DAREDEVIL #23

Order! Order! We must have order in the court! Come on, people, let us calm down and get ready for what we have in store next. Then once we've done that, we can order the following comic book published by Marvel in July, 2017, created by Charles Soule and Alec Morgan. Case dismissed.

TO QUOTE John F. Kennedy: 'Change is the law of life'.

THE REVIEW:

Last month, Matt Murdock managed to instigate a plan in which Daredevil (his masked alter ego) was able to successfully give evidence in a court of law. So this month, we get to see some of the consequences this event indirectly causes.

Now, after reading a newspaper headline highlighting Matt's trial, Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, takes it upon himself to attack Matt's legislation with a two pronged attack. Well, now that the superhero community can work more closely with the judicial system, Wilson, being the dubious man that he is, does everything in his power to prevent the aforementioned legal document from being successful in High Court.

Initially he goes about doing this by hiring a district attorney named Mister Legal to file a directive against Matt's defense. And then, once that part of the plan shifts into gear, Wilson additionally hires the lumbering brute called Tombstone (real name, Lonnie Lincoln) to attack Matt, head-on, hoping to take him down before any subsequent trials can take place.

But the thing is, when Tombstone decides to kill Matt, he does so while Matt is consulting with a fellow district attorney, namely, Jennifer Walters, also known as She-Hulk, who briskly powers up as soon as the assault begins.

Yet would this be enough to stop that pale-faced powerhouse in his tracks? Plus what about Matt? Will he be able to use his special abilities without Jennifer figuring out who he is? And if so, will he fair any better against Mister Legal in the courtroom? To find out some of the answers to these questions, plus quite a few more, please pick up issue 23 of Daredevil today, part three of Supreme.

Although, if you do, try to keep in mind that the artwork on this issue isn't up to its usual high standard. Now of course I do mean this with all due respect, as I wouldn't want to offend Alec Morgan or his work on this book. But, in all fairness, occasionally I found his illustrations to be tonally rushed on the page, minimalist even, whereas at other times I felt that he was trying to imitate the work of someone like Tim Sale, yet without his stylistic noir like overtones.

Along similar lines I can also say the same thing about the story-line written by Charles Soule. Compared to what he produced last month, this month his script came across a little bit more predictable and pedestrian in terms of plot. For instance, the inclusion of Jennifer Walters also guarantees that She-Hulk would make an appearance. And if she does that, which she surely did, you can bet your bottom dollar she'd resolve the Tombstone subplot before it even hit the ground! Also, was her inclusion entirely necessary? As much as I found her 'maddening predicament' very intriguing to read, including all of those little tit-bits referring to her prior association with Matt, at the end of the day she came, she spoke, she smashed, and then she went away, which felt fairly disposable within the confines of this current arc.

Now in stark contrast to this I did like the inclusion of Mister Legal. Despite his silly sounding name, spit-spit, he strangely appeared a lot more intimidating than I thought he would. Plus, I particularly liked the build up other characters gave him in terms of back-story (i.e. his connection to Tony Stark).

Another thing I liked about this issue was that scene where Jennifer talked to Matt about Foggy Nelson. I mean, let's face it, why is Matt shying away from one of his best friends at a time like this? Is there more to Foggy's absence than meets the eye? And if so, why so?

So yeah, all in all I'd say that this issue of Daredevil was a largely okay read. The story had its moments, the artwork wasn't my cup of tea, and overall I can't wait to see what Matt does next month.

THE MUSIC:

I would now like to musically match up this comic book with the following song because of Jennifer Walters and her appearance in this adventure. So, take it away, theme tune to Flashdance, as it's time to get down and boogie.

THE COMPARISON:

In essence, this story is about preserving something that certain parties wish to maintain. So with that said, how could I not compare it to preservatives? You know, just like the ones you'll find in everyday food like jam, frozen ready meals, and other things of that nature.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue Matt Murdock stands up in court and says something towards the parade of judges sitting across from him. So, for the sake of politeness, let's see if you can guess what he says out of the following eight options? Could it be…