DAREDEVIL #16

[ SEXY SALE! ] 

There once was a woman from Greece, who would do anything to accomplish world peace. So what did she do? She didn’t have a clue. Until she replaced world peace with stoned-geese. Want to know more? Then please ignore the following adventure created by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Fornes, and published by Marvel Comics in January, 2020.

TO QUOTE Luc de Clapiers: ‘The art of pleasing is the art of deception’.

THE STORY:

At the end of last month’s episode, we saw two native New Yorkers getting shafted in two very different ways. One of them was Matt Murdock, a.k.a. not Daredevil, who got shafted by Elektra on the hood of a car, while the other was Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. not a Kingpin, who got shafted by the Stromwyn family with the use of a gang of super-powered mercenaries. 

So this month, we get to see some other people getting shafted as well. Such as, Izzy Libris, for instance, who's control over Hell’s Kitchen gets usurped by Hammerhead and his crew, as well as the Stromwyn’s, who've suddenly discovered that they’ve been robbed by a team of unknown assailants. Want to know more? Then please pick up issue 16 of Daredevil today. In the meantime, though, here, check this out...

THE REVIEW:

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this episode of ‘Through Hell’ because Jorge Fornes’ artwork was moody and atmospheric, whereas Chip Zdarsky's storyline was bold, dynamic, and not afraid to answer a number of very appropriate questions. Or to be more specific about it, these questions…

1) What do you think about Matt’s partnership with Elektra? Personally, I like it, I like it a lot, but only because things aren't totally clear between the two of them. After all, she doesn’t know that her memory has been partly wiped in order to remove Matt’s true identity, while he doesn’t know if he can entirely trust her or not. Either way, it’s still great to see them both working together again — as a team, no less — and I sincerely hope they can work through their differences as they have quite a lot in common (such as the fighting, the adventuring, and the getting into trouble).

2) How are the Stromwyn's shaping up as bad guys? So far, I’d say they come across as pretty formidable foes, because even though they don’t look physically imposing, they do act rather brutal when they want to vanquish their enemies. Well, not only did they have Wilson beaten up over a prior transgression (as seen in last month’s adventure), but in addition to this, they’re also destroying a section of New York City for reasons that haven’t yet been disclosed. At a guess, I suspect it has something to do with money. Or maybe, just maybe, they have a personal connection to someone who’s living within the vicinity. Someone like Izzy Libris, for instance.

3) Has Matt suddenly become more powerful? Yes, I think he has, because he’s somehow channeling his inner Yoda so he can think and fight better than ever before. Well, on page 9, he utilized his heightened senses so he could listen to the people living in the city. And then later, on pages 17 and 18, he was able to take down a gang of ninjas while Elektra was hacking into the Stromwyn's computer system. So, as you can see, Matt has considerably improved over the last few episodes, although I wish he’d change his mind and start calling himself Daredevil again! Or else, Marvel may have to re-title this comic book into something like, ‘The Adventures of the Artist Formerly known as Daredevil’, ha!

4) While we’re on the subject of artists, what do you think of Jorge Fornes’ work on this book? Well, with all due respect to the previous artist, Marco Checchetto, I think Jorge’s work suits this title slightly more because he's able to give it a pulp quality that's appropriate for a street-level adventure featuring an urban vigilante. In many ways, his artistic style is somewhat similar to a former Batman and Daredevil artist, David Mazzucchelli, as it's fairly flat on the page and evenly monochromatic in tone. In addition to this, I also enjoyed the way he depicted emotion by underplaying people's expressions while highlighting their key features (check out some of the images provided to see what I mean).

5) Is there anything else that’s worth mentioning? Yes, three things in fact. Three secondary subplots that were carefully inserted throughout this episode in-between Matt’s maiden adventure! One of them was focused on Foggy, Foggy Nelson, who nervously informed his client Joe that he could use Daredevil’s secret identity as leverage to avoid more time in jail (Ouch! That came as a right surprise). Another subplot was focused on North, Detective Cole North, who told Captain Cervantes that he won’t be investigating any more superhero activity because he would rather concentrate on The Owl’s crimes instead (fingers crossed, his fellow officers will allow him to do this). And thirdly, another strand of the story focused on Izzy, Izzy Libris, who was taken down by Hammerhead’s crew when they usurped control over her domain (which, to be fair, isn’t much of a surprise, considering that they’re all villains and are known for lying and stealing). So, more or less, I’d say that these three subplots were a great addition to this storyline because they broadened its narrative and made things even more intriguing to read. Marvelous job, guys, and please keep up the great work.

THE MUSIC: 

For this month’s musical match-up, I’m going to align this adventure with the Donna Summer classic, ‘Love To Love You Baby’, because they’re both about people getting shagged.

THE COMPARISON: 

Yes. That’s correct. I’m now going to compare this episode to Austin Powers, baby, because of the aforementioned reasons alluding to shagging and shady sidekicks. 

THE CONCLUSION:

At the end of this issue, Matt discovers something rather surprising about Elektra. So, out of the following eight options, let’s see if you can guess what that something might be? I mean, could it have something to do with her being...

1. A man.
2. A thief. 
3. A Greek.
4. A woman. 
5. A vegan.
6. A sex-addict.
7. A Leo. 
8. A fictional character.

Nuff said.