By: Andy Diggle (writer), Davide Gianfelice (artist), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), Alejandro Arbona (associate editor), Stephen Wacker (editor)
The Story: Reborn, Chapter One: Matt Murdock, walking through the desert of New Mexico, a man running from his past, comes upon a town that’s got itself some secrets.
What’s Good: I was completely swept up and immersed in Diggle’s writing and Gianfelice’s pictures from the first panel. Terse, personal monologue hovers over a barren landscape bleached of color and meaning. It’s a landscape that just persists, much like the character himself. Gritty, indistinct birds move in the sky while a lonely road crossing frames the view. And the monologue? Art. Pure art. “Nothing but the hiss of the wind in the needlegrass…” How much more evocative can the writing get? You don’t even need pictures to go with it, but luckily we’ve got Gianfelice. Diggle also pulled some fine work out of his pen with DD talking to the blind kid. I know there’s some symbolism that was planted there, but not yet exposed, so I’m eager to pull out the layers in the later issues.
Gianfelice filled the book with the grit of the town and its few inhabitants, with worn out people and empty places. Matt’s got a beard now, like a beatnik, while his mean-spirited waitress is done out in all her ugly spite, right down to the bulging knuckles. Hollingsworth’s color work really comes out at sunset and night, when the overload of dun and earthtones is replaced with pinks and reds of dying day. And at night, with Matt’s discovery, the greens and blues again set the tone over Gianfelice’s layouts, which switched up from horizontal stacks to layered side-by-sides to asymmetric, unexpected overlays. Very cool visuals throughout.
What’s Not So Good: I don’t have any complaint other than I found the read over too quickly. I wanted more. The 22 pages seemed short for the experience I was immersed in.
Conclusion: I’d been avoiding some of the Daredevil stuff through the recent event that so many fans have complained about and was waiting for the right moment to dive back into Matt’s world. Diggle gave me that moment in this issue and it was totally worth the wait. Go get it, despite the price.
Grade: A+
-DS Arsenault
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Conclusion