Guess who’s been on a roll reading comics recently. That’s right. This guy. With the last week off, I’ve had a lot of time to get back into a few series that I’ve been missing. With my excitement about a certain Marvel Character getting his own LEGO minifigure soon building, I thought I’d pay a visit back to Hell’s Kitchen to see what Daredevil was up to. The first novel in the series, ‘Chinatown’ was excellent, so I was expecting pretty big things from the next one.
‘Supersonic’ is essentially a three-part story, each story not connected to the previous one. The first story, and arguably the best one, involves Daredevil being attacked by Elektra one day. She’s mad that she doesn’t know where he daughter has gone and believes he knows where she may be. Matt, confused, decides to investigate especially given that he believes that the daughter may be his. However, after asking for help from his friend and associate, Foggy, Matt realizes the something deeper may be at play here and Elektra may have been duped. The story then moves to China, where Matt, going under a different name, enters a poker tournament for big stakes. It soon appears that the money has nothing to do with this job, and after winning the tournament and being given a room in the penthouse, Daredevil calls Spider-man who happens to be in the neighbouring city of Shanghai, to pull off a heist against the Chinese Triads. Daredevil’s target is a mysterious briefcase carried by one of the triad members. The final story involves Echo attempting to locate Daredevil to stop a mysterious villain from converting people into mindless zombies through sound. The villain in question is Ulysses Klaw who is now incorporeal and evidently exists as some sort of sound wave. Weird I know. Can the two stop Klaw in time or will they be taken over by the virus too?
‘Supersonic’ in my opinion is a novel that showcases just why characters like Daredevil work. It’s not too intense and the lack of a connecting thread between the stories actually works in it is favour. Each story is subtly different and features a supporting character who helps to aid the reader in distinguishing different parts of Matt Murdock’s personality. You see fear, compassion, charm, skill and you’re not even halfway through the novel yet. There is an intense level of character development and I was completely here for it. I think compared to a lot of other characters, the multiple layers to Daredevil’s personality make him a more interesting character to read.
The artwork again was done by the same artist as ‘Chinatown’. It’s a really retro style and it works for Daredevil well. I do however feel that the covers in this novel could have been a little better, although Marvel always has odd choices when it comes to covers. Overall, this novel stepped up the series in a major way and I’d really recommend it to anyone looking to get into Daredevil comics!
Favourite Panel:
Spidey’s banter can lighten up any heist, aha!
Favourite Character:
Daredevil. I need to provide no explanation if you read this novel.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★★
Artwork: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★★
Re-readability: ★★★½
Level: Beginner