What I Bought 9/30/2011 - Part 3

If I were getting comics on a weekly basis, I wouldn't have a single one coming in this week. Considering I should have 11 or 12 this month, it seems a little strange to have nothing at all one week. In moderately related news, I went back issue hunting at a sort of nearby comic store yesterday. I took a list since there were about a dozen different series I wanted to look for issues of. Didn't have much success. In fact, the title I bought the most of was some of Engelhart's run on Silver Surfer, which wasn't even on my list. Sometimes you see Galactus straight decking the In-Betweener, and you are lost.

Daredevil #3 and 4 - I love that cover for 4, the gun barrels that look like buildings. Marcos Martin is awesome.

Issue 3 resolves Mr. Jobrani's problems, as Daredevil deals with Klaw. An echo of him, left behind after the original was shot into space as a wave in some story I didn't read. Judging by Thor, Iron Man, and Reed Richards' costumes it was fairly recent. The echo is constructing an antenna in Jorbani's basement to collect Klaw (I just realized I'd been typing Kang, which wow, if DD could beat Kang that'd be more impressive than his victory over Ultron), and now he plans to use the captured Daredevil as a physical template for Klaw's energy to solidify around. Matt objects to this and escapes, causing himself some pain the process, and isn't able to hear who helped the echo come up with this scheme.

Issue 4 shows the start of Matt and Foggy's new venture. Since they can't represent anyone without the whole Daredevil thing causing problems, they use their legal expertise to coach people in how to represent themselves, and they've just added a new client: A Mr. Cao, who was fired because he identified some of his company's clients as Latverians. There always an extended bit on what it's like for Murdock to try and get from one place to another in the city. Suffice it to say, he gets distracted frequently and loses a lot of suits.

I like the idea of Nelson & Murdock helping people in this fashion. It was something Nocenti did during her run, but the dynamic between Foggy and Matt is different than it was between Matt and Karen Page, and it's actually legal this time (Matt's law license had been revoked back then), so it feels a bit different. I like Waid's Murdock, a good guy, strong-willed, definitely a smooth talker when he wants to be. And he enjoys being Daredevil, always a plus.

As for Paolo Rivera (who drew issue 3) and Marcos Martin (who drew #4), they each have their own ways of representing things, and they both work well. When Matt's hearing and radar senses were damaged escaping Klaw, Rivera has the sound effects whited out. We can make out the outline, but not the individual letters, symbolizing Matt's inability to hear at the moment. Martin had a great panel of Matt ditching his clothes and rushing into the city where the sounds of people crying for help formed the walls and everything around him. Plus a panel where the bullets whiz by his head, with a small sound effect right next to his ears, but the "BANG!" of the gun is this large effect dominating the background.

In the "no accounting for taste" department, there was a letter from a dissatisfied fan in #4. He complained that they'd abandoned the 'groundbreaking' Shadowland and Daredevil Reborn. I hadn't realized "hero being torn down entireby external forces and nearly destroyed" was a groundbreaking story. It certainly isn't for Daredevil, and hasn't been for what, 20+ years? He also complained the book looked like it was set in Spain, whatever that means.

Heroes for Hire #11 and 12 - 11 is the end of the Fear Itself tie-in. Misty comes face to face with the creature that becomes a person's worst fear, and that kind of backfires on Monster. Not that it's something he consciously does. but it still didn't work out for him. I had figured Elektra and the Shroud were holding their breath when Kilgrave thought he was contrlling them. Turns out only Elektra was, and she sends him packing, but doesn't kill him because that was part of the contract. He survives part of the prison collapsing, and finds himself back on the mainland.

Issue 12 sees the Heroes for Hire hitting this Hook operation on multiple fronts, as Moon Knight and Silver Sable have apparently put that whole "being used by the Puppet Master" thing behind them. Misty, realizing her group doesn't have the firepower to stop the flow of drugs at the source, is hoping to make enough noise to attract someone who will, and yes, Namor will suffice.

I know he wouldn't stay dead, but I'd really have enjoyed it if the Purple Man was killed. At least he'd be off the board for awhile. I guess that would kind of screw with the plans for Villains for Hire. I thought the last issue worked fairly well as a wrap-up for the series. Kind of gets at the heart of what it was about, and Misty does stay in control, whatever she might have told Namor. He is going out to deal with a problem she wants dealt with, after all.

Kyle Hotz' figures in issue 11 are still odd-looking, but I still think his work's appropriate for a Fear Itself tie-in. Kilgrave certainly looks creepy. Brad Walker returns for the final issue, which means some interesting panel layouts, and good action pieces. I thought his facial expressions were good, too, a bit less strange looking than they are sometimes.

It bothers me this series couldn't even last as long as the last volume did, which I don't think was anywhere near the quality of this one. That's how it goes these days.