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Kingpin # 1

 
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 8:20 pm    Post subject: Kingpin # 1 Reply with quote



So what did you guys think of this? I thought it was solid. Of the two Daredevil spinoffs so far, I liked this less than Bullseye, though. I think having the perspective of the reporter, Sarah, is a great idea. It allows for some distance so you can explore Fisk's past and how he is now without ever being certain that he's truthful. Although, I would hope the ending surprised nobody.
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Sunni
Flying Blind


Joined: 07 Jan 2017
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Kingpin # 1 Reply with quote

I thoroughly enjoyed this opener. Originally, I wasn’t going to pick this book up, not because I have any problem with a villain protagonist, but I doubted whether I liked Kingpin enough on his own for it to hold my interest. However, I was intrigued when the first issue solicit said that Kingpin would be trying to be a legitimate businessman now, which would give the series several ways it could go. So I figured I’d try out Rosenberg’s Kingpin Civil War II mini-series first to make the decision for me, and I was surprised at the high quality of his writing.

I was impressed with Torres’ art in the back up story in the Daredevil annual last year, and it’s even better here. Everything looks classy. Kingpin is a mountain of a man, Daredevil reminds me of Cary Grant, and Sarah Dewey looks distinctive, not just another run-of-the-mill new character. It’s extremely well done, and Boyd’s limited coloring is a nice complement.

IMHO Rosenberg’s a talented storyteller between quickly defining Sarah as a fully realized person who shows off different sides of the established characters in Wilson, Wesley, and Matt, and adding all the other little touches (Sarah as a Spider-man fangirl, Wilson mentioning his son to her, and both Matt and Wilson knowing Sarah from her boxing articles, not her global politics pieces). It’s a testament to his writing skill that what could be a clichéd plot in lesser hands where a woman who’s made some mistakes falls under the spell of a very bad man comes off as genuinely compelling. It’s also fun briefly seeing Matt as an antagonist because he’s right about Sarah needing something and having nowhere else to turn. I totally understand why she isn’t fighting very hard to get away from Wilson since she needs someone to help her out of the deep hole she’s dug for herself. Problem is that someone isn’t just anyone as shown by the last page. I can’t wait for the next issue.

Mike Murdock wrote:
So what did you guys think of this? I thought it was solid. Of the two Daredevil spinoffs so far, I liked this less than Bullseye, though.

I would say I’m the opposite in that I liked Kingpin slightly more than Bullseye. I’ve enjoyed both, but Rosenberg’s construction and Torres’ art puts Kingpin a little higher for me.

Mike Murdock wrote:
I think having the perspective of the reporter, Sarah, is a great idea. It allows for some distance so you can explore Fisk's past and how he is now without ever being certain that he's truthful. Although, I would hope the ending surprised nobody.

Not me. I did not expect Wilson to be genuinely trying to reform, especially since Matt was on point. I’m very curious to see just how messy this is going to get.
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Darkdevil
Humanity's Fathom


Joined: 04 Apr 2009
Posts: 331
Location: The Bright, Sunny South

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2017 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was better than I first thought. The inclusion of Sarah was very good, an outsider's view per se but one who is familiar with Fisk's general perception as a criminal. Her troubles at home coupled with being a recovering alcoholic would make her seem vulnerable to Fisk's possible manipulations but she puts up a brave front against him. Seeing her ill at ease within Fisk's social circle at the party was nice (though how exactly did Matt get invited to it?)

This was a strong character piece, the flow of dialogue was good, the art was great, Fisk looked like a mountain. The ending wasn't a surprise for us but the question now is, where does this go? The drama (and perhaps the action) may need to be ramped up for me to maintain interest in this long-term.

Otherwise, a very good start so far.
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Dimetre
Underboss


Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 1366
Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was very strong. Sarah is a compelling character around which to centre the story. She is highly intelligent, yet highly troubled, and Fisk is keen to take full advantage of that. As a reader, you don't know what to expect of him. It's natural to distrust him, but at the same time you want to believe the things he says to Sarah. It's clear, though, that things aren't what they seem.

I'll be picking up the next issue.
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 9:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're reading this second issue, I think it's clear this is the closest of the spinoffs to tie to Daredevil. There's some nice callbacks to The Man Without Fear. It's fairly transparent what Fisk is doing, but I think Sarah Dewey is such an interesting character that it's fascinating anyway.
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Sunni
Flying Blind


Joined: 07 Jan 2017
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike Murdock wrote:
If you're reading this second issue, I think it's clear this is the closest of the spinoffs to tie to Daredevil. There's some nice callbacks to The Man Without Fear.

Yes, and I was pleasantly surprised when Daredevil showed up on the last page.

Mike Murdock wrote:
It's fairly transparent what Fisk is doing, but I think Sarah Dewey is such an interesting character that it's fascinating anyway.

