It's been more than a month since I got my hands on the #1 New York Times Best Seller and I can't tell you how eager I was to finally have some time to sit down, relax, and read it all at once. I wanted to keep this review spoiler-free, but after time of planning on how to do it, I deceided not to. I just want to praise a book in which Mack and Bendis take their awesome run on the Man Without Fear and end it a most astonishing way. The people behind this book are the amazing team of, of course, Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack on the story, Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkievitz on the pencils, Matt Hollingsworth on most of the coloring, and, who else than David Mack drawing the covers and providing some extra coloring.
In the near future, a future that splits from normal Daredevil continuity somewhere between right after Daredevil Vol.2 #50 and #110 (with and extended use of #51-#81 into the storyline, but I'd say right after #50 to avoid even the slightest trace of a plot-hole), Daredevil has killed the Kingpin and subsequently disappeared (and no, he wasn't in San Fransisco). The story starts with his return to the city, only to be killed by Bullseye after a two-hour long fight. The story of Daredevil's death is assigned by J.Jonah Jameson to Ben Urich, who then goes on a 8-issue long adventure, searching for and talking to Daredevil's and Matt Murdock's old friends and foes, all of them revolving about Matt's last word: "Mapone". The book features appearances by almost everybody from Bendis' run and scrambles the significance of the part each of them plays.
The pros:
- Nick Fury isn't Samuel L. Jackson. I haven't stumbled upon the original Nick Fury for more than a year and a half. All I got for this time was the movies and Nick Fury Jr's cameo in Kaine... oops, I meant Scarlet Spider.
- The simplistic approach to Bullseye's personality. Matt Murdock had two or three reasons to call for his daughter before his death (because he loves his daughter and also because she could have saved him, nevermind leaving a clue for Timothy). Bullseye is, throughout the story, said to have crossed the line and killed Daredevil because of his last words, but Bullseye would actually have done it anytime. He would, if he could. So, there you have it: Bullseye is, plain and simple, a psycho killer.
- The coloring. The battle seems like a gateway to hell. The first 7 issues look like a funeral. The funeral looks like a walk in the park. The last issue looks exactly like the (rare) pages in Daredevil Vol.2 where Matt is feeling good, and from before Frank Miller made him darker.
- That, although the story revolves around Ben Urich, superheroes and villains play a greater role than Matt's friends and ex-girlfriends. This is a reminder that even a man like Matt Murdock can die and be forgotten, but Daredevil is a legend and immortal.
- Turk is now a businessman and not a punching bag.
- The cameos. Uncle Ben is mentioned at least once, Miller Brew Beer, and Mack and Bendis made it on the cover.
The cons:
- The pencils and the overuse of plain black shadowing, just like Vol.2.
- The one plot-hole everyone seems to be missing. Did Bullseye shoot himself right in the head or not?
- The fact that Daredevil had a dozen of girlfriends, but chose to impregnate Tony Stark's lapdog.
- The Amazing Spider-Man. Marvel, you can use this pose one time for each of Spider-Man's suits, for the time he had six arms, the Ultimate Spider-Man, the new Ultimate Spider-Man, the Manga Spider-Man, the MC2 Spider-Man, an unpushable X-Men spinoff with a spider mutant you're trying to push, Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, Silk, Venom, Carnage, Toxin, Spider-Ham, Spider-Spider, but NOT ONCE EVERY THREE MONTHS!!
Is it good?
Yes, it is good.
Should you buy it?
Only if you're a Daredevil fan and really in the mood for some more Bendis and Mack. It's definitely not the book to start with if you're not already into the man without fear. I've been revisiting Daredevil Vol.2 for the last months and "Daredevil: End of Days" was a good way to end it and move on to ongoing series again.
Is it the best way to end Daredevil Vol.2?
Absolutely not. Going on to Brubaker's stories and then Shadowland does a lot more justice to the Daredevil universe as it was throughout Vol.2. So, don't forget to check out PsarasComics Essential Shadowland by clicking here.
