Daredevil #12: Broken

**** spoilers ahead beware!!!! ****

I have mixed feelings about this issue I was really hoping after last month’s cliffhanger we might get a bit of info about Chairdevil, but no dice. Instead we get more of Elektra (don’t forget the nasty divining rod theory from my issue 8 review) which although not unwelcome brings us up to approximately TOO DANG MANY subplots in this series. Now as I said these feelings are mixed and hence I shall mix them: the juggled subplots are well-played and executed it’s just getting a bit hard to follow. Obviously the last arc paid off spectacularly and this is only the second issue so I definitely have faith in Zdarsky to stick the landing, if he can make duck hunting and a dinner party interesting he can do anything!

Now as for Fisk, I will refer to Conan creator Robert E. Howard. When asked about the land of Hyborea, Howard said that barbarians must be the most polite and honorable people, as rudeness would result in death. Howard also said that today’s society has lost this sense of consequence and rudeness is prevalent. The group Fisk meets with is likely a group that has never dealt with true consequences before and chances are good some of all of them never will again. This return to form for Fisk comes hot on the heels of insubordination within his ranks, disrespect and worse. I’m so excited to see where this goes!

The art looks phenomenal this issue – Marco Chechetto is on fire! Elektra in particular looks so classic and perfect, and then there’s Fisk. My goodness, the panels of Fisk killing a man are unbelievable. I must have stared at that page for five minutes.

I will say this and a couple other books seem to be moving toward the old Marvel classic continuity reset with the status quo moving back slowly away from Marvel Now era shifts. A similar move has occurred in a some other books, namely Thor and Superior Spider-man to name a couple. I might be sensing a trend and wonder if this might be the final arc of Zdarsky’s stellar run much as Rosenberg’s surprise Punisher finale last week. I hope not.