Daredevil #111 Cover

*Channeling Ed Brubaker* Nick Nelson sat at his desk, determined to discover the correct words to express just how amazing Daredevil is. While not writing reviews for long, he felt that he could accurately convey the emotions he felt when reading this comic. He knew that what he wrote could, in the end, lead to someone spending their hard earned money. This, he took seriously.

OK, so I am a shitty writer when compared to Ed Brubaker. This is why you should be happy he writes Daredevil and not me. Nevertheless, I’m about to take on the daunting task of writing about Daredevil. Won’t you come along for the ride?

Below, I’ll break down this brand new arc and talk extensively about the awesomeness of Brubaker and Clay Mann.

Hmm, Lady Bullseye, you say? Sounds interesting. And it is. The next arc of Brubaker’s beloved run on Daredevil is focusing on this brand new villain. Or is she really a villain? Probably.

Mann's amazing art

But she isn’t really set up like a traditional villain in this issue. In fact, you really feel for Lady Bullseye, especially when the issue starts to turn to talking about her past. Brubaker crafts a deliciously beautiful, deep character in this first part, and I can only assume that it will get better as the arc goes on.

I don’t know if it is possible for me to say how much I love the way Brubaker writes. My lame attempt at “channeling” him above should not turn you off his writing style. It took me a lot of effort to write that way above. And yet, he manages to naturally narrate his stories in this manner. His narration during the Lady Bullseye scenes are perfectly paced and draw you through the panels, providing a perfect complement to, and not overpowering, the art of the frame.

Other than all the greatness coming out of the Lady Bullseye pages of the book, there’s a lot of other stuff going on. Brubaker sets up a great subplot involving Matt Murdock and Dakota North. He really is a master of subplot. Like a good drama, there’s the main story of the arc, which provides the action and usually a plot device to move the subplot along, and then there is the much more interesting subplot, which changes things long-term for the book. All Brubaker’s Daredevil arcs have this subplot and this arc is setting up to be no different. Without giving it away, this one is going to be a good one. It could really explore a lot of who Matt Murdock is and will probably make him question the man that he is.

Check out this great framing!

Stellar art again in this series, as Clay Mann continues to be an impressive artist and a perfect yin to Brubaker’s yang. If you read my other reviews, you know I talk about the “noir” art style quite a bit when I talk about Bru’s artists, and Mann is another one of these “noir” artists. I don’t really know how to describe it in any other way. The pencils are sketchy, but it the right way. There is a lack of definition but a high level of detail, if that makes sense. And he does a great job framing a scene, which is one thing I see lacking in the books I read. A perfect example is in this issue. Murdock and North are walking through central park. top panel is overview of the park. Next, we get a distance shot of Murdock and North walking. Then we get a closer shot right in front of them as they walk. Then finally, a close-up as they talk and the page ends with a close-up of Murdock’s face. For whatever reason, I think this works perfectly and there are plenty of other places in this issue where similar framing takes place.

What else can I say? If you don’t read Daredevil, I think this issue is a perfect spot to pick up. There’s a couple of references to previous events, but you won’t be losing anything if you miss them. It is a great time to pick up your first issue of Daredevil and witness the brilliance of this creative team. Or, if you are a Daredevil reader, it is time to love another arc.