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DD Book Club - Without Fear
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Posts: 1750

PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2020 10:14 am    Post subject: DD Book Club - Without Fear Reply with quote

I have normally been breaking up Brubaker's arcs with something else, but I thought this story was worth continuing (plus, I didn't have any better ideas). So, without any further ado:

Daredevil Vol. 2 #100 - Without Fear

Quote:
Daredevil fights for his life, facing his own worst nightmares come true! In a star-studded, triple-sized 100th issue, a red-hot roster of guest artists joins penciler Michael Lark to bring Matt Murdock's history as the Man Without Fear to life, while DD struggles against that which he fears most! Don’t miss the first chapter of the groundbreaking third arc by the award-winning team of Brubaker and Lark–"Without Fear" begins with a bang! Featuring guest artists John Romita Sr., Gene Colan, Lee Bermejo, Alex Maleev, Marko Djurdjevic and more!!


Due 7/18
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fubarthepanda
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Joined: 01 Jul 2020
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:59 am    Post subject: Daredevil #100 Reply with quote

Up to this point, I was mostly a fan of the Brubaker run. He's a much more methodical writer than Bendis, so nearly every scene is part of some bigger whole, which can be rewarding towards the end of some of his arcs as the pieces of the puzzle tend to fit together nicely. Conversely, he can also be a bit predictable, which is in stark contrast to Bendis's more "freestyle jazz" run in which anything could happen at anytime.

However, the ending of issue #99 that leads into this one left a bad taste in my mouth (especially given that great Matt & Milla cover!). It was pretty clear that Brubaker was going to write Milla Donovan out at some point and we get to see his cards on the table here. While I was hoping to see Milla stick around, I was at least hoping to see a more mature break-up given the way past writers have mercilessly dealt with his girlfriends post-Miller...

Was never a big fan of Mister Fear, given the convoluted history of the character, and I'd much rather see the original Zoltan Drago resurrected than the more boorish Larry Cranston version of the character. That said, Brubaker makes good use of the fear gas device to send Daredevil down memory lane in order for a slew of guest artists to draw various DD incarnations to celebrate the 100th issue, which is really the highlight of this one.

John Romita, Gene Colan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Marko Djurdjevic, Lee Bermejo, Alex Maleev, Michael Lark... wow, doesn't get much better than that! Djurdjevic, in particular, was a real treat given the amazing covers he's been producing up this point, including the gatefold cover to this one. So, given this incredible tour de force of past and present DD artists, I'm willing to let my plot quibbles slide and call this one a win... at least for one issue!


Last edited by fubarthepanda on Tue Jul 21, 2020 11:09 am; edited 1 time in total
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Mike Murdock
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is a big deal - issue 100. It has to be a milestone issue. One of the big ways it does this is with shifting artists. It's clever to use these artists for hallucinations. It's also clever to make those hallucinations of characters like Bullseye and Kingpin. I thought it was a bold choice to make Mr. Fear the milestone villain, but this is a good way to have your cake and eat it too. Romita Sr.'s art is probably my favorite - it's just beautiful. Of course, you have to have it for the romance of Karen Page. But each artist makes sense for the part they're contributing and they're clever and fun in their own way.

I'm sure there's more to comment on, but, honestly, the art is the draw. The rest is basically a character study. The plot doesn't really advance so much. It's all in Matt's head. But it's still a fun, intelligent way to do an anniversary issue. Four Stars.
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fubarthepanda
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The weird thing about Brubaker's Without Fear story is that a very similar story took place right before the Marvel Knights relaunch circa #361-375 during the Joe Kelly run in which Mister Fear framed Karen Page for a murder in a plot to break DD. This storyline also featured the Gladiator in the run-up to the main event, so I guess history just repeats sometimes!

But I agree that is was great to see Romita Sr. on pencils again, especially after being teased with that awesome cover on #94!
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Mike Murdock
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, both stories overlap a lot, but I think it's distinct enough in some key areas (especially the ending, which we'll get to). Kelly's story (which I love) is also very similar to Guardian Devil, which came out not long after.
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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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Dimetre
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Joined: 16 Feb 2006
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The pages showing art from Marko Djurdjevic, John Romita Sr., Gene Colan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Alex Maleev and Lee Bermejo are the highlight of the issue. Otherwise, there isn't much to write home about, because the bulk of this issue is Matt chasing phantoms, and that doesn't really move the plot forward. The issue ends with him finding out from Foggy what happened with Milla, which was the cliffhanger of the last issue.

I appreciate the fears explored by all the artists, and I especially liked the pages from Romita Sr. and Colan. It was amazing the way Colan's art evolved towards the end of his life -- it became truly unique. Bermejo was a great choice for the boxing scenes.

