DAREDEVIL #8

[ DINNER WITH THE DEVIL ] 

There once was a retired vigilante, whose appearance was cool like Chianti. Until, one night, he had, a fight, and ended up sterile but randy. Want to know more? Then please ignore the following adventure created by Chip Zdarsky, Lalit Kumar Sharma, and published by Marvel Comics in August, 2019.

TO QUOTE Tara Westover: ‘In families like mine, there is no crime worse than telling the truth’.

THE STORY:

When Matt Murdock first accepted a dinner invitation from the owner of his local bookshop, Mindy, he was hoping that he would have a nice meal and an enjoyable chat with her family.

But no, this doesn’t happen, not in the slightest, because her family is a family of thieves, named the Libris crime family, and they’ve terrorized Hell’s Kitchen for many, many years! 

So, what does he do about it? What does Matt do when he discovers this strange turn of events? I mean, does he get up and walk away? Does he sit down and tough it out? Or does he wait for the bullets to fly and hope for the best? Well, either way, sh*t happens, big time, and that's why you should pick up issue 8 of Daredevil today. In the meantime though, here, check this out... 

THE REVIEW:

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this episode because it had a lot to say about two conflicting ideologies: namely, the corporate world versus the criminal underworld. Well, more or less, a large portion of the plot was focused on a discussion between Matt Murdock and an aging crime-lord, Isabelle Libris, who currently lives above her daughter-in-law's bookshop. Although, to be fair, their discussion isn’t a conventional discussion about being naughty-naughty-naughty. But rather, it’s a justification of sorts. A justification that explains why the inequities of big business can sometimes force people to turn to a life of crime. And trust me, folks, when I say crime, I do mean crime, with a capital ‘C’, which is a point I now want to elaborate on further with the following three rhetorical questions. 

Question One) Does crime pay? Well, according to Isabelle, yes, yes it does, but only because a lot of thieves have no other way of earning a decent wage! Allegedly, life isn’t fair, blah-blah-blah, all corporations are corrupt, yadda-yadda-yadda, and an invisible force has been put in place to put down the average Joe, Amen! But could this be true? Could society have been perverted to favor the wealthy over the poor? And if this is the case, why are some people, thieves, while others are not? Well, it all depends, I suppose. It all depends on what type of person you actually are. Sometimes socio-economic factors can impede a person’s progress and occasionally hold them back from achieving their main goal! Whereas others are hindered by ego, a lack of education, and cultural indoctrination, which can make them avoid facing up to some of the flaws buried deep within their own personalities. After all, most criminals need to find a way of justifying their own heinous actions, otherwise, they may be perceived as being evil, mean, or cruel! So isn’t it easier to blame someone else for their sins, such as the government, for instance, rather than trying to figure out why they can’t succeed in life?  In any event, it’s never wise to justify being bad or doing bad things, regardless of your status.

Question Two) Is Wilson Fisk going straight? Well, that all depends on how you perceive the man’s character. On the one hand, he’s a thief, a murderer, and a dishonest piece of sh#t who does whatever it takes to get where he’s going. While, on the other, he’s a very determined individual who’s cunning, clever, and smart enough to know when he’s onto a good thing.  So, by taking all of this into account, I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt, in part, because sometimes a leopard can change their spots. Not always, mind you! But there has been the odd occasion where something can happen to a person in order for them to change their ways (which, in a roundabout way, is exactly what happened to Wilson when Matt decided to quit being Daredevil!) Now, how long this will last is anyone’s guess.  Although, at a rough estimate, I’d say he will try to stick to a legit life for as long as he can! Or at the very least, when the man without fear finally goes back to fighting crime!  In the meantime, though, I am very interested to see how Wilson will change as a person and what he can ultimately accomplish within legal society. So here’s hoping that he changes things for the best, eh?  Fingers crossed. 

Question Three) Am I going to talk about this episode?  Well? Maybe I can? But only if you ask nicely! Ha! Seriously, though,  all in all, I thought this episode was a right blast because it had a suspenseful premise (dinner with thieves), a provocative point of view (see previous two sections for more details), as well as some very nice looking artwork provided by Lalit Kumar Sharma (thumbs up).  Visually, Lalit’s down to earth style aided in the telling of this story due to the way he juxtaposes a mundane situation with a fair amount of dramatic tension and fear.  Well, let’s face it, turning up to a dinner party and suddenly discovering that you'll be eating with a bunch of crooks (crooks who know that you're a member of law enforcement) is nuts, really nuts, and goes to show how this current-creative-team have taken a simple idea and smartly used it within the context of a hero's journey, a villain's origin story, and a conclusion that was so, so interesting, I best not say any more for the sake of spoilers. Ha! Apart from the fact that Mindy must have known what was going to happen because she knew all parties involved! Agreed?

So, what did you think about this issue, dear reader? Did you like it like me? Or did you dislike it like someone else?  Either way, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below. 

THE MUSIC:

For this month’s musical match-up, I’m going to align this adventure with the Bon Jovi song, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, for fairly obvious reasons. 

THE COMPARISON: 

During the mid to late 19th century, Fredericka "Marm" Mandelbaum was a New York mob boss who specialized in robbing, stealing, and organizing her fellow criminals to plunder the city streets for both fun and profit. Similar, in fact, to the matriarch of the Libris crime family! So, comparison made, and please don’t make me wear the concrete boots!!!

THE CONCLUSION:

At the end of this episode, Detective Cole North tells Matt Murdock that he’s discovered something near the crime scene. So, out of the following eight options, let’s see if you can guess what that something could be? I mean, was it…

1. A gun.
2. A potato.
3. An elephant.
4. A wig.
5. A pigeon 
6. A Daredevil mask.
7. A pile of dirty books.
8. A vegan.

Nuff said.