DAREDEVIL #26

[ SHADOW OF A SALE ] 

Knock-Knock! Who's there? Daredevil. Daredevil who? You know, Daredevil, generally known as the man without fear, as well as being the poor sap who's going to feature in the following story! It was created by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and published by Marvel Comics in September, 2017.

TO QUOTE Martin Luther King: 'That old law about "an eye for an eye" leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing'. 

THE REVIEW:

Part one of 'Land of the Blind' basically sets up the reintroduction of Daredevil's previous partner and protege, Samuel Chung, also known as the masked vigilante, Blindspot.

Now as many of us know, a few months back, Sam's eyes were savagely ripped out of his head by a meta human serial killer, and since then, he has been under the watchful eye of his caring, albeit very shady mother, Lu Wei.

Well, that's what we all presumed, until he recently sent a message to Daredevil via his sister, Hannah, asking him to come over to China in order to pay him a visit.  After all, Matt did try to train him to become a superhero and was involved with the case which ultimately cost him his sight. So, obviously feeling obligated to his young friend, Matt quickly takes it upon himself to shut up shop and travel to the Orient.

Once he gets there, however, I'm afraid to say that things don't seem to pan out in the way he would have liked. For a start, a number of Hand assassins attack him as soon as he tracks Sam down to an ancient temple. Then, to add insult to injury, afterwards he gets attacked again, this time by... by... by... uh? No. I think its best that I stop myself there or else I may spoil how this issue ends. And you don't want me to do that, do you?  You'd much rather me tell you about my opinions on this piece, issue 26, even though it is hindered by one major flaw.

You see, my main problem with this book, is that it's a slow and conventional introduction to a much larger adventure. In no uncertain terms it sets up the pretext (i.e. a message sent to Matt via Sam's sister), clarifies what has happened previously (namely, Matt's legal issues, etc, etc), as it then takes our hero from point A to point B (meaning, Matt Travels to China). And that's about it really. Story told. Yet having said all that, its main saving grace can be found in a number of subtle nuances spread throughout its telling, nuances that don't have any direct correlation with the plot itself, despite adding texture and value to the overall narrative.

A good way of illustrating this point can easily be seen in the sequence where Blindspot's sister, Hannah, has a discussion with Daredevil over her brother's motives. Essentially she tells him that her brother thinks more of other people than he does of his own kind, specifically, her, and highlights this fact by explaining how he could have put his technical savvy to much better use, much better than punching people in the face and getting himself hurt in the process. She then goes on and questions DD about his own motives and tactics, doing so in such a fashion that it comes across as being personal, logical, and at the same time down to earth and very real.

Another nuance I likewise appreciated can be seen in the following sequence where Matt goes to the law office and makes up an excuse for his leave of absence. Instead of him completely lying about going to China to see Sam, he actually uses the truth and perverts it slightly, stating that Sam might need some help and he would like to be the person to help him. This sequence also re-classifies last months Supreme story-line, which, again, gives Matt another excuse for taking some time away, while cleverly giving us a nod and a wink to current continuity.

Art-wise, and I must congratulate Ron Garney for providing some really nice looking visuals. On occasion some of his illustrations reminded me of the 90s Batman artist, Denys Cowan, especially in the way in which he illustrates bold characters and subtle backdrops, depicting them with a scratchy, almost old school vibe, which does seem to compliment a hard boiled story such as this one. In terms of shading I also appreciated his numerous film noir styled flourishes, which can easily be seen in the way he highlights characters faces or shows depth to a scene, a backdrop, or a room. 

So overall, yeah, this was a pretty decent start to a three-part story-line. The art was good, the story was simple, and all in all things seem to be heading in the right direction.

THE MUSIC:

In a strange way this story reminded me of packing my bags and going on a holiday, a trip, or a weekend away. So with that in mind, how could I not musically match it up with some holiday themed music, such as Boney M's...

THE COMPARISON:

Still sticking to a holiday themed motif; and I'd now like to compare this month's episode with a suitcase. You know, something portable, something practical, something reliable, and something which might come in handy when fighting against a hoard of ninjas. Hai-Yahhhh! Take that, you masked cretins.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue Daredevil comes face-to-face with someone close to his heart. So, out of the following eight candidates, can you guess who this someone might be? Could it be…

• Karen Page: His dead ex-girlfriend.
• Milla Donovan: His blind ex-wife.
• Elektra: See the first answer for more details then forget about her being dead.
• Spider-man: Well, he does like Spidey.
• Blindspot: I suppose he kind of likes him too. 
• Blindspot's Mum: She's a MILF!
• His Own Mum: She's a Nun!
• Someone Else's Mum: She has a pulse!

Nuff said.