Daredevil Reborn

This is the first issue of a 4 part mini series that chronicles what is happening with Daredevil in the aftermath of Shadowland; and also while Black Panther takes over the ongoing Daredevil series.

The issue begins with Matt Murdock having an internal conflict about finding himself, and touches upon on how he can hopefully redeem himself after everything that happened. The story takes place in New Mexico, for now at least, and Murdock find himself, but inevitably Murdock gets himself into some trouble with the locals, and on top of it, the local authority.

Black Panther: The Man Without Fear

Many Daredevil fans were wondering what would happen to the Man Without Fear following the events of Shadowland. Marvel answered their question with the introduction of the new protector of Hell’s Kitchen, The Black Panther: The Man Without Fear.

When I first saw that Marvel was replacing Daredevil with Black Panther, I was not only confused, but also slightly upset. I had no idea why Marvel was not only replacing Daredevil in his own going book, but I was wondering why they decided to choose Black Panther. After some careful thinking, and deductive reasoning, my little brain figured out what Marvel was doing; they were trying to make more money. At the end of Shadowland they set up a story for Matt Murdock about how he was going to repent for what he had done while he was leader for the hand, which means that Marvel is going to be doing a mini-series that follows Murdock during this time. So Marvel thought that during this time, they needed to do something with the Daredevil ongoing, so they use Black Panther. To me the choice doesn’t make sense, but enough about this, let’s get onto the issue.

Even though I had a negative feeling about the issue going into it, I tried to keep an open mind about the issue and give it a fair shot. The first thing I noticed about the book was its art. It felt like Francesco Francavilla was trying to mimic the trademark art of Roberto De La Torre, using primarily dark colors, emphasizing on shading to give it the dreary feel of Hell’s Kitchen in general. Sad to say that he was unable to do it successfully, and the art really detracted from the story as a whole.

Contrary to the disappointing art, the writing of David Liss was definitely the best part of this issue. Liss, best know for his fiction novels delivered no less than a top notch story in this issue. He developed two storyline for this Black Panther arc, one following Black Panther, and the other following the main antagonist of the upcoming arc, Vlad the Impaler. He used the perfect amount of balance between the two stories, slowly connecting them as the issue progressed. In addition to this, he was able to use the perfect amount of story telling, and dialogue to keep the issue not too quick, not too long, but purely enjoyable.

Despite all of this though, I have fears for this book. Black Panther is a character who in the past has been given many shots by Marvel at his own series, mini-series, and much more and has never been able to really keep one afloat for a substantial amount of time, which really boggles me as to why they once again are using him as the protagonist for yet another story. I feel as though his lack of popularity will hinder the sales of the Daredevil title, despite the great story by David Liss. Only time and sales will tell if my prediction is correct, but I can assure you that this does largely affect this book as a whole.

6.5 out of 10

Scarlet #1

It is hard to explain the excitement that filled me when I found out a few months ago that Scarlet, an original series by Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev was coming out. These two individuals are one of the best teams to ever enter comics, starting out with their run on Daredevil up till the most recent endeavor prior to Scarlet, Spider-Woman. So I knew before reading this issue, that there was a slim chance that this series could be a disappointing one, and boy was I right.

The majority of the issue focuses on introducing the reader to Scarlet as a character, breaking the forth wall and having herself explain her actions that took place at the very beginning of the issue, as well as explaining her life story in some very comical, over simplified panels that gave the reader a feel for the character in a short amount of time.

The story is a very violent one, consisting of not one, but two murders. It is illustrated beautifully by Alex Maleev, one of the best artists out there in comics today; he can not only bring a character to life like no other artist, but he also has some of the most amazing backgrounds and color pallets ever used. As for Brian Bendis, he is one of the best dialogue writers in the industry. He made the words that Scarlet was saying to the reader feel as though they were coming from a real person, filled with emotion.

This was a very powerful first issue, setting up the character and the premise for the story beautifully, without giving away any of the next issues storyline and leaving the reader completely open to figure out what is going to happen next. The only downside to the book is that it is going to be Bi-Monthly which in my opinion is never fun, especially for an up and coming book like Scarlet but, this should provide adequate time for Maleev to provide another beautiful issue to the readers. I am eagerly awaiting issue 2 in two months and applaud Benis and Maleev for another job well done.

10 out of 10

*Originally posted on the Chris' Comics Official Website

Cornbread's Favorite and Least Favorite Comics of the Week - 4/14

Hey everyone, sorry these reviews are a little late. Ive been home on break from school and it just kinda slipped my mind. Anyways, here we go

Favorite Comic: Siege Captain America One-Shot

I was pleasantly surprised with this One-Shot. I dunno if it was because I read it after the Young Avengers one-shot, that it was better by comparison, or if it was because it was just written well. The art was a little iffy, but it wasn't that bad if my memory serves me correctly.

The thing that made the book so good was the fact that it was cool to see Cap and Bucky fighting together again, it was simply classic. The story focused on Cap and Bucky rescuing a family of civilians who were caught in the fall of Asgard from both the destruction of the fall, as well as protecting him from b-list (if that) villain Razor-Fist. Its a great issue to help introduce the relationship between Bucky and Cap to non-Captain America readers, which is good because its a tie in.

It is a solid issue, and not only preps new readers for how important Captain America (Both of them) to the Siege storyline, but it also presents a well put together one-shot featuring Cap that isnt essential to the Siege story-line; unlike the Loki one shot which finally illustrates what Loki has been doing the whole time since he egged Norman on to wage war on Asgard.

If youre a fan of Captain America, definitely check out this issue, if youre not a fan but would like to be a fan check out this issue, if you hate Captain America but thought that you should read this issue for the overall Siege storyline, then you can just forget about this issue because it isnt that important to everything as a whole.

