It’s a new direction for the Man and Woman Without Fear. Kingpin is on the run, having slipped away and many thinking dead. A threat looms with The Hand which has been gaining power now that The Punisher is leading them. Previously focused on New York City, the Daredevils are now going global focused on bringing down The Hand once and for all. Daredevil #1 acts as both a continuation of the previous volume as well as a starting point for new readers and it works pretty well in both ways.
Written by Chip Zdarsky, Daredevil #1 feels much more like a continuation of events than a completely fresh start. Much of the issue is focused on picking up the pieces of the previous run/arc as Daredevil connects with friends and attempts to take care of a few things before heading on his global quest. The story is presented in an interesting way with a clearly older and disheveled Daredevil telling of events and his younger self going through them.
Zdarsky could easily keep things focused on the global war to come but he throws in a twist that’s been hinted at for some time. It’s still somewhat unexpected as the nature of one character is revealed. It has some pretty big implications and where it goes, I couldn’t say at all. That’s nice as the direction of the series is pretty clear, both Daredevils with their Fist army will eventually clash with the Punisher and the Hand. That’s pretty obvious and if it doesn’t happen, that’d be a surprise.
Zdarsky does do a good job of making the issue fairly easy to slide into for new readers. Situations are explained enough to get what’s going on while not being jarring for long time readers. It does a good balance of the two.
The issue is split with another story focused on Elektra as she scouts ahead of Matt to begin their building of The Fist. That part is intriguing with lots of talk about destinies and prophecies. It works and works well setting up the battle to come as Matt deals with his twist in NYC.
The art by Marco Checchetto is fantastic as expected. With color by Matthew Wilson and lettering by Clayton Cowles the comic looks great. It takes the rather dark cloud from the previous arc and removes it delivering an issue that’s a bit brighter than usual as Daredevil connects with friends and enemies. The coloring is interesting as it feels like there’s a sense of time as the story progresses with the lighting getting a bit brighter as day comes closer.
Daredevil #1 is solid as expected. The comic does a great job of setting up the next adventure while wrapping up what has come before. It acts as a decent spot for new readers to hop on and should make longtime readers happy. Overall, things are looking very intriguing for the Daredevils and this series continues to be one to not miss.
Story: Chip Zdarsky Art: Marco Checchetto
Color: Matthew Wilson Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – TFAW – comiXology/Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
