COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Daredevil: Dark Art
By The Masked Medic
I’m currently sitting in my hotel in New York City, thinking to myself, hey! I have a little time off from my schedule, so I should read a couple of comic books. An iconic city like this has been home to many a comic book hero, and I decided to take inspiration from where I am. Whilst deciding on my next novel, it suddenly dawned on me that my hotel is in Hell’s Kitchen, and that naturally led me back to my favourite Marvel hero, Daredevil!
‘Dark Art’ starts with Matt Murdock, now working for the District Attorney’s Office, having walked away from his private practice with his best friend, Foggy Nelson. Murdock is also supervising Samuel Chung, aka Blindspot, whilst the latter recovers from a broken arm. Chung doesn’t know that Matt is Daredevil, and assumes that he is simply an acquaintance of his superhero teacher. During his first patrol back, Blindspot stumbles upon a painting made from blood. He calls Daredevil, and thus begins the search for the creator of the gruesome artwork. The killer, however, works fast, and it isn’t long before another “piece” is found. This time, it is artwork composed of the bodies of a number of new Inhumans. Matt comes to see it with Sam, claiming to be on lawyer business, but whilst there, he steps out as Daredevil and finds himself face to face with Muse, the psychopath who has been creating these “artworks”, but the new villain is able to give Daredevil the slip. Matt then tells the police to get in touch with services from New Attilan, the new Kingdom of Inhumans, who take over the investigation into the latest murders. Whilst he tries to create some sort of agreement with Medusa, the queen of the Inhumans, to share valuable information, he is met with hostility from her royal advisor, Karnak. With very few allies and a recently recovered partner in crime-fighting, Daredevil finds himself battling against time before Muse strikes again. Can he stop this madman before it’s too late? Or will he have to lose something or someone in the process?
My brother has recently indicated an interest in reading comic books, and I thought about what I could recommend to him. For example, if you want to read a novel that is optimistic, you read ‘The Flash’, if you want violence, you read ‘The Punisher’, if you want crazy space stories, then ‘Green Lantern’ is for you, but if you’re looking for grounded, but exciting stories, then you have to read ‘Daredevil’. I’ve now read three novels in this run of Daredevil, and each one has been fantastic. There is a part of me that wonders if I’ll come across a bad novel, but genuinely, they surprise me every time. Muse was a fantastic new villain, one that can challenge Daredevil in ways I’m not sure many have challenged him before. If I had to criticise it, I’d say it’s a little short and we don’t get as much character development as I’d like, but that’s me being picky!
The artwork is very interesting because I generally like modern styles, where the lines are crisp and clean, but this was sort of reminiscent of very early comic books with its artwork. The covers were good, although I did like this variant more than others. Overall, another phenomenal novel in an already impressive series. Hell’s Kitchen truly has been blessed with an excellent guardian angel!
Favourite Panel:
I realize this may be a spoiler in the novel, but Muse could be to Daredevil what Joker is to Batman!
Favourite Character:
Daredevil is my third favourite comic book character of all time, but I have to say, I’ve loved Blindspot in this run!
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★★
Character Development: ★★★
Artwork: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★★
Re-readability: ★★★★
Level: Intermediate