written by Saladin Ahmed
drawn by German Peralta
colored by Jesus Aburtov
Saladin Ahmed wraps up his first story arc on Daredevil in fine style, and while it's unfortunate that he is not joined by Aaron Kuder, with whom he kicked off this new era for ol' Hornhead, the extremely capable German Peralta fills in on art chores instead. The result is an issue that is highly satisfying, even as it sets up the narrative that is yet to come.
Having discovered that his old friend Ben Urich is behind the libelous stories being spread about St. Nicholas Youth Home, Fr. Matt Murdock decides to get to the bottom of things and confronts Urich himself at his office at the Daily Bugle. Urich no longer recognizes Matt, who, we must recall, has literally been brought back not just from the dead but from Hell itself, and Matt barely recognizes his old friend upon hearing him speak, until he finally gets a glimpse of what's really going on with Ben.
Meanwhile, things appear to be coming to a head with the new gang, the Heat, about to make a move on the heir to Wilson Fisk himself, Butch Pharris. Matt intervenes as Daredevil, and not a moment to soon since Bullseye himself is on the scene, though he is apparently there to serve a bigger purpose. It all comes to a head as old foes clash.
We're still pretty much in the honeymoon period of Ahmed's writing, and he has managed to finish his first mini story arc quite strongly, and that was after he delivered a good, solid, done-in-one first issue that also managed to set up the larger narrative. The book is off to the strongest start it's had in some time and I'm glad to see it. I know "Father Matt" is the kind of status quo that's destined to change, in much the same way that "Fry Cook Matt" was never going to be a long-term thing, but I want to see how long Ahmed can keep this up because quite frankly, this is the most interesting Matt has been in a while.
The only shortcoming I perceive with this book is the art, and not because it's bad. Quite the contrary, Aaron Kuder and German Peralta are both extremely talented artists and I wouldn't mind having them rotate on art duties, but I hope each of them is able to finish off a story arc before handing off to the other. For all of my complaints about The Amazing Spider-Man, I dare say their artist rotation strategy is one thing they've gotten right.
Well, one thing I can say for sure is that I'm on board for the immediate future, at least. It's not the firmest decision in the world as comics have gotten notably more expensive of late, but if Ahmed and his art team can keep this level of storytelling up, my wallet can take the hit.
9/10
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