written by Saladin Ahmed
penciled by Aaron Kuder and Farid Karami
inked by Cam Smith and Karami
colored by Jesus Aburtov
Having discovered to his shock who has been spreading malicious falsehoods about St. Nicholas Youth Home, which he has been running together with his fellow priest Fr. Javi ever since his mysterious return from Hell, Father Matt Murdock now finds himself fighting on two fronts; by day, he has to engage with Child Protective Services and convince them that the horrible things being written about St. Nick's are not true, and by night, he has to take on the new gang the Heat, packing military-grade weaponry and who may be connected to an old foe of Matt's.
Saladin Ahmed's first mini-story arc nears its conclusion, and it's been a genuinely engaging ride so far. There are, of course, a lot of unanswered questions about Matt's new status quo, which I assume will be addressed over time, but for now I genuinely appreciate how Ahmed manages to put Matt, in his new guise as a Catholic priest, through the wringer without coming across as cruel or mean-spirited (I'm looking at YOU, Zeb Wells).
It's not all good news, unfortunately. Aaron Kuder, who has done great work up until this point and who still contributes solid pencils to this issue, does not draw the whole issue. His co-artist Farid Karami turns in decent enough work but his style is so different front Kuder's that it's a rather jarring experience, which is a shame because given how well-paced Ahmed's script in the shift in art is the one thing that can derail it. Notably, there isn't even a clean break in the art, i.e. Kuder doesn't draw the first have and Karami the second, rather there is an overlap between the pages drawn by the artists and it is not the cleanest narrative experience.
Still, so far, so good.
7.5/10
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