Daredevil #88 "The Secret Life Of Foggy Nelson" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Stu]

The best comic on the rack!


http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/0806/DD088_COVcol_sm.jpg

COVER BY: LEE BERMAJO
WRITER: ED BRUBAKER
PENCILS: MICHAEL LARK

This month features a stand-alone issue entitled, THE SECRET LIFE OF FOGGY NELSON, a special interim episode focusing on Daredevil’s recently deceased best friend. Did we really know all there is to know about Foggy? What remains hidden in the life of this man, that could still affect Matt Murdock’s fate to this day?

Comments?

[Stu]

Speak up people!

It's interesting to see where all this is heading, especially with Matt heading to Europe presumably to search for Foggy next month. I can't wait to see where all this is heading!

[The Overlord]

This was a fun filler issue, its nice to see that Elektra is keeping tabs on Foggy. It was good that ninjas can actually be effective, rather than just mindless cannon fodder, even if they were just fighting generic mafia goons. The scenes with the Hand ninjas fighting the mafia goons were brutal. This Alton Lennox person must be very powerful if he can get an agent in the FBI to work for him, I wonder who he is. This issue was a interesting look at Foggy's character. Overall a good issue, even if it was filler.

[wonderfly]

I usually like to hold off till the end of the story arc before casting my vote on an issue, but hey, this is a stand alone story! I give it 4 stars, for being another great story driven issue, but the artwork didn't really work for me this time around. I've heard a lot about this David Aja fellow lately, as he's supposed to be the new artist on the upcoming Iron Fist title, I believe. His artwork on this issue was too dark and unclear, I had trouble distinguishing between some characters, and thus, I don't feel he'd be the right artist for Iron Fist, (a character who's supposed to be a little more lighthearted than Daredevil, in my opinion). In fact, I for one think a manga type of artist would be great for Iron Fist, (manga is often the best at showing the raw energy of a kung-fu battle).

Anyway, be sure and cast your votes on this issue folks! :)


It's interesting to see where all this is heading, especially with Matt heading to Europe presumably to search for Foggy next month.

Just to clarify, I think he's heading off to Europe to find Foggy's "killer", not to find Foggy, (whom he still believes is dead). I can't wait for next issue!

[Stu]

A new story arc begins as Daredevil begins his search for Foggy Nelson


http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/0906/DD089_COVcol_sm.jpg

COVER BY: LEE BERMAJO
WRITER: ED BRUBAKER
PENCILS: MICHAEL LARK

The Story: “THE DEVIL TAKES A RIDE” Part 1 of 5!
Daredevil’s search for the truth leads him out of the country, on a swashbuckling noir adventure that hasn’t been seen in the pages of DD for years! But, is this the other DD, or the original? Only time will tell, as the hit new DD creative team of Brubaker and Lark dive straight into their second arc.

Comments?

[wonderfly]

Ah, the Matador. Has there ever been a more absurd Marvel villian? But this is actually the "All New, All Different" Matador, and he's got some cool moves, allowing for Daredevil to have some swashbuckling action, (which we haven't seen in the pages of Daredevil in years)!

Daredevil's strings are obviously being manipulated here, (isn't it a little too convenient that this new girl smells a bit too much like his dead lover Karen?), the only question is, is this girl Lily in on the plot, or is she a victim of this conspiracy as well?

A fun start to this latest storyline, but I'm ready to learn who's behind Alton Lennox now. Who was that mystery man at the end of the issue?!?

[Stu]

I loved Matt using his powers to win at poker. It's kind of weird that no one has twigged that 'Mike' is blind, but I was quite impressed with the new version of The Matador. The title hasn't lot a bit of steam since Matt's escape from prison!

[wonderfly]

I loved Matt using his powers to win at poker. It's kind of weird that no one has twigged that 'Mike' is blind, but I was quite impressed with the new version of The Matador. The title hasn't lot a bit of steam since Matt's escape from prison!

Did you catch the bit early on where Matt put in those contact lens? I think that was so he could mask the milky-white aspect of his blind eyes, (though he's also wearing sunglasses in most scenes in this book, so I don't know what the difference is). I think it's clever how Matt is posing as a non-blind person, (and he can get away with it to thanks to his heightened senses).

[Stu]

Daredevil fights the french!

http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1006/DD090_COVcol_sm.jpg

The Story: THE DEVIL TAKES A RIDE races into the second of five parts, as Daredevil finds himself in Paris, on the hunt for some very dangerous men... But they just might be hunting him, as well! Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark continue their scintillating team-up!

Comments?

