Weekly Comic Book Review.com

By Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka (Writers), Michael Lark and Stefano Guadiano (Artists), and Matt Hollingsworth (Colors)

This issue brings to Daredevil what it has been needing the last few months to pick up the somewhat slow (albeit very well told) Mr. Fear storyline: a good old-fashioned mystery. Though sadistic fans of Matt’s suffering need not worry either, we still see plenty of Matt’s misery due to the insanity of his wife, Milla. In fact, Ed Brubaker now partnered with Greg Rucka succeed in making his turmoil actually moving, instead of seeming whiny or angst-filled. Indeed, I would have thought that another issue of Matt “moping around” would be boring, but these two writers somehow manage to maintain a good level of interest as well as evoking a reasonable level of pity from the reader. Of course, part of what makes it believable and enjoyable (in a sad way) is Michael Lark’s and Stefano Guadiano’s depiction of Murdock’s body language. These two make it visually apparent he is suffering.

Once the story touches on the actual mystery itself, it begins to move forward. A familiar face approaches Matt asking him for a favor, but Matt leaves before he can get all the details. Not knowing where else to turn, he goes to Foggy and Dakota. They decide to take on the case and (hopefully) convince Matt to join the team. Though compared to the actual case, getting Matt to join them may seem easy.

The mystery boils down to this: A man named “Big Ben” Donovan (no relation to Milla) has been convicted of killing three children and has admitted to the crime. For this, he has been sentenced to the electric chair. Our mystery character is convinced that despite his confession, he is innocent and wants Foggy and Dakota to prove it. The catch is that his execution is in six days, so the true murderer must be discovered before then. Truthfully, this sounds like something from Matlock (which I shamelessly enjoy, despite being too young to have watched the show when it aired), and I am eager to see how they approach this case. Throw in the fact that superheroics will likely be involved (after all, we’re talking about Daredevil here), and this looks to be the beginning of a great story arc. Bring on the next issue, I say! (Grade: B+)

-M. Staples