Scan barcode
dantastic's review
3.0
I'm putting a 3 on this but it really had to earn it. Basically, this is the run that had to follow Daredevil - Born Again, which would have been impossible under any circumstances. Ann Nocenti writes about half of the issues and the rest are fill-ins. The artists switch almost by issue until the end with a two issue run by Rick Leonardi and three issues by JRJR. There's one issue with Barry Windsor Smith art, one with Keith Pollard, one with Todd McFarlane, one Chuck Patton, one Keith Giffen, and a couple laid out by Steve Ditko and finished by other people. There are also some by names I don't recognize.
The stories are fine, I guess. Matt is working as a short order cook by day and beating the shit out of people by night as Daredevil until he and Karen open a law clinic. Black Widow guest stars in a couple issues, as does Wolverine. Daredevil has crossovers with Mutant Massacre and Fall of the Mutants. With all the creative shifts, it feels disjointed as hell but has it's good points, especially at the ass end of the book when the creative shifts slow down. I'm hanging on to it rather than taking it to Half Price Books but it's on double secret probation. Three out of five stars.
The stories are fine, I guess. Matt is working as a short order cook by day and beating the shit out of people by night as Daredevil until he and Karen open a law clinic. Black Widow guest stars in a couple issues, as does Wolverine. Daredevil has crossovers with Mutant Massacre and Fall of the Mutants. With all the creative shifts, it feels disjointed as hell but has it's good points, especially at the ass end of the book when the creative shifts slow down. I'm hanging on to it rather than taking it to Half Price Books but it's on double secret probation. Three out of five stars.
themtj's review
4.0
I picked this up because I wanted to read Nocenti's work on superheroes. I'm not an X-Men fan and I have enjoyed quite a bit of Daredevil so this was an easy choice!
Overall I loved it! Here are some other thoughts in no particular order!
The Good:
- Nocenti's writing is excellent. She starts off writing one-shot episodic types, but she hits her stride when she starts telling serialized stories. The X-Men crossovers aren't my favorites since I'm not an X-Men reader but I know she loves the X-Men so I let it slide.
- Social issues are dealt with in a way that makes sense for this character. Whether he's fighting corporations for their environmental practices or millionaires with excessive wealth.
- The treatment of women characters was generally strong. I suspect this was a somewhat abrupt change since they finally had a female writer on Daredevil. Karen spent one or two issues worrying about Matt but for the most part she was proactive and didn't play the damsel in distress.
- The issue with Black Panther was particularly great. We got to see what makes Matt Murdock different even from other superheroes (relentless hope and optimism for an addict.)
- Pleasant surprise: Louis Williams had some incredible pencil work. I've never heard of him before and can't find ANYTHING about him on the internet. Must have had a short career but some really beautiful art.
- Finally, I loved the title issue for the comparison between a housecat and Sabretooth. As a lover of cats this was a very fun issue.
The Bad:
- Not so much bad as cringe. Some depictions of minority characters weren't great. This isn't on the writer as much as the artists, but small portions of this were tough to read.
Overall I loved it! Here are some other thoughts in no particular order!
The Good:
- Nocenti's writing is excellent. She starts off writing one-shot episodic types, but she hits her stride when she starts telling serialized stories. The X-Men crossovers aren't my favorites since I'm not an X-Men reader but I know she loves the X-Men so I let it slide.
- Social issues are dealt with in a way that makes sense for this character. Whether he's fighting corporations for their environmental practices or millionaires with excessive wealth.
- The treatment of women characters was generally strong. I suspect this was a somewhat abrupt change since they finally had a female writer on Daredevil. Karen spent one or two issues worrying about Matt but for the most part she was proactive and didn't play the damsel in distress.
- The issue with Black Panther was particularly great. We got to see what makes Matt Murdock different even from other superheroes (relentless hope and optimism for an addict.)
- Pleasant surprise: Louis Williams had some incredible pencil work. I've never heard of him before and can't find ANYTHING about him on the internet. Must have had a short career but some really beautiful art.
- Finally, I loved the title issue for the comparison between a housecat and Sabretooth. As a lover of cats this was a very fun issue.
The Bad:
- Not so much bad as cringe. Some depictions of minority characters weren't great. This isn't on the writer as much as the artists, but small portions of this were tough to read.
More...