ADVANCED REVIEW: Daredevil #1: The Tao of Matt Murdock (Spoiler-Free)

Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run, now three and a half years in (!), has walked a tightrope from the start between familiar and new: yet again, Matt Murdock is a tortured hero, a guilty Catholic, a lawyer torn between the New York Bar and his own illegal vigilantism. But on the other side, Zdarsky has taken the familiar and turned it upside down: Kingpin, trying his damnedest to be respectable. Elektra making a valiant attempt at honest-to-goodness, non-murdery heroism. Daredevil himself on admitting the illegality of his actions and going to jail. And in the middle of it all, some new variables: Wilson Fisk’s heretofore unknown illegitimate son Butch, the Purple Children, the extremely weird and vague return of DD’s sorta-not-really brother Mike, and the return of former Murdock boo Kirsten McDuffie.

Whew. That’s a lot, even for Daredevil.

So, even though Marvel rebooting a classic hero with yet another number one issue is old hat and beyond played out at this point, there’s a sense that readers getting a chance to catch their breath a bit is in order. Time for Zdarsky to move forward to the next chapter, do a little soft reset, and recalibrate the trajectory of this book.

And in order to accomplish that, he goes back to his initial playbook for DD: remixing old with new. Daredevil has a new, international mission, but before he can embark on it, he has to make sure certain things are squared away in Hell’s Kitchen while he’s busy globetrotting. That leads to an inspired team-up with a certain web-slinger, a friendly warning to anyone trying to fill the vacuum left by Kingpin, and a whole lot more fun. On the one (cynical) hand, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before – but on the other, there’s a refreshing sense about these scenes that really resonate with the idea of playing with the old toys one last time before moving on to something new and exciting.

There’s sequence of flash-forward events that need to be read carefully – there’s more revealed in them than initially meets the eye. Zdarsky proves a master at dropping just enough hints to get readers intrigued without spoiling any upcoming surprises. And fortunately, he has his longtime collaborator Marco Checchetto with him on art – these two have a shorthand now after so many years of working together that few other modern tag teams can match; Checchetto brings a smooth line to Matt Murdock’s world that doesn’t gloss over the murk and shadows. Meanwhile, longtime series colorist Marcio Menyz has been swapped for Matthew Wilson, who brings a bit more of a bright burst to the the page than did Menyz’ more subdued, painterly hues. Wilson is one of the industry’s top colorists and it’s a shame he doesn’t get more credit than he does. Similarly, Marvel heavyweight letterer Clayton Cowles quietly moves on the page like a ninja – unobtrusively putting in work that might be overlooked because he makes it look so easy. The whole team is obviously thrilled to be here, and it shows on every page.