Tags
Chip Zdarsky, Daredevil, Daredevil #24 review, Daredevil#24, Foggy Nelson, Kirsten McDuffe, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Matt Murdock, Mike Murdock, Spider-Man, The Kingpin, Tony Stark, Typhiod Mary, Wilson Fisk
Daredevil #24
Review by Paul Bowler
The Man Without Fear gets ready to face the music in Daredevil #24 (Truth / Dare Part 4) as his trial for murdering Leo Cararo looms. Ironically, Matt Murdock is only just Back in the Red as Daredevil following the chaos wrought on Hell’s Kitchen by the Stormwyns, and with the citizens of the city looking for someone to hold accountable Matt’s crime-fighting return might soon be over before its even begun.
Daredevil #24 is a masterclass in storytelling from writer Chip Zdarsky that sees Matt and the ensemble cast, both friend and foe alike, run a gauntlet of frayed emotions and angst as Daredevil’s trial approaches. With the erstwhile Mayor Fisk now considered a hero in the eyes of New York’s citizens, Matt has been moved into making plans of his own to ensure the safety of Hell’s Kitchen from the threat of Fisk’s corporate and criminal machinations with the imminent likelihood that Daredevil will probably soon be behind bars. Daredevil has already enlisted Spider-Man’s help to put the frighteners on a meeting of the crime families where Wilson Fisk appointed Izzy Libris as the new Kingpin of New York City, and asked Tony Stark to gain board approval to bid in the property auction for Hell’s Kitchen to keep it out of Fisk’s clutches.
Matters have been complicated by Foggy Nelson decision to go behind Matt’s back to recruit not just Kirsten McDuffie into DD’s legal defence team, but also calling in Mike Murdock – Matt’s twin brother — to pose as Matt himself during the trial as Daredevil takes the stand. As if all that wasn’t’[t enough for Matt to deal with Mayor Fisk has also made a dangerous new ally, Typhoid Mary! Zdarsky juggles all these plot threads and characters with consummate ease throughout this issue. For a superhero who is blind like Daredevil there’s a certain irony to be had in having the supporting characters spending most of this issue wrestling with own inner conflicts and emotions to such a degree that it consequently makes them all essentially blind to the secrets, lies and uncomfortable home truths right under their noses — which is all frankly genius scripting from Chip Zdarsky.
The Devil’s in the detail and that certainly the case here as the art for this issue of Daredevil is handled by penciler Mike Hawthorne, inker JP Mayer and color artist Mattia Iacono who collectively render the numerous scenes and character perspective with a striking level of detail, exciting page layouts, and bold colors. The fallout from Matt and Kirsten’s relationship resonates especially powerfully throughout, and the art beautifully encapsulates this integral driving force of the issues richly compelling narrative. The loneliness of Daredevil’s plight is also wonderfully depicted as Matt ponders the fate of Hell’s Kitchen alone on a rooftop, the courtroom is a veritable who’s who of friends and foes, and we even get a masked, suited and booted look for Daredevil as he prepares to face justice in this remarkably illustrated issue.
I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil since the tiles 2019 relaunch. He’s taken Matt Murdock on a dark journey, turned all the familiar DD tropes on their head, and woven a masterpiece of interconnected story arcs and unexpected character beats into a rich narrative that has ultimately lead to this point. Daredevil #24 is a stylish blend of courtroom drama, shady scheming, and emotional drama with the fate of Hell’s Kitchen at stake and only a whisper of hope remaining for Daredevil as his trial begins. Highly recommend.
Publisher Marvel Comics
Writer Chip Zdarsky / Penciler Mike Hawthorne
Inker JP Mayer / Color Artist Mattia Iacono
Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson
About The Author
Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook
Sci-Fi Jubilee 
Reading your review, this run sounds really well done. I have to ask though, do you think kids, say in the early to mid teen range, would get it? My broader question is, have comics grown up with their fans from the 80s and 90’s and left the kids of today behind?
Based on price alone, and the almost necessity of reading “All The Comics” in the massive crossover events, it seems to me, looking on from the outside, that comics aren’t for kids anymore. what do you think?
Thanks, glad you enjoyed there review. This run of Daredevil has been exceptionally good and I’d certainly recommend checking it out – or some of the trade collections. As or your question, I think the answer is sadly yes. There’s heaps of nostalgia in comics for fans who grew up with such iconic comic runs in the 80’s & 90’s, but for todays generation I do feel there’s little or nothing for them to relate to in modern comics. Price and the relentless slew of big comic book events and crossovers ect have made even my lifelong love of comics wain at times – heaven knows how new fans get to grips with the tangled web of continuity and lacklustre evens that are now a mainstay in the modern comic industry. There are still a lot of great comics and creative teams out there, but you have to look a hell of a lot harder to find the good stuff now.