I just don't think that Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark brought their A-game to this issue, which is odd because it's a landmark #100. There's little things, like when Ox throws Matt out the window, and Daredevil uses his billy-club cable to rescue himself, but Lark doesn't show it latching on to anything. That just screams "laziness" to me. Later on Matt witnesses a man die in an explosion, but we're not shown any reaction of horror on his part. That seems out of character to me. Again, that could be part of the hardening of Matt's character following his time in Rykers, but I think it has more to do with this script being rushed. At this time Brubaker was dividing his time between this book, Captain America and Criminal, and he may have had X-Men too. In retrospect, it's easy to see that he poured more of his heart into Cap and Criminal as opposed to Daredevil.

As cool as I think Milla is, I wasn't torn up about the way things between Matt and her ended. Even Bendis seemed to sow some doubts about how unhealthy the relationship was by the worried expression on Matt's face whenever she would exclaim, "You saved me!" He still had so many unresolved issues over the violent way Karen was taken out of his life, and the fact he never worked through them put any union he tried to have with Milla at a disadvantage from the start. I'll admit that, at the time, I wasn't the biggest fan of Milla because I thought Maya Lopez from "Parts of a Hole" was so cool, so any time with Milla was seemingly coming at Maya's expense. With this Book Club, and the years that have passed, I now appreciate how admirable Milla is, but I think a lot of the happiness Matt had with her was partially due to a reluctance to deal with his baggage, and that isn't good.

Anyway, I'm almost certain that we've passed the peak of Brubaker's run on Daredevil. It's been a while since I read these issues, and I did expect more writing-wise from a #100. Still, the guest artists are a treat. I give this a three out of five.
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


Joined: 08 Sep 2014
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2020 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Daredevil Vol. 2 #101 - Without Fear Part 2

Quote:
Everything he thought he'd gotten back teeters on the edge of a precipice, ready to shatter all around him, as he fights a battle on both fronts of his life–in the courtroom and on the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen!


Due 7/25
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Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

Not sure what to read next? Check out the Book Club for some ideas!

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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PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2020 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I liked this quite a bit better than #100. The plot actually moves forward this issue, which was my main complaint last time.

I appreciate how sad the situation is with Milla. The emotional toll this is taking on Matt is palpable, particularly when she doesn't even know where she is during the court scene. It was very romantic when he broke into Bellevue to spend the night with her.

Some things I wasn't crazy about were the time stamps. "Three days ago," and "Two days ago," may seem clever to the people making the comic book, but I don't know any readers of comics who never failed to be confused by such time stamps.

Michael Lark is so good at drawing backgrounds -- he's one of the best. The wreckage of the apartment that blew up last issue was incredibly rendered, but the scene is one long exposition dump. Often in storytelling you can't avoid such scenes where you just have to spill out a huge load of information, but in comics you can help those scenes work by showing us imagery. I'm a bit surprised that neither Ed Brubaker or Lark thought to do that.

Finally, I never cared about the Hood, so his appearance in the cliffhanger was anti-climactic. I can't remember how he factors into all of this. I suppose it's interesting that Turk is working as a double agent, but I suppose it would have meant more to me if it were the Owl or Killgrave.

Having typed all that, I think Brubaker gave us some very good character work this issue. Every character was strong, even the minor ones like Algren, the detective and the judge. I think both Brubaker and Lark invested more effort in this issue. I give this a four out of five.
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fubarthepanda
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 21, 2020 11:08 am    Post subject: Daredevil #101 Reply with quote

Gut wrench issue where we get to see an unhinged DD take out Milla's turn of events on some criminals (as well as Dakota!). Brubaker teases us with a nice touching Milla & Matt scene, only to pull the rug out again with a damning court verdict...

Again, was never a fan of this storyline, but I especially didn't like the cliffhanger where The Hood pops up out of the blue. Having never read his previous appearances in other non-DD titles, it seemed like a non sequitur for such a pivotal story.

But Michael Lark really knocks it out of the park this issue -- he's given a lot of tough, emotional scenes to draw (many out of costume) and he really nails it in almost every panel. Brubaker's out-of-sequence story device was also effective.

So, thumbs up on execution, and thumbs sideways on plot.
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Mike Murdock
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 21, 2020 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Despite some early violence from Daredevil, this starts as a very talky issue. I'm certainly OK with that. Things are not looking good for Milla. It's really sad to see her in such a helpless state. I like that, while the DA isn't on the same page, he doesn't come off as a bad guy. Probably the best part is Dakota North, who is the sane and reasonable adult in the situation. It practically broke my heart when Matt snuck into her room. It's such a wonderful sentimental moment that gives genuine hope that everything can be OK. It doesn't take long for it to all come crashing down. The "am I going home" just kills me.

