Daredevil vs…
Who ya got?
Daredevil Vol.5 #5 (Marvel Comics)
A new crime lord calling himself Tenfingers (who actually has ten fingers per hand) has brought The Hand down upon himself. Daredevil is after him but he has religious impunity. At the same time Daredevil is teaching a pupil calling himself Blindspot (he can make himself invisible) whose mother works for Tenfingers. This issue opens with The Fist inside Tenfingers’ domain killing as many followers as possible.
Why does this book matter?
Writer Charles Soule has managed to make Daredevil feel fresh partly because Matt Murdock is a prosecutor for the state (a more aggressive lawyering job) but also because of the new crime lord that’s created a new sort of dynamic for him. Ron Garney has proven his art, along with the color from Matt Milla, is incredibly complex no matter the panel and its size. This series has proven to be as captivating as anything on the stands today.
An absolute truth!
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Talk about a climax! Soule paces this issue very well bringing in The Fist and forcing Tenfingers and Daredevil to join forces against a common foe — even though they don’t like it. Blindspot does some heroing of his own and there are plenty of excellent action scenes too. By the end there’s a shakeup of power, Daredevil’s job could be in trouble, and the dynamic between he and Blindspot is going to be fascinating to follow in the future issues.
The art by Garney is without a doubt jaw dropping good. No one is going to complain about a lack of action or a lack of dynamic layouts. One double page spread shows off two battles, is easy to follow and does well to show Daredevil can go at it with a monster without fear. One of the crowning achievements of this issue is how Daredevil has no fear and it’s an element you don’t see so strongly expressed. And he should be scared, because Garney draws one ferociously scary Fist.
Let’s talk about the color and lack thereof in this issue because it really makes scenes pop. Take for instance any scene with Blindspot, which is cast in white and black giving him an invisible sort of feel. Meanwhile Daredevil is in red, white and black and the whites look fantastic highlighting his muscles and body. The look is reminiscent of Frank Miller’s Sin City but less rigid and with a more fluid look. The use of color, especially with red in one scene as characters get shot to pieces, helps convey the deadly seriousness of certain scenes too. Bottom line is it’s eye catching from beginning to end.
It can’t be perfect can it?
One might argue there wasn’t enough of Matt in his lawyer role, but those people dislike action and crime comics!
Oh, that’s cool.
Is It Good?
Action packed with plenty of interesting character dynamics throughout add up to one hell of a crime comic. Who Daredevil is and what he can do is on display and it’s a site to see!
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