In previous years, we've looked at two of DD's other last issues,
#380, and
#18, today's book is between those two, because of course it is with Marvel numbering. From 2011,
Daredevil #512, "Shadowland, part 5" Written by Andy Diggle and Antony Johnston, art by Marco Checchetto.
And, it's once again time to bluff my way through a crossover issue, for a crossover I didn't read
any of:
Shadowland. Daredevil takes over his ninja enemies, the Hand; then goes bad after murdering old foe Bullseye; but that was because he was possessed by the Beast. Those sound like beats from dozens of other last issues and crossovers and last issue crossovers we've seen over the years; and this also features traditional DD plot points like Matt Murdock going missing, Foggy Nelson still believing in his friend, and the seemingly defeated Kingpin starting to rise again. While Dakota North doesn't find DD, Power Man and Iron Fist do--or so they think, as they run into the new protector of Hell's Kitchen, Black Panther! (That would last less than a year, before wrapping in the midst of
another crossover,
Fear Itself--man, if I wasn't worried about the health of the comics industry before...)
We don't see Daredevil this issue, but we do see Matt...on the last two pages, getting off a bus somewhere in America, to walk the earth like Cain in
Kung Fu. Which we've seen DD do before, too! The guilt of becoming a murderer weighs upon him, and I wonder if it went away when Bullseye came back, or if he still felt bad. Still, the
Mark Waid/Paolo Rivera DD was coming next, and would be better.
I had been looking for this issue for a while, finally found it, and apparently threw it into my last issues drawer and hadn't read it until just now. Sigh. There's actually been another Daredevil last issue this very year! How many of these same things happen again? Uh, more than one, I'm pretty sure.
Since a lot of comics published by the big 2 have more or less transitioned into becoming akin to tv show seasons, why not make the delineation more clearer & title them that way?
ReplyDeleteThey probably worry sub-titling something "Season 2" would discourage people who don't want to come in partway. I assume that's part of the deal with the constant restarting of series, so it can look like a fresh start you can jump right on to!
ReplyDelete(And because first issues are theoretically big sellers, probably. I remember that from when I would read Paul O'Brien's sales chart columns on the Beat, jeez, a decade ago? Had to stop 'cause it got depressing seeing every book I was buying down near the cancelation line.)
Oh I totally get all that, it’s just that the constant renumbering thing is equally as frustrating for collectors as well.
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