The first issue of the relaunched Daredevil continues Marvel's "Big Shots" initiative, in which major creators are given b-list characters. Writer Mark Waid and artists Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin, who both give this issue a fantastic retro feel with their artwork. As someone who has only a passing interest in Daredevil (I still need to finish reading the Brian Michael Bendis/Alex Maleev run) I have to say, I was very impressed with this opening issue.
The issue starts with Daredevil dropping in on one of the biggest mob weddings in New York City, under the assumption that someone is attempting to assassinate one of the heads of the families. While there, The Spot attacks the family, with his goal being the young flower girl, whom he will hold for ransom. What follows is a pretty awesome sequence in which DD drops down, uses his powers to expose the mob boss who hired The Spot, then proceeds to beat the ever loving shit out of him. It's a really well done sequence that I think Paolo Rivera nailed. Later on, Matt Murdock learns that his previous dealings with both mob families may run a lot deeper than he originally thought, and after a pretty cool page in which he changes into his costume as he falls off a building, he's later attacked by a certain character who has a movie premiering this week.....
To say that I was surprised by Daredevil is a supreme understatement. Maybe it's because I've only read a few of his stories, but I really enjoyed this book, and I thought the art was well worth the price. I know that Marcos Martin (who handles the great back up tale also written by Waid) and Rivera may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I feel that they really set the retro tone of the book for me. Waid's script was light, and while that may turn off some (or all) Daredevil fans, he does give a fairly good reason for Murdock's new outlook on life. As far as this new take on Daredevil is concerned, I'm in for issue two.
Tony Daniel is still writing and drawing the monthly Batman title, which of course means that I still can't really form a positive or negative opinion on it. I have nothing against the guy personally, I just have always found his work to be just "meh". There could be worse people writing and drawing Batman.....Anyways, this issue is the conclusion of Daniel's three part Two-Face/Riddler story, in which Harvey Dent's wife Gilda has returned. Naturally, Harvey Dent/Two-Face isn't too happy about this, and after squaring off with both him and The Riddler, Batman (Dick Grayson) now finds himself caught in the middle.
While I appreciate Tony Daniel bringing the mob back into the Batman comics, I could really do without the goofy sidekicks like "Catgirl" and "Enigma" (the Riddler's daughter). There's just something about them that is well, lame, to be honest, and the conclusion to this story is really, really dumb, and kind of an insult to Dick Grayson. He's definitely way more competent than Daniel shows us in this issue. Oh well, at least come September Scott Snyder will be writing this title.....but then again, Daniel will be handling Detective Comics......
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