Daredevil 2, Elektra 1

Daredevil 2
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and J. Rodriguez (c) and Caramagna (l)

Matt Murdock's arrival in San Francisco, particularly an arrival that brought him out as Daredevil, has gained some attention from the wrong people, including San Francisco's own vigilante, the Shroud. Though the Shroud has often worked on the side of the law in his own way, he's certainly gone crazy on more than one occasion and seeing a new and well-liked superhero on his turf doesn't really thrill him. Just as Matt and Kirsten are meeting with deputy mayor Charlotte Hastert (from the first issue!) about the problems facing San Francisco, including the emergence of old Daredevil foe the Owl, Shroud turns up on the roof to threaten Daredevil off. When Daredevil overpowers him, Shroud offers to take DD to the newest crime boss in town, only to bring him directly to his own hideout where he has four men from the different crime families tied up and beaten.

Story
Matt's transition to San Francisco continues to be an interesting one and one fraught with its own perils and problems. Shroud dreams up a news report that conflates Daredevil's and his own origins in order to make it seem like he's jealous or annoyed by the amount of attention and respect Daredevil's already getting, which is all probably true but adds weight to the idea that Matt's facing an all-new sort of scrutiny when it comes to his superheroing (I'm surprised this book isn't called ALL-NEW DAREDEVIL). On top of that, we have seeds about the Owl and a new story with the Shroud that will prove interesting. 5/5

Character
All the characters come across excellently here as we get a good sense of Matt finding his bearings here (and really seemingly to enjoy himself in his new and more open life) and Kirsten's strength as she deals with Matt and Charlotte and everything else but, as we see through Samnee's extraordinary art, worries about the state of everything. The Shroud too gets instant characterization with the aforementioned dream sequence and with the way he interacts with Matt, who fights energetically with quips abound. Plenty to like here and plenty to do with these guys going forward. 5/5

Writing
Matt's new life is fun and exciting and the writing is matching that. There are a lot of light moments and moments that actually made me laugh out loud (GUYS, I'm not bragging but I don't laugh out loud TERRIBLY often, I tend to think things are funny and KEEP IT TO MYSELF, like a GENTLEMAN), though it's balanced nicely by more tense moments and a powerful story. This is never going to be a funny book in the same sort of way that something like SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN is; it's more akin to the humor of HAWKEYE but the humor isn't usually at the expense of our protagonist so it's not as dark as HAWKEYE can sometimes get. Still, it's carved out a great tone for itself and MAN, I THOUGHT THIS LITTLE SECTION WAS GOING TO BE SMALLER TODAY. 5/5

Art
Samnee's art and Rodriguez's colors continue to be absolutely amazing and to work so fluidly together that it remains one of the most easy-to-read books out on the market. Everything is so well-covered from emotion to action to tone to scenery to atmosphere. Just everything, you guys. I also particularly love a nice large panel where Daredevil and Shroud are leaping forward together in a dark blue and a vibrant red team-up. It's stunning, you guys. 5/5

Miscellaneous
What are you gonna do, not give this a 5/5?

Total score: 5/5


Elektra 1
Blackman (w) and Del Mundo (a) and Del Mundo w/D'Alfonso (c) and Cowles (l)

Elektra, tired of being defined by her past and by those who would seek to define her, returns to her roots as an assassin, visiting the Matchmaker, a woman who gives her and other assassins contracts when they want them. The Matchmaker has a special contract for Elektra, putting her on the trail of another assassin, a phantom-like hitman named Cape Crow who had turned from killing high-profile targets to killing other assassins to take their contracts. There's a big enough reward that many other assassins have gotten in on the game, apparently including a rather crazy one named Bloody Lips (who we get some rather crazy narrative from in this issue as well as he hunts down Bullseye to steal a piece of him, as per directions from a voice in his head called the Serpent), but Elektra has been tasked by the Matchmaker to bring Cape Crow in alive for an enormous bounty. Elektra takes the job, simply wanting to get out of New York, and is quickly transported to Monster Island, home of a safe house of Cape Crow's.

