Daredevil Message Board

[Kuljit Mithra]

DAREDEVIL #31 finally ships June 30th and here's the cover and preview!




https://www.manwithoutfear.com/preview-images/daredevil-v6-031

Please use thread for all discussion when the issue ships next week. By Zdarsky, Hawthorne, Di Benedetto, Menyz and Cowles, with covers by Checchetto & Wilson, and Land & D'Armata.[/img]
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Kuljit Mithra
www.manwithoutfear.com

[DesignDevil]

Just laughably bad.
The only thing carrying this nonsense is Checchetto, who of course didn't do this issue. I'd give it a zero if I could.

The fact that this nonsensical hodgepodge of idiotic characters is nominated for an Eisner is pathetic.

[Daredevil24]

I really don't understand how people defend this hot garbage. It's terrible. Elektra as Daredevil is so dumb and makes little sense since she already stated she cares nothing for her secret identity, it's so dumb. It just is. She just proves why she could never sustain an ongoing series. Writers just don't know what to do with her character. Sure, Murdock is still in the series but his arc is dumb. He should be Daredevil plain & simple. Mike Murdock is an absolute abomination. This is sad because this series started well. I don't think I've ever read a run where the series took such a nose dive. 0/5 for me.

[Thayrone Ibsen]

Sad.
Just. Plain. Sad.

[Dimetre]

As usual, I don't think this issue is anywhere near as bad as the above three are making it out to be.

I'm happy to see Alice run out of the book. I hope it's permanent.

I still like the dynamic between Matt and Marcus. I like how they push each other's buttons. That's something that's needed.

The best part of the book was Matt's rampage in the warden's office. He's clearly hatching a plan, and I want to see where it goes. It'll probably lead to some brutal unsanctioned prison labour, and that could be cool.

Mike and Butch were better in this issue. It helps that Mike is very cunning. Still, his presence bothers me, because the only reason he still exists is because Matt made a colossally stupid decision during the Soule run to allow him to keep existing. I can't forget that. Chip Zdarsky is up against it to make me accept Mike's continued presence in this book.

But there are things here that are making me curious about the next issue. The gang politics are compelling enough to me. There's Matt's plan, and there's this angel apparition that needs explaining.

Hawthorne's art here is a step up from anything he's given us before. It's not Checchetto, but it's pretty good.

The only storyline that didn't work for me at all was Fisk's. I can't figure out why he's freaking out about Bullseye. Is he after Fisk, or is he after Elektra. Everything Izzy Libris implied that Bullseye is after Elektra, so what is Fisk's problem?

There are also too many concurrent stories, making the issue feel stretched too thin. I don't think it's as bad as everyone else does, but it's not great. I hope Zdarsky can return this series to the heights he previously hit. As it stands I gave this issue a three.

[fubarthepanda]

Shoddy storylines aside, Marvel had hyped this issue as some sort of "turning point" in the Daredevil saga, but it just seemed like more of the same to me. Perhaps I missed something...

[Mike Murdock]

This is the start of a new arc, but it's very much a continuation of what came before. The plots are continuing fairly nicely. I know a lot of people think Mike Murdock is silly, but I think he's adding to the drama nicely with some added tension of whether he's going to help or hurt Matt's life. He is allowing Matt to appear to be around while Daredevil is in prison.

Elektra is doing a poor job of being Matt Murdock. However, I love the "Where is Izzy Libris" screaming contrasted with Fisk doing the same thing on the next page with Bullseye.

Two interesting extra thoughts. Libris makes for a very pathetic figure right now. She's just someone to pity and you get the impression she isn't long for this world since everyone is out for her. Also, Bullseye is completely insane - like more so than usual. One of my favorite issues involves mental instability surrounding him so I'm not inherently opposed to it, but I also like my Bullseye to be calculating. That being said, it's almost certainly setting up a Bullseye/Elektra fight which should be fun.

Four Stars. The story is consistent and consistency can sometimes lead to me expecting this as the new normal. But nothing necessarily wowed me so I thought this is about right for the rating. Unlike others, though, I like the Elektra storyline and I think the Mike Murdock storyline has interesting potential. If one can't stand the premises of either of those, it'll obviously be hard to appreciate the story on its own merits.
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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!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

[fubarthepanda]

Even though the Mike Murdock and Elektra plots are inane, my biggest problem with the book is the handling of Matt Murdock. This is a character I've been reading for 40 years (!) and has a unique place in the Marvel Universe as a mature, righteous and thoughtful character -- a mentor to Spider-Man, an equal to Steve Rogers and the Black Widow, a moral counterpoint to the Punisher, etc.

Unfortunately, through thirty odd issues, we've seen the complete opposite -- a whiny, sad sack who acts and sounds like a college kid who just read his first Noam Chomsky book instead of a grown man, making one illogical decision after another. It's impossible for me to reconcile this version of the character to any of the previous runs. (The brief Kevin Smith run is probably the only other time I've felt the character to be this "off", and that was handwaved away as being due to Mysterio's machinations).

I dunno, I should just drop the book as I've done with the rest of Marvel's titles (the MCU versions are just so much more representative of the characters that I've known and loved over the years), but it's hard to break a habit that I've had since a kid. But I imagine the writing is on the wall to move on...

[DesignDevil]