Could you list some of the collections you think might be worth checking out? You and Lashaan are pretty much the only comic’y people I follow, so beyond some old knowledge, my modern knowledge is almost nil…
Well, I would recommend the current Amazing Spider-Man run by Nick Spencer, Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing, and Daredevil by Zdarsky all from Marvel. I don’t read that much DC atm, but I’d say Tynion’s new Batman run is worth a look. Star Trek Voyager Sevens Reckoing from IDW is good, as was DS9 Too Short a Season. The Dune House of Atreides prequel mini-series from BOOM Studios is also really good. As for trade collections, I’d recommend House of X and Power of X (those are the recent X-Men reboots), Peter J Tomasi’s Superman tun was superb, Super Sons was also a fantastic series, Scott Snyder’s Batman run was excellent, and if you like horror I’d also recommend American Vampire – also by Snyder. Hope that helps a bit, these are the books and titles I’ve enjoyed a lot. But, I always say to people trying out comics or getting back into them again after a long break, just stick to the characters and teams you’ve always tended to enjoy first. Then branch out a bit more. I tend to avoid big comic events or tie-in’s / crossovers as most have been quite poor in recent times – like X of Swords for example. Most of all have fun and I hope you enjoy checking out some comics or trade collections 🙂
Thanks.
Your welcome. 🙂
I’ve been enjoying Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil quite a bit…but I have to admit I was disappointed with this issue…it just didn’t hit the mark for me unfortunately. I feel the whole DD/Matt Murdock on trial/in jail thing has been done to death (and done pretty much perfectly back in the Ed Brubaker days). The book is also sorely missing Marco Checchetto on the art.
I do have faith in Zdarsky and hope that he brings some fresh and surprising elements to the story. Glad to hear your thoughts on this issue though Paul and good to hear it was an enjoyable one for you!
I was initially a bit dubious with Daredevil being put on trial again, but I think Zdarsky’s brought a very different and intriguing spin to it this time. I liked the Ed Brubaker run as well, and I agree that story probably still has the edge of this one. I also agree that Checchetto’s art is superb and I much prefer it as well. Sadly, as is the case with modern comics now, artistic teams on books seem to shuffle around continuously now which is a great shame. We need more consistency in comics and creative teams. That said, I have really enjoyed Zdarsky’s run, and I like how everything has gradually built up towards this storyline.
Well issue #25 which came out this week was thankfully a return to form and I’m interested to see where things go now as Chip Zdarsky seems to be bringing a lot of fresh elements to the DD in prison story.
Plus, Marco C delivered the art which was the icing on the cake. Given that Daredevil is a monthly title it’s a shame that he can’t stay on more permanently – I mean I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Snyder/Cappullo Batman but at least they did almost fifty issues together. Darn.
I totally agree, Chip Zdarsky has brought so many fresh elements into the mix with this DD story. Really like Marco C on art duties as well, wish he’d stay on the book on a more regular basis. Its the only complaint I have with the run of DD and indeed most modern comics runs in the industry at the moment – and that’s the inconsistency with the art teams. Artist chop and change on such a regular basis now, and I’m not a fan of multiple artists on issues either. Sadly the days of 50 odd issue runs like Snyder and Capullo did with Batman back from the New 52 era now seem long gone. It’s a great shame and I wish DC and Marvel would get their act together and bring more consistency to their creative teams.
I have never been a Dare Devil fan (thanks to Ben Affleck) except in the graphic novel Marvel 1602. Maybe I should give this series a try!
Well, I can certainly recommend this run of Daredevil, its been exceptionally good. Yes, Affleck’s Daredevil movie wasn’t great. Have you seen the Netflix Daredevil series, that was brilliant and far representation of the character. As for Daredevil graphic novels, Bone Again by Frank Miller is easily one of the best Daredevil stories of all, highly recommend that one too.
No, I haven’t watched any of the tv series about any heroes, DC or Marvel. As a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, graphic novels and other various fandoms, there is only so much time that one can devote! But I might pick up a graphic novel about DD.
I know what you mean. There’s so much now we are almost spoilt for choice. Do check out some Daredevil graphic novels if you get a chance, I think he’s a character you’d probably enjoy. Happy reading 🙂