7 out of 10


Least Favorite Comic: Daredevil #506

Although this issue wasn't terrible, it just was not acceptable for a book that was more than a month delayed. I picked up Daredevil after the events of issue #500 which follows Daredevil and his struggle to lead the Hand, and so far it has been pretty good. The first 4 issues were spectacular because of De La Torre's art, and the last two issues had a change of artist which really knocked the book down a few notches for me. Especially since the book shifted over the Matt's relationship with one of the Hand's sub-bosses Bakuto.

In this issue there was a decently interesting fight scene at the beginning of the book featuring Murdock and Bakuto, but it wasn't anything that great and kinda just seemed too drawn out. The book goes on to have more people bickering about Bukato and his misbehavior (much like the last issue) and quickly ended with a mediocre plot twist; which I wont reveal because that would just be too much of a spoiler.

I am just hoping this book switches back to being overwhelmingly excited like it used to be in the next issue, as well as that I hope that the next issue is on time so that I dont lose even more interest in what is going on in the story. I guess we will see what happens next time it's released.

The best part of this issue was the cover by Rivera


4 out of 10

Cornbread's Favorite and Least Favorite Comics of the Week - 1/27

Hey Everyone! Cornbread here and I will be blogging weekly about my favorite and least favorite comics I read from the past week! I hope you enjoy.

January 27th, 2010

Seems like everyone had a big week this week.

Here are the titles that I picked up:

Green Lantern #50
Avengers: The Initiative #32 (Siege Tie-In)
New Avengers # 61 (Siege Tie-In)
X-Force #23 (Necrosha X Tie-In)
X-Men Legacy #232 (Necrosha X Tie-In)
Secret Warriors #12
Daredevil #504
Spiderman Clone Saga #5 of 6
Fantastic 4 #575
Hawkeye # 5 of 5 FINALLY
Amazing Spiderman # 619 (Gauntlet Tie-In)
Ms. Marvel #49

Favorite Title of the Week: Daredevil #504
*Warning* Possible Spoiler Alert

I just started reading Daredevil at issue 500 and I have been pleased with my choice to start reading it. Matt Murdock decided to take on the task of leading the deadly ninja clan the hand in order to stop the ninja army from falling into the hands of the Kingpin, also realizing that he needed the Hand as much as they needed him.

Daredevil decided that he would utilize the Hand to wage war on the corruption that has been spreading through the NYPD and the city government. Although Matt was able to stop the Hand from falling into the hands of the Kingpin, its not the last we have heard of good ol' Wilson Fisk. He has vowed to get his revenge on Daredevil and as the issues move on, is setting up a meticulous plan to gain control of the underworld, the Hand, and even Daredevil himself.
Although the Hand is proving to be a vital asset to Daredevil, but their harsh ways are taking its toll on Matt and his stern moral standpoint.

In this issue, Daredevil has decided to bring his war to the head honco himself, Norman Osborn and decides to wage a pre-emptive strike against him. This ultimately leads to Osborn's retaliation by sending Hammer troops against the hand and an all out battle breaks out. As soon as the battle begins it is over though, leaving the reader to use his imagination as to what exactly happened during the battle. The issue ends showing that Daredevil might have ditched his moral bounds with a pretty disturbing final page, but I wont ruin that for whoever is reading this, ill let you see if for yourself. And if you have read this issue, you understand how great this ending was.

This is the first book I've read from Andy Diggle, and I have not been let down yet and do not expect to be any time soon. As for the art of Roberto De la Torre, his dark and shadowy art is just what this books needs. It perfectly shows the deep dark emotions that are featured in this title and the darker color shades he uses give the pages that ominous feeling that Daredevil needs. In addition, the Cover art on this issue makes it hard to look away. Esad Ribic does a great job showing the emotional and moral trama Daredevil is facing, and the detail in his suit is sick...literally. It is a bit disturbing that you can see the individual bones in his spine, but its pretty cool at the same time.

9.6 out of 10

Least Favorite Title of the Week: Fantastic 4 #575
*Warning* Possible Spoiler Alert

Its hard for me to say that FF is my least favorite from this week, considering it is usually one of my more favorite titles. Right off the bat I want to say despite it was my least favorite, it is in no way a bad book. I enjoyed Hickman's writing just like I usually do, and you cant go wrong with Eaglesham's art. The main this that bothered me is that they left you with such an interesting plot point at the end of the last issue and did nothing with it.

At the end of the last issue, Val was contacted from Future Franklin, which was pretty cool if you ask me and I was very excited to see what was going to happen next with this story line, but I got no such satisfaction. Instead, I get a story about Moleman and the underground people. Although it was pretty cool, just wasn't what I wanted, thus leaving me highly disappointed.

I still can't tell if this was just a stand alone issue, or are they going to do more with the underground world storyline? I think it may be just a single issue story considering they had the little 4 in the bottom right hand corner instead of a to be continued and the fact that there is a little disclaimer after the last page leads me to believe that this is a lost storyline, at least till later maybe.

The thing I think that bothered me the most out of everything, was actually not part of the comic (I mean, it was but kinda not really). Anyways, in the issue when they are traveling to this lost city of the underworld, Reed mentions that he knows where he is going because it is where he buried Galactus from the Future. The picture was pretty freakin' sweet if you ask me, its hard to beat a mummified Galactus, but the thing that really bothered me is that they used this picture as the add for the issue in almost every other comic I read this week. What I mentioned before about what Reed said is the only reference to it, and is the only time this dead Galactus is shown. Like, if I had seen this add prior to reading the issue and/or buying the issue, I would have been so angry at the fact that it had nothing to do with Galactus at all.

6 out of 10


I hope you all enjoyed listening to my opinions about these comics, Ill be doing these reviews weekly so stay tuned for the next installment!