Review by Aziz Bawany

Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Roberto De La Torre
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Published by Marvel Comics

Andy Diggle’s Daredevil carries on the long tradition of leaving the character in dire straits and picking up plot lines leftover from a previous run. Brubaker did it after Bendis and the later with Smith. It’s a great idea and these guys have built a nice progression for Matt Murdock over the years but I was always looking for something more in my Man Without Fear.  

That’s why Diggle’s work is such a breath of fresh air despite being a carry over plot from Brubaker. Matt Murdock is now leading the Hand. After declaring Hell’s Kitchen once again under his guard, he now uses his ninja adversaries to maintain order and justice to an extreme degree. We’ve seen reflections from other characters as they react to this news. Master Izo is fearful of what Matt will become, while Foggy and Dakota are afraid of the path he’s going down. It’s a yarn we’ve seen the character travel before but Diggle’s writing captivates that extreme sense of depravity so much better than the previous writers. This is a new Daredevil: one more vengeful and judicious than before.

This issue finds Matt continuing his battle against the corruption of New York’s law establishments. Judges are evil, cops are on the take, and everyone is under the Kingpin in some fashion. That’s the one weakness Diggle and so many others have with Daredevil: they never get out of this Frank Miller mindset. In some ways, no matter how far you take the character, everyone is afraid to go beyond the normal limits. It always ends up being another Kingpin story and right now I’m looking for more out of Matt Murdock. Brubaker and Bendis took Wilson Fisk off the menu for a bit and I hope Diggle gets away from him soon as well because Matt as the hand’s leader has far more potential for moving in new directions.

But this wouldn’t be complete without the art of Roberto De La Torre. He too comes from that dirty grit feeling of art that’s just beautiful to look at. Like Maleev and Lark, it’s a harsh style for a harsh world and only the artists known slowness can kill the cool momentum going on.

As I said earlier, Daredevil is far more exciting for me than the last few years of the book. Diggle took a Brubaker idea and is running with it, and I hope he keeps going in these new direction because Matt Murdock may finally evolve from the Born Again era he’s been stuck in for so long.

Rating: 8 out of 10 (On its Way to Greatness!)