I totally agree, and I also really like how Rosenberg is showing us why Sarah is missing how Wilson is skillfully manipulating her because he’s playing his trump cards in both his money and his concern for sick kids. We will see what Matt says to her, but from Sarah’s perspective, it would make sense for her to back the guy who rang her doorbell and paid for donuts and not the guy in the devil suit who broke into her home.
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Dimetre
Underboss


Joined: 16 Feb 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am in agreement with all the above thoughts about #2. I just want to commend Ben Torres' art. When drawing Fisk he seems to make a conscious effort to throw in some Milleresque touches. This is a very good series so far, and I'll be picking up the next issue.
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Minor spoilers for issue 3:

Interesting development with the Tombstone twist. I said before this is a Sarah book and how she handles his appearance is wonderful. However, it's the consequences to come from it that are most interesting. Presumably, Daredevil could have leaked any recording with Tombstone. Kingpin is more likely. It's good to see a little wrinkle thrown in the story. While Sarah writing a book, as a story, is consistently interesting, I don't want it to become predictable or stale.

Side note, that shadow outline of Fisk playing basketball is a wonderful moment. I love how he's just towering over everybody else drawn like a giant.
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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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Dimetre
Underboss


Joined: 16 Feb 2006
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Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is such a good series so far. Sarah is a wonderful character around which everything can rotate. She is highly capable at her job, as the Tombstone scene shows, but Kingpin is better at what he does than anyone. It was good to see Daredevil make an appearance, but I'm not sure if much was added. This is one of Marvel's best books currently.
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Sunni
Flying Blind


Joined: 07 Jan 2017
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was an excellent issue. As opposed to the slow burn of the previous two, a ton of stuff happened in this installment, and I was surprised at how the amount of action and violence really ratcheted up. I also liked how Matt made his point with Sarah but didn’t press her too hard. And I knew Sarah’s ex-husband was a jerk before based on how he manipulated the visitation time last issue, but how he hit her this issue infuriated me.

Mike Murdock wrote:
Side note, that shadow outline of Fisk playing basketball is a wonderful moment. I love how he's just towering over everybody else drawn like a giant.

Torres does a great job doing that in this book, and I also really like how he distinctly he draws Matt and Sarah. Laming did nice work on layouts too.

Dimetre wrote:
It was good to see Daredevil make an appearance, but I'm not sure if much was added. This is one of Marvel's best books currently.

It’s fantastic, and, if Matt leaked the recording, it’s foreshadowing. If he didn’t, I think Matt provided Sarah a nice reminder that there’s more at stake here than just her livelihood and curiosity. Sure, Spider-man could have given her the power and responsibility speech, but given she’s such a Spider-man fangirl between her doll, sweatshirt, and keychain she would have just fawned over him instead of listening.
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Dimetre
Underboss


Joined: 16 Feb 2006
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Location: Toronto

PostPosted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sunni wrote:
Sure, Spider-man could have given her the power and responsibility speech, but given she’s such a Spider-man fangirl between her doll, sweatshirt, and keychain she would have just fawned over him instead of listening.

I also think it's a case of Daredevil being more closely associated with Fisk these days than Spider-Man.
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Sunni
Flying Blind


Joined: 07 Jan 2017
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Sat May 20, 2017 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dimetre wrote:
I also think it's a case of Daredevil being more closely associated with Fisk these days than Spider-Man.

That's a very good point.

I found the art change jarring in this fourth issue; Sepulveda, Wong, and Ho did a good job, and I like their work, but I was just very used to how Torres was styling everyone.

I will say that the one issue I have with Rosenberg’s writing is his pacing. Both in his Kingpin Civil War II mini and this series he’s started out with two very slow burn character issues and then ramped up the next two with a lot of plot movement and action. I guess I would prefer a more even build as the overall story structure seems a little lopsided. By the last page, it’s a happy ending, which is rather unfortunate for everyone except Kingpin because there’s still one issue left. Poor Sarah, she really should have known better…did she really think Wilson makes his late wife's pancakes for just anyone?
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Sunni
Flying Blind


Joined: 07 Jan 2017
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

With all the boxing and the callbacks to Matt’s dad, it was obvious where this issue was going. Back in #3, Matt said Sarah’s book was going to get people hurt and good guys are those who refuse to do what the bad guys want. Orlando was short sighted not to take Kingpin seriously, but he was a good person. And given her continued employment and lack of compassion on the phone, Sarah is no longer one. The real takeaway from this series is Fisk’s corrupting influence and how corrosive he is on those around him.

On Twitter, Rosenberg lamented the cancellation and wondered if there was anything he could have put in the book to save it as he already had the second arc planned. Unfortunately, I think the answer is no. Even if Marvel wasn’t having trouble launching and maintaining new ongoing series at the moment, villain-led books are a tough sell, and that’s the reason they usually get minis instead. Yet there’s still a lot of unanswered questions in this ending. With the book completed, what else would Sarah be doing for Fisk? Did Matt really take the flash drive? Would Wilson keep pulling Sarah closer to him? Sadly, we’ll never know.
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