[Stu]

Did you catch the bit early on where Matt put in those contact lens? I think that was so he could mask the milky-white aspect of his blind eyes, (though he's also wearing sunglasses in most scenes in this book, so I don't know what the difference is). I think it's clever how Matt is posing as a non-blind person, (and he can get away with it to thanks to his heightened senses).
It is interesting that no one's even twigged onto it yet.

I thought this new issue was a lot more interesting that the last one, which was still great. I don't usually care for when they take the hero out of his habitat, but I'm loving Matt's search. Loved seeing Tombstone again too! The ending provided a great twist, I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

With a lot of Marvel's characters being written hideously out of character due to Cival War, it's nice to see Daredevil is still on top form.

[wonderfly]

Daredevil once again kicks butt this month, with some cool fight scenes! The match between Tombstone and Daredevil proves that Matt can't just kick anyone's butt! (This makes up for Daredevil beating up Mr. Hyde with ease a couple years back during Bendis's run).

I suspected there was a reason why Matt was sensing that girl was so similar to Karen Page-she's obviously got some sort of pheromone power. She's got the Matador and Matt under her spell, but apparently Tombstone is immune, (granite skin must have it's benefits).

I'm loving the change of scenery in this story arc. It reminds me of why I'm enjoying Planet Hulk so much: sometimes shaking up the status quo and changing the setting can really put things in perspective for a character. :)

[Stu]

I'm loving the change of scenery in this story arc. It reminds me of why I'm enjoying Planet Hulk so much: sometimes shaking up the status quo and changing the setting can really put things in perspective for a character.
I'm enjoying it too. It's also keeping him out of Cival War, which is both good and bad. Good because most of the characters are been written terribly out of character and bad because Matt's reaction to everyone's stance on the law would be very interesting as Matt knows what it's like to be outed as a superhero.

This book really does keep getting better and better. One of the few titles you can consistantly count on being brilliant month after month.

[Stu]

Daredevil Vs Tombstone!

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The Story: THE DEVIL TAKES A RIDE - Part 3 of 5. Daredevil finally gets close to the answers he seeks, but before he finds out the truth, he’ll have to face down two villains both out for his blood -- TOMBSTONE and the all-new, all-different MATADOR! Brought to you by the fan-favorite team of Brubaker and Lark!

Comments?

[Stu]

Who's pulling Matt's strings this time?

http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1206/DD092_COVcol_sm.jpg

THE STORY:
Matt Murdock finally comes face-to-face with the person who’s been manipulating his life since he was thrown in jail, and you’ll be stunned by the revelation! Brubaker and Lark’s second arc rounds the corner toward the finish line!

Comments?

[wonderfly]

So the big reveal is that it was Vanessa Fisk behind everything bad that's happened to Matt since he ended up in prison. Somehow, that's not as satisfactory as I would like. Don't get me wrong, it was well written...and I can actually find a degree of logic in her thinking that it was Matt's fault that Kingpin and Matt were locked in an endless cycle of violence, but she just comes across as...insane. Somewhat of a shame, because I actually sympathized with her plight before now, but as of this issue, I have no more sympathy for her, (even if she is dying).

The F.B.I. Director finally got what was coming to him. And they made it look like he framed Matt, so Matt should indeed be able to come back to the U.S.A. a free man!

I wonder how Matt's going to react when he hears about the Civil War that's been going on in the U.S.A. since he's been away?

[Condiment King]

I haven't really liked this arc as much as the previous one, but I loved the last issue. Vanessa Fisk being behind it all was particularly intriguing, and I think her character's thoughts behind it all were interesting and somewhat logical. She's sorta insane regardless, but now Matt's in the clear.

[wonderfly]

Theme Week #2 continues, as we mix things around a little bit, by switching out the UncannY X-Men talkback to make way for discussion of Brubaker's Daredevil, (another popular title he's writing right now)!

So how are you guys and gals enjoying Brubaker's run on Daredevil? Is this the greatest run of stories since Frank Miller and the "Born Again" arc? Or just a nice follow up to the plotlines that Bendis started?!?

[Reed Richards]

i still re-read the prison issues quite frequently. GREAT stuff, esp. after Punisher arrived...

[Stu]

The story continues...

http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/0107/DD093_COV_col_sm.jpg

Harvey Award-Winning Best Writer Ed Brubaker and Eisner Award-Winning Artist Michael Lark bring their first year on Daredevil full circle -- and it ends with a bang! Matt Murdock returns to the streets of New York, to Hell’s Kitchen, to whatever is left of his life, and to face whatever he must to try to get it back. What is Matt’s future? What has happened in his absence, and what part does Kingpin play in all this?
The only place you’ll find those answers is in the stunning conclusion to “The Devil Takes a Ride!”

