DAREDEVIL #4

[ ITS GOOD TO BE FREE ] 

I find that the legal profession is a rather strained occupation to be involved with. Well – lets face it – lawyers and their ilk make money from other peoples misfortune – so where is the positive vibe in that? Not sure really – unlike this issue of horn head Written by Mark Waid; Drawn by Marcos Martin; and Published by Marvel Comics in October 2011.

THE STORY:

Rather shrewdly, the cavalier, Matt Murdock battles mobster, Darius Giacomo, on multiple fronts. Firstly, guised as Daredevil, Matt initially confronts Darius amidst the animals at the Bronx Zoo. And secondly, acting as a legal adviser, Matt subsequently assists the person that Darius has done harm to, Mr Robinow, to defend himself in a lawsuit with this fiend.

And to you know what? Mr Robinow wins too!

Still, the reprisals for cases such as these, gives Matt’s ally, Foggy Nelson, cause for concern. As you see, in his capacity as a case moderator, Foggy is finding it extremely difficult to distinguish the types of legal actions that he and Matt are able to win, amongst the plethora of hopeless pleas sent to them both.

However, one such plea does catch the attention of Matt on a personal level – one involving the wrongful dismissal of a blind interpreter. And after a shed load of adventuring on Daredevils behalf, guess what Matt does? Correct – he goes to see this blind interpreter, Austin Cao, whom tells Matt about the seemingly harmless incident that led him to be made redundant in the first place. Moreover, what does Matt think about this? “Its going to be Okay” he says.

But will it? Because the gun sights looming over them both says otherwise.

To be continued...

THE REVIEW:

Do you know what? Sometimes it is much harder to review a consistently good comic book series like ‘Daredevil’, compared to a comic book series’ that is just naff. You see, month in, month out, writer, Mark Waid, and artist, Marcos Martin, have presented some of the most breath taking and thought provoking stuff out on the racks today, that me – as a review – am starting to become lost for words in praise of their efforts. The same thing started happening to me whilst I was reviewing the now defunct Keith Giffen ‘Doom Patrol’ series – as it was one of those titles that I became so smitten by, that I – like now – had become... errr... stuck.

Therefore, what can I say about Daredevil now that I have not said before? That Mark Waid has presented a very interesting and compelling read all in all? Or that I found the story to be on par – if not better – than the previous instalment? Better yet, should I say that Marcus Martins artwork appears to becoming better and better by the issue? And that he is starting to turn into a Frank Miller / John Romita Sr. hybrid?

Oops – I think that I have just said that, right?  

OK, so you might have sussed out my ploy by now – by writing from the heart so I can see where I am going with this review. Still, sometimes this does help with writers – just has it has done with Mark Waid in this issue, as you can sense that he is starting to figure out the building blocks of how this series is going to evolve.

Now what I mean by this, is that I can physically see him ‘testing the water’ for his new stance with this book, by commenting on the two innovations he has established so far – most notably, Matt’s cavalier attitude towards his secret identity, and the whole ‘secret lawyer’ angle as well. Personally speaking, this is precisely what makes this title what it is – a great read – and does makes it hard to critique within the scheme of things. Still, month in, month out, I will be here and try my best to come up with new ways to make my review of Daredevil – like this book – something more than just... eerrr...

... ‘it’s a good read’.

THE RATING: A+