Story
Certainly a compelling enough story to kick things off here for Elektra's solo title as Elektra gets back to her roots as an assassin and instantly gets embroiled in something of an assassin-off (is that something that happens in the world of assassins? I sure hope so) which, as my parenthetical's just showcased, is a really engaging story. 5/5

Character
Elektra is, I would assume, a fairly easy character to write on a short term basis (she's cold and she's brutal; it means a lack of colorful language and an efficiency to her that makes her a worthy adversary and a hard-to-trust ally) but a very difficult character to write long term. Her book, then, sort of mirrors BLACK WIDOW in the "not too hard to write for a one-shot or with a team but hard to write as a driving vehicle." Still, Blackman does a phenomenal job here matching the character we know with a bit more personality, though clearly still held pretty tight to the chest, and a story that fits her well. Del Mundo does an equally great job characterizing her through the art with her movement and her expressions but we'll talk about that LATER guys. 5/5

Writing
The character and story all come together well in this first issue, one of the stronger first issues we've seen lately, and it's thanks in large part to the writing of this book, including the dark/grey tone of the book so far. I have a feeling I'll be comparing this one to BLACK WIDOW somewhat often but that's not a bad comparison to make. These two characters are more alike than they are different and their struggles in finding a rhythm in a solo title are also not so different. If this book keeps up like this, though, and if BLACK WIDOW keeps up like it's kicked off, it's hard to imagine that either of these books won't enjoy a long run. 5/5

Art
The art in this book is outstanding and it's hard to ignore that. There are times where art like this, free-flowing art with numerous double-page spreads and ink and color running from page to page, can feel like it's distinctly trying too hard. You can often see when an artist isn't particularly comfortable with that sort of style but knows how well it would match the book so they give it their all. Here, Del Mundo knocks it out of the park so that it doesn't look at all forced, it just looks spectacular. The style isn't that far from Phil Noto's (I'M SORRY, I really like BLACK WIDOW and I think these books are similar and, frankly, should be) and it's working out really well. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Really solid opening for ELEKTRA. Great cover too. Like I kind of danced around before, she's a great character to write for a one-shot but it's far harder to write her for an extended time and particularly for an extended time when she's the sole protagonist. I have high hopes for this series but we are just one issue in. We'll have to see how it plays out.

Total score: 5/5

Amazing Spider-Man 700.2, Amazing Spider-Man 700.3, Superior Foes of Spider-Man 6

Amazing Spider-Man 700.2
Morrell (w) and Janson (a) and Buccellato (c)

Peter knows something is wrong with Aunt May, he knows it deep down and his spider sense seems to be confirming it. Despite the freezing and horrible conditions, he leaves to go across the city and help her. However, on his way he finds disaster after disaster that require assistance and he makes his way through all of it, saving lives and helping people but slowing him from getting to Aunt May and weakening him throughout it all. He nearly doesn't make it but a dream of Uncle Ben pushes him to cross the last bit of New York he needs to cross to Aunt May, where he finds her passed out on the floor of her freezing home. He warms her back up and puts her in her bed, wrapping her tightly and watching over her as she recovers. Satisfied when she comes to, he sets to work around the house, boarding up the windows and removing the debris and shoveling out the front. She insists he rests and reminds him that Ben always said that this is nature's way of saying everyone needs to slow down.

Not a bad little story (though still somewhat inexplicable that we've seemingly kicked off a new series not set around the time of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 700 but all with that title and starring Peter Parker in different Peter Parkery situations) and it works to show off a little taste of Peter Parker. Overall, though, it still feels weird to have this series going and the story itself isn't anything of such importance or such originality that it feels like it absolutely required an ASM tie-in? I don't even really know how to classify this book. On top of that, as an issue removed from everything else happening with Spider-Man at present, the writing gets a little clunky and insists a little too much on explaining everything that's happening, which might not so much be a flaw in the writing as it is a flaw in Peter Parker, Captain Over-Explain-Your-Feelings over there. Janson's art is strong almost all the way through, but his post-storm Peter looks a bit like a 50 year-old man, which I get in the way of "he's had an incredibly long day" but I don't so much get in the way where it looks like he's gained a bit of weight. Maybe that's too judgmental. WHATEVER. I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS BOOK AND IT'S NOT ABOUT TO GET ANY BETTER BECAUSE...

