way the last series did.
For one thing, the stories feel a little "slow-burn" for me, like a throwback to Bendis' decompression days. One of the strengths of Waid's storytelling was his ability to craft issues that for the most part, could serve as "done-in-ones" and parts of a larger tapestry. A sterling example of this would be the issues leading into Daredevil's most recent showdown with Bullseye, in which several of the five-issue arc worked on their own and as part of the larger narrative. Soule clearly attempts that here, but most of the issues fall flat, largely because the action scenes seem to just meld into one another. Much has been said about Soule's being an attorney, but thus far, Matt has yet to have any courtroom exploits so it's hard to judge whether or not this will be an actual asset to the storytelling.
Speaking of people supposedly bringing their real-life skills to their storytelling, artist Ron Garney, whose style is actually well-suited to this minimalist, noir-inspired storytelling, is a rather noticeable step down from Samnee, not only as a draftsman but as a storyteller and even as a fight choreographer, which is kind of ironic considering he's supposedly a jiu jitsu practitioner and even instructor. His fight sequences are mostly limited to splash panels and the usual cheat of having Daredevil's foot or fist in someone's face. I guess it really doesn't follow that a martial arts expert would necessarily be the best person to draw a fight scene. I think it's worth pointing out, though, that this specific presentation of the art somewhat flatters his artwork, which would not look anywhere near as good in a more colorful book like, say, All-New Avengers.
Sure, call me biased, but as much as one should judge this story and this team on their own merits, I will inevitably use their predecessors as my yardstick, especially since the book to which they have moved, Black Widow, has just launched an awesome first issue (which I will review shortly).
It's a little early to judge if this run will go down as one of the all-time greats, but the team is off to a decent, if not particularly outstanding, start.
7.5/10
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