As mentioned, Matthew Murdock is back in Hells Kitchen with no memory of his past life, following his faith which has been such a cornerstone in his life. Still, more than one Devil stalks the Kitchen, and both have the reformed Matthew in their respective sights.
Saladin Ahmed has the unenviable task of restarting a character that could have quite easily ridden off into the sunset, giving readers a chance to miss him. Ahmed uses the memory loss trope well enough, giving readers and ideal jumping on point; remember that it is Matthew’s world that has changed, not the Marvel universe. Therefore he still has his radar like powers and Elektra is still around as Lady Daredevil, the latter I am pleased about. Ahmed runs both Elektra and Matthew through the wringer, inevitably planting the seed of a devil’s rebirth. In doing so, Ahmed mines the contradiction of a religious man who feels he possesses the devil inside.
The art is provided by Aaron Juder who does an OK job for the main part. For me, the pencils are just a little too tame for the tone of the book. At times the facial elements really work and in others they come across a touch bland, consistency is key. Same goes for the action scenes; some really pop and others are let down by dodgy perspectives and odd shaped body parts. Colors, from Jesus Arbutov, share touch of inconsistency where skin shows where there should be red. That said the page where Matt meets the devil is best of the book by far; both pencils and colors deliver! the book is quite talky at times, so it’s a good thing that VC’s Clayton Cowles is on hand to bring his level of high quality to the letters.
I am not sure why a change in focus of the story, or a change in creative team signals a need to restart a book at #1. Is it just for the alleged sales spike a “hot #1”? fi so, be mindful the drop for #2 and #3 can make those books scarcer. Couple this strategy with a character that is much maligned, be if for being a lightweight Spider-Man or the godawful film, Daredevil never seems to get his due. With all that in mind, this book was a lot more fun than I expected it to be, effectively resetting players into another crusade, or is that fools errand?
Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars
Overall – 3.5 Stars
Written by; Saladin Ahmed
Art by; Aaron Kuder
Colors by; Jesus Arbortov
Letters by; VC’s Clayton Cowles
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.
Author Profile
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I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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