Daredevil #1.50

Mark Waid & Javier Rodriguez

 

The first story in Daredevil #1.50 is an enjoyable adventure at what Matt Murdock could possibly look like at age 50. Walking through life with him is very enjoyable, as the hero has a ton of new surprises, and has nice bits of continuity that are newly established in his life. It is also great to see him actually happy with an extended family. The hero is smiling throughout the tale, and while he does face more than a couple of challenges in this issue, he does so with a lovely amount of swagger. Murdock is still not scared of anything, and watching how proud Matt’s son is, can be a really heartwarming reminder to why we love this hero so much. The tale would be a great launching point for a new book in some sort of weird alternate reality. Mark Waid’s script effortlessly bounces up and down off the page and into the hearts of readers.

 

Javier Rodriguez also delivers some seriously inspired pencils in this tale. Like Waid’s script, his enthusiasm leaps directly off the page, and into the facial expressions of these characters. The emotions are perfectly molded onto the face of each and every hero in this tale, making the book such a joy flip through again and again. I hope the artist continues to work on his pencilling skills more and throughout his career. If it is possible to get a monthly book where Rodriguez could color and draw Daredevil himself, It would be an acceptable replacement for the art of somebody like the elegant Chris Samnee, or it could function on his own terms, as the awesome artist more than deserves his own title in which to hone his craft. This story alone justifies the steep purchasing price of this issue, and is one of the most inspired scripts that Waid has ever turned on his throughout his amazing run.

 

Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev

 

The back stories in this issue are not nearly as satisfying as the first entry and may leave readers looking for consistent greatness slightly disappointed. Each story has good intentions, but falls flat in numerous circumstances. Brian Michael Bendis’ story in this tale focuses on the hectic love life of a female in the comic universe. The results are bitter sweet, in a manner that makes sense, but is also not a totally satisfying way to end things for Matt. The art by Alex Maleev is fine, he is sort of taking a strange retro approach that does not live up to dynamic pencils that originally were crafted in the initial early 2000’s run by the duo.

 

Karl Kerschl & Gene Colan

 

Finally readers are in for the weakest tale of the bunch, Karl Kerschl and Gene Colan craft a story that feels lower than what their talent is clearly capable of. Kerschl has written some very fun stories featuring the old Hornhead in a time where the market wouldn’t let readers get away with runs like that. Colan is a typically fantastic silver age pencil that we owe the legacy of the character too. Yet this tale feels lesser than what both of their talents could have possibly fine tuned. To really comprehend where they are coming from as creators, check out each of the talent’s solo work on their runs of Daredevil.

Daredevil #1.50 is a bit of a mixed bag all things considered, but readers should enjoy it anyway. Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez craft a twenty-three page story that will captivate the imagination of a longtime reader.