Ed Brubaker continues his legendary run on Daredevil in this great issue.  Like grandma’s homemade pasta sauce, this arc has a bunch of elements that have been slowly simmering and mingling with each other.  Brubaker’s story is solid, layered, and methodically building to a boiling point.

What impresses me most is the cast of DD.  The Kingpin’s return to Hell’s Kitchen is a blast to read as he brutally takes out his competition.  Lady Bullseye and her gang of villains are pulling strings and bringing her plan to fruition.  Foggy is pissed off and trying to deal with his nutty blind super hero friend (who he recently fired from his law firm).  Leland Owlsley is trying to fit into a criminal underworld that may not have room for a B-Lister.  Dakota is searching for clues that might just get her killed.  Matt Murdock has entered un uneasy alliance with the Kingpin to takedown Lady Bullseye..or so he thinks.  All this in one comic!

Brubaker’s rich characters spring to life with Lark and Gaudiano’s art.  His classis noir style gives DD that gritty street feel.

Daredevil is one of the most consistently satisfying book each month.

4 out of 5

Ed Brubaker’s Daredevil run continues to rock!  The pacing of this book makes it a joy to read.  Brubaker knows the story he wants to tell and executes it without filler and fluff.  He continues to hide pleasant surprises in a storyline I think I have figured out.  Without revealing anything, Daredevil takes it on the chin from a dear friend.  On top of that, Kingpin continues to reclaim the Hell Kitchen’s underworld.  Brubaker has successfully given the Kingpin a heart and soul.  He’s still a ruthless psychopath, but you almost start to feel for him.  Almost.  Meanwhile, Matt Murdock is dealing with his ever-muddied personal life as he plans to take down Lady Bullseye and the Hand.

Brubaker skillfully makes Matt Muddock and the other DD cast real people.  Their lives are messy and difficult.  The DD universe is very real and the people seem to breathe the same air we do.  This is a tribute to Ed Brubaker’s ability to write real characters.

DD’s multiple artists create a unique atmosphere that is making this title iconic.  I am now referring to some other books as “Daredevilish” in style.  Rivaling Brukaer’s writing skill is the work of colorist Matt Hollingsworth.  Daredevil has a classic, crisp, noir art and Hollingsworth’s skill vaults these pages close to perfection.  The panels have a muted, dark quality with burst of appropriate colors.  The finished product is a stunning book that is worthy of a few extra reads, just to admire the pages.

While Daredevil is a consistently great read, this arc is particularly fantastic.  While I am enjoying Marvel’s Dark Reign mega-event, it sure is nice to read a book without Norman Osborn.  Matt Murdock has enough to deal with.

4 out of 5

With Daredevil, Marvel unveils its third noir title.  Being a devout DD fan, I gave it a shot.  I should have steered clear of this one.  Both X-Men and Spiderman Noir went from mediocre, to poor, to just bad.  Daredevil Noir is starting at poor.

It’s rumored that this story was pitched for DD’s ongoing title, but was turned into this noir series.  What does that say about the quality of this tale?  Is one man’s trash truly another man’s treasure?  Not in this case. Daredevil has a nourish style to it already.  Besides some period pieces and a goofy costumes, its not a new incarnation of the Dareveil mythos.  Matt Murdock is Daredevil and Foggy is Foggy.  There is nothing new or re-invented as in the other noir titles.

Tomm Coker’s art made this purchase bearable.  He uses some smart layouts and makes solid choices to convey the story.  He captures a distinctive noir style with the effect augmented by Daniel Freedman’s coloring.  Coker’s depictions of Foggy and the city’s aerial drawings were great.

Art can’t save a flawed concept and a below-average story.  Daredevil’s self-titled series is one of my favorite comics.  Read that for your DD fix.

2 out of 5

It’s hard to keep track of all Dark Reign limited series spinning through the Marvel universe.  I wasn’t expecting much from this five-issue series.  However, I was very pleasantly surprised as this book came close to my favorite read of the week.

The only thing “Hawkeye” about this book is the title and the costume.  It’s all Bullseye and he rightly deserves the spotlight.  Bullseye is a sadistically fun villain and when written well can be a blast to read.  Andy Diggle proves that he can write Bullseye and has a great story to tell.  He’s the perfect man for the job.

Jumping out of the pages of Dark Avengers, Diggle shows us what life is like for Bullseye.  Osborn wants to keep his pet assassin on a tight lease.  Bullseye just wants kill.  You can dress up Bullseye like a superhero, but you just can’t get him to be good.  Bullseye is very bad in this issue.  He challenges Osborn, hoping his boss returns to his evil ways and stops playing good guy.  Diggle adds an appropriate sense of humor to Bullseye without letting this bad ass become goofy.

Artist Tom Raney has a surprisingly bright and crisp style for this book.  With Bullseye primarily in the pages of Daredevil’s noir style, it took me a few pages to get.  He handles the conversations and action panels very well, providing a good pace for this first issue.

There are some sick and shocking scences in this issue.  I just recounted and there were three holy crap moments.  These are some good times with Bullseye!

4 out of 5

I was leery when I saw the latest story arc for Daredevil titled “Lady Bullseye.”  I was sad that DD’s world, hidden in the Hells’ Kitchen dark alleys and mostly shielded from Marvel Universe’s mainstream, succumbed to an alarming current trend, the gender reassignment of well-known male villains.

I hung in there and was glad I did.  Lady Bullseye worked.  It did more than just work, the story reignited a great title that had recently lost its spark. 

Lady Bullseye’s origin was well-written and fits into Daredevils’ world without being forced.  This story blends into an organic whole between previous DD arcs and the current events of the Marvel Universe at large.  From the first issue, the plot builds as we try to figure out Lady Bullseye’s motives for messing with poor Matt Murdock.  We meet another great character, Master Izo, along the way. He’s a boozing, joke-cracking Kung-Fu Master who provides some much-needed laughs without being trite. DD is a dark book with Murdock getting one if not both balls pounded issue after issue.

4 out of 5