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DAREDEVIL #3

[ MAN WITHOUT SALE
There once was a lawyer called Matt, who was crafty like a very fat cat. But then, one night, he got, a right fright, when the cat popped round for a chat. Want to know more? Then please ignore the following adventure created by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, and published by Marvel Comics in April, 2019.

TO QUOTE An Ancient Proverb:The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

THE REVIEW:
At the end of last month's episode, otherwise known as the second part of the ‘Know Fear’ saga, we all saw Daredevil being gunned down by Detective North in order to arrest him for a crime he allegedly committed.

But fear not, dear reader, because this month Matt manages to brush himself down, get back up, and run away -- Bang-Pow-Crash -- only to get himself into even more trouble while tending to his injuries. Want to know more? Then please pick up issue 3 of Daredevil today! In the meantime though, here, have a look at this… 

Part One) A TALE OF TWO TALENTS:   Before I begin telling you what I thought about this, that, and the other, please allow me to take a quick sidestep by directing your attention towards this current creative team, Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto.

Now, where Chip is concerned, you might like to know that his real name is Steve Murray and he’s a Canadian artist, writer, and journalist, who’s previously worked for two well-known publications. One of them was the ‘National Post’, where he wrote and illustrated for a letter column entitled, ‘Extremely Bad Advice’; whereas the other one was ‘The Ampersand Magazine’, where he contributed satirical content for their online pop culture sections.

Marco, on the other hand, is an Italian artist who’s worked on a number of different projects for Marvel Comics, such as Shattered Empire, Squadron Supreme, The Punisher, The Amazing Spider-Man, as well as the Obi-Wan and Anakin miniseries. He’s also drawn covers for PlayStation Magazine and worked with a number of very prolific writers, including Greg Rucka, Charles Soule, Kieron Gillen, Kelly Thompson, and now, his current partner in crime, Chip Zdarsky

Well, from what we’ve seen so far, I think that Chip is a very prolific writer, a very prolific writer indeed, because he’s able to take a story and amplify its level of intensity one scene at a time. Take this story, for instance, part three of ‘Know Fear’, which initially began on a cliffhanger before rapidly progressing into a chase scene, a final face-off, and a last minute surprise that nobody saw coming! Well, that’s unless they’ve already read the advanced listings published by Marvel; which I didn't, thankfully, largely due to me being one of those people that enjoys following a story without knowing too much about it beforehand. After all, what’s the point of reading a comic, if you already know how it’s going to end? It doesn’t make much sense, does it? And that is why I really enjoyed reading this one: As it was shocking by design, surprising by default, and most importantly of them all...

Part Two) BANG:   ...was very exciting in its own right. So much so, in fact, that I may have some difficulty telling you anything about it (for the sake of spoilers)! Although, between you and me, I think I can safely say that this is the type of adventure which builds, and builds, and builds, page, by page, by page, with each beat of the story growing more and more intense the longer you read it.

You see, when the episode begins, we are presented with a scenario where nobody is certain if Daredevil is still alive or not. But then, slowly but surely, we briskly realize that he is still alive and has the energy to get away from his captors with a modicum of fuss. However, they won’t let him get away, no way Jose, and so they pursue him through the streets of New York City, until they finally have him cornered, and... well... shit happens! And trust me, folks, I do mean shit, with a capital ‘S’, as we are then presented with a one-on-one fight between the hunter and the hunted, Matt and Detective Cole North, a fight which, surprisingly enough, Matt loses, big-time, and the justification for this is because he’s wounded, suffering from an existing injury, and he still has a bullet lodged inside his shoulder.

So, as you can imagine, things don’t really look too good for the man without fear, apart from the fact that he has a mysterious benefactor who is willing to lend a hand. No. Don’t worry. I won’t tell you who this mysterious person is. Yet, what I will say; is that this entire scenario was well paced, well emotional, and well refreshing to read.

Now some of the things I enjoyed, include: (1) How the story was able to subtly illustrate the parallels between the three main protagonists, Matt, North, and Fisk, by highlighting the fact that each of these characters are both guilty and innocent in fairly unequal measures; (2) Those heart-warming scenes where certain members of the police force expressed how they feel about Daredevil and the dichotomy he’s now facing; (3) The blatant and stubborn determination Cole seems to exhume by the way he holds himself and behaves; and (4) The down to earth artwork that’s bold in places, dynamic in others, and generally held the overall adventure in fairly good stead.

That said, however, the one thing I wasn’t too keen on was the inclusion of Wilson Fisk! After all, all he did was turn up, show his face, say a few snide remarks, and then go away again.  See you later, alligator! Also, I wasn’t quite sure why Daredevil’s previous incarceration wasn’t mentioned either -- slightly, at least -- as it was almost as if he wasn’t sent to prison during the Bendis / Brubaker run. Apart from that, though, yeah, this book was good, really good, and overall, I’m honestly looking forward to finding out what we have in store next month. I mean, will Matt’s secret benefactor help him or kill him? How will Detective North be perceived now he’s done what he’s done?  And let’s not forget, who's behind the crime that Matt has been blamed for?  Either way, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.  

THE MUSIC:
For this month’s musical match-up, I would like to align this adventure with The Clash classic, ‘I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)’, all for fairly obvious reasons. 




THE COMPARISON:
Now a large portion of this episode featured Detective North fighting or chasing Matt throughout the mean streets of New York City. So, with that in mind, I would now like to compare it to any film starring Jackie Chan. Like this one, for instance… 




THE CONCLUSION:
At the end of this issue, Daredevil suddenly comes face-to-face with someone he would never deem his savior. So, out of the following eight options, let’s see if you can guess who this savior is? Could it be…

  1. The Kingpin.
  2. The Queenpin.
  3. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
  4. The Geriatric Healthy Kung-Fu Pigeons. 
  5. He-Man.
  6. She-Woman.
  7. The Punisher.
  8. The Punishim.

Nuff said. 

DAREDEVIL #3 DAREDEVIL #3 Reviewed by David Andrews on April 18, 2019 Rating: 5

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