The action is portrayed as Daredevil on a rampage. That he means business and will win because he's pushed too far. But there's also a good argument that he's unraveling.

The sentimental moments were great in this story. I'm giving it Four and a Half Stars.
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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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Mike Murdock
Golden Age


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Daredevil Vol. 2 #102 - Without Fear Part 3

Quote:
Daredevil fights the Enforcers and their new boss Mr. Fear, who’s trying to tear the streets of Hell's Kitchen apart, while Matt and Foggy fight a battle on another front --- the courtroom --- to save the life of someone close to them!


Due 8/1
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Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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Dimetre
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Joined: 16 Feb 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This issue benefits by explaining how Mr. Fear's latest concoction works, and I found it interesting. Sure, Mr. Fear may come off as Marvel's Scarecrow copycat, but Ed Brubaker is exploring some fresh territory in fear here.

After the reveal of the Hood, he doesn't even show up in this issue, simply sending the Wrecking Crew into the streets of New York to proclaim his dominance. Was there a larger Marvel event going on at this time in which the Hood was a big deal? Did the Hood play a big part in Dark Reign?

Have typed all that, I did like the way Daredevil played the Wrecking Crew and the Enforcers against each other, but it ended up being for naught. While I really liked the way Brubaker wrote his first twenty issues of Daredevil, one thing he's losing this far into his run is Matt's heroism. Some of Daredevil's most defining fights are against the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk -- fights in which he's severely unmatched. These fights show his character. He knows a victory is extremely unlikely, but he also is acutely aware of his duty, and will fight until he can fight no more. Here, he takes up a fight against the Wrecker, who is admittedly above his weight-class. However, after the Wrecker brings a building down on him, he walks through the sewers thinking, "Wrecker is out of my league. I should've known that. I do know that. Should've waited for him to take out Ox." While I understand that Matt intended to keep his eyes on Ox, the Wrecker was wreaking a lot of havoc, and the people of New York needed to be protected. This internal monologue suggests that Matt is chastising himself for even trying to stop the Wrecker in the first place, and that isn't true to his character in my view.

This issue ends with Foggy scoring a legal win in Matt's absence, which I appreciated, before some sinister promises from Mr. Fear. It's a solid ending.

I enjoyed the expanded thoughts on fear explored in this issue, along with Michael Lark's depiction of the fight with the Wrecking Crew and Enforcers. Still, I don't know what purpose the Hood has in this story, making him and the Wrecking Crew feel like an unnecessary tangent. It's not a great issue, but it's still good. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.
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Mike Murdock
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This issue is focused on building up the character of Cranston to tell everyone how much of a threat he is. When the first Mr. Fear issue in the silver age debuted, the cover had to promise it wasn't basically a repeat of the Purple Man. At the time, I thought it was odd. He didn't have any mind control powers. However, I think it's very clear that fear can be used to manipulate people in ways similar to mind control. I think this issue does a lot to emphasize that point. Side note, Larry Cranston has become a lot more handsome than his first appearance. That's neither here nor there, but I thought it worth pointing out.

It also builds on the gang war story that's been developing between Mr. Fear and the Hood. It's an added twist to the story. In some ways, it's a distraction. But it also helps emphasize how Matt has tunnel vision. He's barely able to see any big picture because he's too focused on Milla. However, when he isn't trying to take control but trusts people like Foggy, they can help get the job done. It's a wonderful moment seeing Milla back at home.

I enjoyed this issue quite a bit. It was a bit on the slower side, with some OK action in the middle, but it builds up Mr. Fear as a very credible threat to deal with. Four and a Half Stars.
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I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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fubarthepanda
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 29, 2020 4:56 pm    Post subject: Daredevil #102 Reply with quote

Will give this issue props for the battle between the Enforcers and the Wrecking Crew... I like super-gang wars as much as the next guy... and (bonus!) it even has the sword-arm guy from Master of Kung Fu!

But if I didn't like Mr. Fear before, I really didn't like him after reading this issue. Brubaker takes the lazy route of trying to pump him up by showing off his new lothario (three girls!) and fighting skills. The trick to making a good villain work is getting the reader to emphasize with him even though he's mad and delusional, but Fear just comes off as a mustache-twirling bad guy here. (Probably why we haven't seen this version of the character in the 12 years since this storyline.)

No idea what happened to the Hood (who was the cliffhanger to last issue). Don't even think he's mentioned in the recap - whoops!

But, once again, Michael Lark makes it all work. His action sequences really jump off the page as if the chararcters are really in motion. No idea how he juggles this so well with the personal and courtroom scenes. Just incredible stuff.


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Dimetre
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 3:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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