DAREDEVIL #108 ADVANCE REVIEW

[Blake Petit]

Review by: Blake M. Petit Blake@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Cruel and Unusual Part Two
Rating: T+

Can Matt save his newest client – if the man doesn’t want to be saved?

Writers: Ed Brubaker & Greg Rucka
Art: Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Warren Simons
Cover Art: Marko Djurdjevic
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Now here’s what I want to see from Daredevil more often – a good old-fashioned murder mystery. Big Ben Donovan is sitting on death row, having confessed to the murders of three small children whose father is still missing. But Luke Cage believes he’s innocent, and an investigation by Dakota North has convinced Matt of the same. Now he’s facing Ben, trying to get to the bottom of this case, while the giant of a man is determined to ride the lightning for the sin he claims to have committed.

This really is a nice twist on the murder mystery. We’ve already got a killer, and a killer who is determined to be punished, but all of our heroes and the evidence of the story points towards him being an innocent man. Ben’s not an innocent person by any means, but if he’s innocent of this crime, that means a child-killer is still on the loose, so now there’s a real motivation to hunt down whoever the real bad guy is.

This issue really does remind me of Brubaker and Rucka’s glory days on Gotham Central. It’s much more of a crime drama than a superhero story. Sure, Matt’s super-senses are what helped him determine Ben isn’t the killer, and he uses his Daredevil identity to shake down thugs for information, but it would be quite simple to pull away those elements and still have a powerfully interesting story here.

Lark and Gaudiano’s artwork is a fine match for this comic, and Djurdjevic’s cover is really good. There’s a really good team assembled for this storyline, and it makes for a nice departure from the last year.

Rating:


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[B. Schatz]

I enjoyed the first issue of this arc, and I'm glad to hear there's more awesome to come my way.

Still miss Gotham Central something hard, though.

[Ben Lehnsherr]

Originally Posted by B. Schatz

Still miss Gotham Central something hard, though.

Same here. Daredevil's not a bad way to go for GC fans, though. Its had that feel for a while, but not being too similar.

[Ammar Al Subahi]

Why did they put Rucka on this alongside with Bruebaker? Brue was doing fine on his own.

[Andrea Speed]

Why did they put Rucka on this alongside with Bruebaker? Brue was doing fine on his own.

I would think Ed wanted to work with Greg again. I don't think Marvel "assigned" him to him.

[Gabriel Diaz]

Also from what I understand it's not an on-going tandem, it might just be a story here and there. Bru's still the man on this one.

[Ben Lehnsherr]

Originally Posted by Ammar Al Subahi

Why did they put Rucka on this alongside with Bruebaker? Brue was doing fine on his own.

Originally Posted by Andrea Speed

I would think Ed wanted to work with Greg again. I don't think Marvel "assigned" him to him.

I believe Ed asked him, yeah. I think its just an arc or two. No complaints either way here. They bring out the best in each other, and are not too shabby on their own either. Rucka actaully had me buying Wonder Woman for a time, believe it or not.

[Kani]

I am really enjoying the change of pace this arc has provided this book. Not to say I didn't enjoy the Mr. Fear arc this past year or so, but even Matt Murdock deserves a break every know and again