Comments?

[wonderfly]

I read this issue, and was left stunned. And not entirely in a good way. In this one issue, Brubaker has single handidly reverted the status quo of the last 6 years to where we were before Bendis revealed Daredevil's identity to the press!

I'm also amazed at the amount of time that passed during this issue: weeks, (maybe MONTHS) had to have passed. It's just rather unusual, that's all...I suppose it's been done before, (with Bendis doing the jump to "one year later") but for Brubaker to do this?

Don't get me wrong, it's well written, (and has a touching ending) but...I was enjoying "Matt Murdock: Wanted Man!!!" And now for us to go back to plain old "Matt Murdock: Lawyer by day, vigilante by night" feels a bit hollow.

But damn it all, it is well written, (good script on Brubaker's part, and several touching scenes, such as Foggy and Matt being reunited, and the Kingpin at his wife's grave). You could almost end the comic book on that note, (well, except that on the last page, they're hinting at that crimelord's daughter coming to America...)

Man, I'm of mixed opinions about this issue...but I do want to see what comes next!!!

[wonderfly]

Paul O'Brien, (of the X-Axis) has a brief review for this issue of Daredevil (http://www.thexaxis.com/capsules/04Feb07.htm) in which he makes some good points. Here's a part of it:


It's so obviously an issue of the writer hammering the reset button for all he's worth that perhaps it's best to just get it out of the way, but it still comes across as terribly rushed and contrived. This, by the way, shall be the fate of many of Marvel's more recent "shocking" developments - since they leave the ongoing series with nowhere to go, they just have to be undone by hook or by crook. If they haven't done the same story with Spider-Man by 2009, I'll be very surprised.

I don't know if it feels contrived, (again, I do think it was well written) but yes, it definently felt rushed. But I beg to differ on the idea that there was "nowhere to go" with the whole "Daredevil on the run" idea. We could've had several years of "Matt Murdock: Fugitive" and I would've been happy with that...but I suppose that the whole "Fugitive on the run" idea is meant to remain Bruce Banner's routine...but I still would've liked to have seen Daredevil do that for a few more years.

[Xurk]

I'm not a regular Daredevil reader, but I have been picking it up for the past year, after hearing good stuff about it all the time.

I really enjoyed this story arc, well-written indeed. I probably have less issues with "everything" returning to status quo than otehrs because of my lack of following the character, but I'm interested to see where it goes next, so I'll continue to pick up the book.
I do agree with the statement that this issue seemed so rushed, virtually everything was solved in the space of one issue; Foggy returns, Matt is no longer vehemently being accused of being Daredevil, Matt is no longer a wanted man, the Kingpin is back out of jail... that's a lot of story for one issue! Bendis would've stretched it out for a year or so, probably ;)

[wonderfly]

I found an interview with Ed Brubaker (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=100580) over at Newsarama that addresses the "Reset" controversy.

Here's a good quote:


NRAMA: So what would you say you did to the Daredevil status quo as it stood?

EB: What I did do was muddy the waters a bit, so that now there will be some people in the world who will believe that Matt is DD, and some who will think he was a fall guy in some government conspiracy. But all the bad guys will probably still think he's Daredevil, and as we saw in issue #93, much of the press won't buy his story, either.

But I have to say, anyone who thinks this issue invalidated all the issues that preceded it, doesn't understand stories, or episodic fiction, too well. That's like saying the last page of Miller and Mazzuchelli's Born Again story, with a happy Matt and Karen Page holding hands in Hell’s Kitchen, invalidated the entire story before it. Matt being able to have a semblance of a life doesn't mean that the things that took so much of his life away no longer matter, or that they won't affect him in the future.

I have to admit, he has a point. And it does have me looking forward to what's coming next from Brubaker.

One of the posters on Newsarama, (in response to those who were upset with the status quo change), said the following:


Come on. What were we supposed to have? Years of Matt on the run, until finally he was cornered and murdered? Or a continual series of Daredevil in prison stories? Or he joins the Thunderbolts? He had to get something back at some point, unless we wanted Daredevil to turn into any of the above.

I have to admit, in retrospect, that was exactly what I wanted, (except for him being cornered and murdered): I wanted the "Daredevil on the Run" to last for years! We had 40 years of "Matt Murdock: Lawyer" and you know me, I'm all about seeing our characters progress, and not just telling the same old stories...though once again, I will say that I'm eager to see what Brubaker comes up with next, (the guy has talent, I'll give him that).

...but that's the problem, (as Brubaker notes himself) with episodic fiction...damn, this issue makes me wish for a "Daredevil: The End" storyline...when are we going to get that, Marvel?!?