Daredevil #32, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee (storytellers), Javier Rodriguez (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I like how Satana is completely unconcerned. I expect that from Simon Garth - he's a zombie, reactions are not really in his repertoire - but she looks mildly put out, at best. I guess fire wouldn't be much of a threat to an alleged daughter of the Devil. I also love Simon's banging '70s medallion. Doesn't look quite as nice on him as the Phantom Stranger's did, but P.S. also had the fedora and that swag opera cape. Does he still have that medallion? I haven't even glanced in the direction of his current title.The Jester's attempt to spook and kill Matt with a fake dead Foggy fails utterly, because the Jester's banking on sight alone to guide Matt's reactions. It is funny that all of Matt's enemies believe he is Daredevil, so none of them buy that he's blind. Except Bullseye, I guess. Revenge having failed, the Jester's back on the clock for Sons of the Serpent, impersonating Mayor Jameson (I wonder how long Jonah as mayor is going to last?) urging all New Yorkers to arm themselves for their own protection. That's not going to end well, but Matt is too absorbed in RESEARCH! to deal with it. It's a little beyond Daredevil's capabilities anyway, and Foggy found something interesting. The Serpents had (or have) a certain mystical bent to their order, and it involved the Darkhold. So it's off to visit Dr. Strange, who tells what he knows, but directs Matt to Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night) as the real expert. You know, considering he used it to once kill all vampires, I'd think Strange would be the expert, not to mention the whole "Master of the Mystic Arts" thing, but whatever, I'll roll with it. So it's off to the wilds of Kentucky, where Matt immediately stumbles across an angry, intolerant mob out to kill some people. Who turn out to be Satana and that Mummy. When the other monsters show up, it turns into a huge mess, with Matt having no idea who to help or what's going on, and eventually, he gets shot. Well then.
A lot of this issue seems to be about the limitations of Matt's other senses, or maybe it's about how limited sighted folk are because we rely on it so much. The Jester's trap falling apart because Matt can't see the dummy is meant to be Foggy, but instead focuses entirely on the scent, which gives it all away. That Matt can't see what Satana's allies look like, and so doesn't have any idea what he's up against. Even if Matt could see the locals were pursuing a veritable horror ensemble, he'd still likely defend them, if only because the locals are so danged eager to kill them, but he'd also likely question what he was getting mixed up in first. I assume Matt saw at least a few monster movies when he was a kid, so he'd have some frame of reference. There's also the part where Strange and his Sanctum wig Matt out, which makes a lot of sense. Even though they're enhanced, Matt's senses still operate on much the same principles they did before, just to a greater extent. Magic has its own set of rules, but they aren't necessarily the same as science's, so things would be a little tricky.
That page of Matt being shot was effective. Played against the previous page, of Matt seemingly getting out of the line of fire, up in the shadows planning, then I turn the page and BLAM. I think Matt's stunned face was the first thing I saw, but then I'm drawn the the blood, which Rodriguez made brighter, more vital than the red of Matt's costume. That's one of those times I think a panel deserved the full-page treatment. It's a big deal, and it needs to grab my attention. Mission accomplished.
Beyond that Samnee and Rodriguez did their usual excellent job. Love the Jesters outfit, though I have never seen a person eat popcorn by just tossing a handful in the general direction of their face like that. Villains have lousy table manners, I guess. I like how absolutely pissed Matt looked that the dirty cops couldn't tell him anything. Disgusted and aggravated. Matt's continuing aggravation with Foggy's dietary habits, and the way Matt perceives the smell of Cheese Cheez Puffs as a toxic cloud. That was my first thought, actually, that the Jester had either gassed the office as another trap, or just mailed a bunch of garbage to Matt as a prank. Also, as Matt heads off to talk to Strange, the panel were he's still Matt (but changing into his costume), but his reflection is Daredevil already. I always like things like that, or the old bit with Spidey where his spider-sense goes off, and half his face is Peter, and the other half is Spider-Man.
And of course, the bit where Strange warns Matt he will have to travel to a strange land to see Russell, and we see the outline of a wooden sign and a spooky tower, then in the next panel lightning flashes and we see it's in Kentucky. Good one, fellows. I'm going to assume the rural folk are so violently intolerant because they're members of the Sons of the Serpent, and not simply because they're rural folk. The snake iconography Samnee worked in there a couple of times makes that a safe bet, so hopefully that's how it works out.
2 comments:
This really is a fabulous book. The whole bit with the dummy, and Matt not "getting" it was hilarious. And serious.
The art is lovely, the storytelling is equally so...what more could one want in a comic book?
That's pretty much how I feel about it.
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