DAREDEVIL #8

[ ATTACK THAT SALE ] 

If you should ever loose your child forget about calling child services. What you should do instead is wear a cloth thing around your tit's and go and beat up your ex, just in case. As that's what happened in the last issue of Daredevil, so maybe in this one there will be no cloth. Hey, Charles Soule and Goran Sudzuka, where are the tit's? Or have Marvel sold them all off in June, 2016.

TO QUOTE Jennifer Aniston: 'It's not really gambling when you never lose'.

THE REVIEW:

In a round about way last months finale put a dampener on this issue of Daredevil.  Now to explain what I mean by this, let me just say that at the start of this book we get to see Matt Murdock in Macau, China, with the intent of stopping a psychic gambler from winning a poker competition. Problem is, even though the story then progresses at a pretty steady pace, telling a fairly cosmopolitan adventure chock full of character, plot-twists, plus a couple of quick flashback-sequences, alluding to Matt's initial intent, in the same breath you can't help but also wonder what the hell is going on behind the scenes.

I mean, apart from him being crooked, why does Matt want to stop this gambler, and does it have anything to do with Elektra's 'phantom baby situation' from last issue? How come nobody is suspicious of the alias Matt is using, Laurent Levasseur, considering he isn't French and is probably new to the poker scene?  And in addition to this, isn't it unwise for Matt to rely heavily on luck during this game of chance, especially since he can't see the cards he's actually holding?

Now please don't get me wrong. I did like reading this issue and enjoyed its James Bondian vibe immensely. And, despite those question's I just alluded to hindering the plot in places, inadvertently putting up a narrative block here and there, I did get a kick out of the artwork provided by Goran Sudzuka (very plush and bold), as well as Charles Soule's exposition and character based monologues (it was insightful, and very cleverly written).

Heck, my favorite part of this issue can be seen in those sequences where Matt 'reads' the gamblers who surround him. To me, that was a very Sherlockian thing to do, as well as being very reminiscent of that type of analytical archetype. I also liked the notion of a blind gambler putting a stop to a psychic gambler because neither of them can read his cards. It's funny, but in a tragic sense.

Apart from that, though, well, all in all this issue was a pretty hit and miss affair. It scores a win in the art and the character departments, yet in the wake of last issues conclusion, ouch, the narrative looses out to a phantom baby.

THE MUSIC:

As much as I'd like to assign the theme tune to James Bond for this comic book, obviously I can't, can I Kenny Rogers? You bearded gambler you.

THE COMPARISON:

The concept of a blind gambler pitting his wits against a psychic card fiend is so funny to me; I can't help but compare it to the ironic notion of a boxing nun.  

Yes. I have stopped my medication. I best take it again, shouldn't I?

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue it was revealed that Matt was waiting for another hero this whole time. So, just for fun -- yes, it is fun -- let's see if you can guess who it is and what's the last thing they say out of the following eight options? Could it be...

1. Elektra: Hand me my bra please, these cloth things don't give me enough support.
2. Captain America: Did you just let one rip?
3. Iron Man: My jock-strap makes a clanking sound.
4. Spider-man: Took you long enough.
5. Hulk: Smash or puree?
6. Black Panther: I pity the fool who tries to get me on a plane.
7. Deadpool: I love Green Lantern!
8. Doctor Strange: Burp!!!!

Nuff said.