Amazing Spider-Man 700.3
Casey (w) and Green and Wong (a) and Simpson (c)

So this was the point where I realized this little series was still going. Here we see Spider-Man fight Firebrand in a scrapyard and pretty much win the fight until Firebrand pins him and goes all out, burning him to a crisp but exhausting himself in the process. Firebrand is later picked up by an ambulance team and they see Peter there too, though he's unrecognizable with his burns. Peter awakes to find himself in a hospital bed and eventually realizes (though the audience knows the entire time) that this is an underground hospital specifically designed to treat supervillains who have no where else to go. Peter didn't come in with a costume but did still have his very damaged web shooters on him, which the surgeon general of the hospital takes to examine later. They start fixing him up and, a little healed, he begins to investigate the place. He figures out what it is and knows, despite his injuries, he has to get out because they'll soon figure out who he is. By issue's end, they have, with Firebrand returning to consciousness and revealing who he came in with and the surgeon general identifying the web shooters.

It's a somewhat interesting premise for the story but it's a little heavy-handed, with the extremely heavy-handed surgeon general preaching about fixing these people who have nowhere else to go and constantly talking about how they must do this because WHO ELSE shall look after these people? Despite this and despite the obviously criminal people he starts hanging out with in there, it takes Peter an awfully long time to figure out where he is. I also have some amount of trouble believing that the surgeon general, after years in medical school and presumably years working as a doctor, has the knowledge to identify a web shooter. Moot point, though, since Firebrand also told them. ANYWAY, the story's okay, the writing's not amazing, the art is okay, but frankly the whole story MIGHT JUST be hurt by the fact that the issue comes with an 8-page Black Cat story written by Jen Van Meter, drawn by the amazing Emma Rios (check her out on PRETTY DEADLY, in stores now), and colored by top-of-the-game Jordie Bellaire. It's an interesting story and it's absolutely gorgeous and you read it and kind of go "gee, I wish this had been the whole issue." Ah, well. This little series continues to be weird and out of place for me.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 6
Spencer (w) and Lieber (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Boomerang has made it out of the Owl's hideout with the painting of Von Doom without his mask on, which has a single tear running down it, the insertion of which led to Doom killing the painter and hiding the painting until it was eventually stolen and stolen and stolen. Now Boomerang has it and it's valued, potentially, at upwards of three million dollars, all for him. He assumes that his teammates are dead and, while he has some remorse about that, he's not overly concerned. He takes his new kind-of girlfriend out on a date, he contemplates what he's going to do with the painting, and he ultimately meets with an angry Mach V who informs Boomerang that he was supposed to meet with him and who is suspicious of him, though he can't place just why yet. Meanwhile, Owl interrogates the still-alive Speed Demon, Beetle, and Overdrive. At Beetle's insistence, they don't give up Boomerang (who she still believes must have gotten away with what they wanted and must still be on their side) and Beetle manages to engineer their escape by covertly texting for a rescue to her father, who turns out to be Tombstone.

Another fun little issue here that deals with Boomerang's lies to both his team and to the audience of this book, who believed we were after the head of Silvermane only to find that we were after the painting of Doom and that the head of Silvermane doesn't really exist but it really does and boy sometimes this is confusing. The dialogue and Boomerang's narration continues to be fun and fairly natural and the story is gaining some steam now that we have a few things happening all over. The best scene, probably, comes as Mach V and Boomerang talk to one another about the terms of his probation and about the fact that Boomerang is probably hiding something. It's a pretty fun scene with Boomerang denying that he was the same Boomerang who broke his team out of their potential imprisonment a couple issues ago and Mach V not quite being stupid enough to believe it. There's another fun bit as Mach V prepares to make a menacing exit line as he jumps from the window but finds his wings won't fit and so has to sheepishly wait to say it (at Boomerang's insistence) as he leaves through the door. There's a lot to like about this series at this point (it also made the AV Club's top comics of the year list, which I think was maybe a little crazy given that we're six issues in and that I think it hasn't been as fun as it is now all the way through) and I think it's only going to get stronger as the characters become more defined and as the plot continues to pick up. Should be fun going forward on this one.