In this particular always-continuing ‘Modern Age’ of comics, it seems to be a common truism that when a popular Superhero “dies” or is missing in action - he usually experiences some sort of explosive re-birth upon return. Case in point: ‘The Death Of Superman’.
This, however, is not so in this new series of ‘Daredevil. Know Fear Part One’ written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Marco Checchetto. Matt Murdock’s comeback after his “death” is brilliantly empathetic and suitably wobbly. More potentially Icarus descends than Phoenix arises.
Designed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of filmmaker Kevin Smith’s seminal re-vamp for the Marvel Knights series, the story begins like every new series of DD: deep within the gritty urban badlands of Hell’s Kitchen. Such a backdrop proves to be food for thought for Murdock’s self-rehabilitation, rather like a mixture of Frank Miller’s 1986 ‘Born Again’ series and the latter part of Ann Nocenti’s and John Romita Jr’s run a few years later.
After weeks of intense therapy, the usually monogamous Murdock has concerns which are somewhat pressing. He painfully enters a bar, and immediately picks up an attractive tattooed nameless female who, luckily for him, isn’t a Typhoid Mary clone. She is humane enough to be totally open with him, and says he is not her type, even though his muscles rather than his blindness is her fetish. Later on, to test his radar sense, he skims and soars across the enticing rooftops as Daredevil. Both situations are Viagra-redolent. The die is cast. Game, set and match to Murdock. So far so good.
There are what appears to be the usual childhood flashback scenes weighing heavily with Catholic guilt - which have been depicted many times over the decades. However, unlike the boy scout smiling in the face of adversity persona of yore; young Murdock, interestingly enough, is evidently a disturbed youth verging on being unlikable. A new dimension is most certainly in the making.
The artwork itself is both subdued and intense. The story’s oppressively urban setting is depicted in a wholly naturalistic way with a subtle emphasis on ‘the time of day’. Daredevil’s costume is suitably redder than red. The swashbuckler from the 60s has definitely returned!
There are pieces of this debut issue’s jigsaw that will inevitably come together in the forthcoming issues, notably in the more than noticeable form of a familiar adversary. Right now, hell ain’t a bad place to be.
Text: Humphrey Fordham Feb 2019
