by Andy Diggle (writer), Roberto De La Torre & Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Daredevil continues to use the Hand as an instrument to battle corruption.

What’s Good: I continue to enjoy Diggle’s take on Dark Reign, which remains one of the most unique in Marvel’s stable.  While most series simply have Osborn stomping about and occasional cameos by the Dark Avengers and/or the Thunderbolts, Diggle’s book best depicts how the world and society itself has changed thanks to Osborn’s rise.  Daredevil is used to occupying his own little corner of the Marvel Universe, and much of this issue is a wake-up call that even the farthest/lowest fringe of that Universe is subject to this major shift in status quo. The series’ own isolation stands in relation to Matt’s obliviousness to the larger state of things, absorbed as he is in his own crises.  Matt, and the comic itself, can now no longer ignore larger events, which do have an effect on Hell’s Kitchen, whether Matt realizes it or not.

While the theme is great, Diggle also writes some great dialogue this month.  The conversation between Daredevil and Izo was a particularly good.  Both men seem to be speaking in veiled threats and what seems to be the same old conversation we’ve heard a million times between the two takes on a tone of menace, where we’re forced to wonder who is trying to intimidate the other.  Is Izo getting impatient enough to threaten Matt?  Is Matt becoming inflated by his leadership of the Hand?  And which character is the initiator and which the respondent?  It’s a fascinating, multi-layered conversation that bears reading twice.

Other than that, the issue gives us everything we’ve come to expect from a good Daredevil comic.  Diggle writes the kinetic, thrilling action scenes that have been the signature of his career,  Kingpin is an absolute badass,  Becky, Foggy, and Dakota are as lovable as ever, and seeing Matt hold a pep rally for his horde of devil-horned ninjas definitely gets the blood pumping.  Meanwhile De La Torre continues to put out the best work of his career, as it’s clear that he was meant to draw this comic.  It’s shadowy, grimy, and gritty in the utmost, but with no loss of detail or clarity.  It’s quite the achievement, and he makes action and dialogue scenes equally engaging.

What’s Not-so-Good: I still don’t know where exactly Diggle is going with this.  The moral and ethical issues are there.  The push and pull on Matt’s conscience are there, and so are the strong inter-personal dynamics.  But the major plot, or conflict, still isn’t in place.  It doesn’t feel like we’re actually in a real story-arc right now, yet Diggle’s issues have been too inter-related to be considered episodic one-shots.  But there’s just no real thrust or direction at the moment aside from Matt’s general moral confusion and the general atmosphere of this new Daredevil status quo.  While I can’t say that nothing has happened, it feels like Diggle is still setting the stage.  It’s forgivable at the moment, but I hope Diggle gives us something that’s a little more identifiable as an actual arc sometime in the near future.

Conclusion: After this issue, it’s clear that Diggle’s run won’t be any weaker than those of his predecessors, which is saying quite a bit.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Michael Lark and Stefanao Guadiano (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors)

The Story: In this penultimate installment of the “Lady Bullseye” arc, Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, faces the reality that custody of his ailing wife has been legally black-mailed away from him by her parents. Meanwhile, Master Izo, the near-immortal, drunken kung-fu master, plots counter measures against the Hand by leveraging the Immortal Iron Fist and the Black Tarantula on separate missions. Unfortunately, Lady Bullseye and the Hand are one step ahead of the ancient master and are coming for Daredevil with a couple surprise fighters that he may be unable to battle, let alone defeat.

What’s Good: The opening scene is exceptional with perfect symmetrical beats between Matt’s dialogue with Foggy and Matt’s inner monologue. I enjoy how Brubaker, like Bendis, puts Matt’s self-righteousness and border-line insane sense of self-entitlement (even when he totally in the wrong)  out-there for the reader to see. It shows that Daredevil is a flawed hero; a characterization that obviously  fuels  the”real” feel of this series. Additionally, the supporting cast in this arc is great. Everybody plays a role rather than just taking up space as throw-ins.

Lark’s art is solid. The violence is presented accurately and devastatingly. He also seems to excel at positioning characters in just the right pose to reflect Brubaker’s script.

What’s Not So Good: Not too much. It should be noted that this is one of those issues when Matt never dons the costume. Also, there is way to much legal drama in Daredevil as of late. Yes, yes, the whole “justice is blind” as the underlying metaphor for Daredevil has to be there for the character to work, but I really think this volume of Daredevil has had more than enough explicit legal drama.

Conclusion: I find Brubaker and crew to be at the top of their  game on this current arc and this issue holds true to that. Perhaps there is justified frustration in the slow build of this issue that detours into heavy back story (Milla and Matt never signing marriage papers, etc) that seems irrelevant to this arc. But then again, long time fans will be very fulfilled with this approach.

Grade: B+

-Rob G.