Daredevil tangles with monsters, the Jester and the white supremacists group; Sons of the Serpent in this final chapter of Mark Waid’s three year much acclaimed run on the Man Without Fear; Daredevil. This final trade paperback features art by Chris Samnee, Jason Copland and Javier Rodriguez throughout issues #31 – 36.The concluding collection of Waid’s 2011 series is consistently entertaining and brilliant throughout, the story continues as Foggy goes through his treatment and Matt continues to lead his double life of running the law firm and being the crimson clad vigilante. At lest he’s got a replacement to help with one on his careers as Kristen Mc Duffie returns, bringing back romance into the forefront to Matt’s life. An early interaction between Matt and Foggy provides one of the funniest moments of the series but it very quickly goes into a very serious territory as Daredevil takes on something that is different from his usual super villain antagonist. A riot instigated by the media manipulations of the Jester working on behalf of the Sons of the Serpent. It’s a more realistic problem than we've been used to and maintains that the story feels fresh and being a great chance of pace.
Members of the white supremacist group are hidden everywhere in plain sight across New York and even hidden within the justice system. They've employed the Jester to help prompt riots and spread their message of hate throughout the city. In an attempt to stop the group Matt seeks to learn more and his investigation leads him down South crossing paths with the Legion of Monsters. Their inclusion of the monsters is a slightly kookier element to the series but Waid makes it work, it injects some variety and who better to reveal the occult origins of the serpents than these monsters whose own origins come from the occult.
It deftly mixes action with moments of serious, cultural insight .The story approaches a thrilling climax as Matt is faced with some hard choices, things get darker and more intense for Matt Murdock. It also continues to inject humor and fun to the character that has been really put through the worst of times of his life, adhering to the initial approach of the series.The drama, the twists, the turns all takes place in this final chapter of this acclaimed run, making Daredevil one of the greatest and best superhero comics, returning the vigilante hero to his former glory Making one of the best Daredevil series since Frank Milller and Brian Michael Bendis’s earlier runs.
The final issue does have that grand series finale feel to it, Matt’s revelation in the story’s conclusion is felt throughout the Marvel universe. This story arc was a great end to a fantastic series, Mark Waid wrapped up his run in a satisfying ending. Few superhero books have kept the consistent high level of quality that Daredevil has these past few years, for 36 issues this series has been one of the best monthly superhero comic around. To call it amazing doesn't really give you the full scope of how good it is, but it must be said: Daredevil is amazing, describing it as monumental probably doesn't do it justice. From the very first issue Mark Waid gave this series a new direction and tone that was a brighter and more adventurous Daredevil that, at times, felt like the heart of the Marvel Universe.
Collected over seven trade paperbacks this era of Daredevil comes to an end,the series focused a lot on Matt Murdock, the legal practice and the nature of his abilities. The creators also sought to bring out the swashbuckling namesake of Daredevil, becoming more daring and adventurous than before. We’re reminded that his abilities are both a blessing and a curse, the stories never feel stale, Waid gives the readers enough innovations to keep his stories feeling fresh and creative. The shift in tone both narratively and visually continued to open the character and his stories to more possibilities than just crime noir which had characterized the horned hero for decades. a character so used to be steeped in darkness, constantly getting knocked down, he reached a turning point, changing his attitude to what he had to deal with, giving a more upbeat and positive spin on the character’s perspective. Mark Waid’s run had a good balance of lighter fun moments and dark tense moments, which always made it an exciting and exhilarating series easily making it one the best superhero comic book around. I've never read a series from issue #1 to its end, It is a stellar series.
What you expected was a bittersweet end to an amazing series, the sad poignant cover art of the final issue, that even has an the inscription “DD vol.3 2011 – 2013” hidden along with the names of previous Daredevil creators makes it all feel like the end, only its not. Thankfully it would continue onto a new series for 2014 with the same creative team returning starting again at #1 as Matt Murdock takes on the next part of his adventure that had been set up in the final pages of this story arc. It will be exciting to see that gives way to what will hopefully be an equally fantastic series. I bide my time though I’ll wait and get back into previous successful runs on Daredevil by Frank Miller and later by Brian Michael Bendis. For three years Mark Waid’s take gave a very different and unique approach on the Daredevil, sustaining his reputation as one of my favorite and most underrated comic book characters.
