Still one of the best publications out there in the moment... somehow? God, this series is ever lasting proof you can't judge a book by it's cover. What should be a stupid series with a dumb present is smart, thrilling, and ever so interesting. BUY THESE COMICS.

Ugh.

Just one thing about Geek Retaliation's review - X-23 is Wolverine's clone, not daughter. Probably sounds more dumb then her being his daughter, but it is a good story just the same and I like the character. Personally I didn't care for this issue but hey, to each their own.

My full recap/review of this can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cCtoBCw6TI&list=UU9Anx3CRncARu-Utf_Yaf3A

My recap/review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JREUPMhc90s&list=TLxS1MDHHqvqAt7XF-V0r7dL7T52gJBZmc

Full recap/review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4QNabMVMQQ&list=UU9Anx3CRncARu-Utf_Yaf3A

Whatever guys, I mostly liked it. My full recap/review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiXYoFrxuz8

I was pretty sold on this when a certain someone shows up. Then the rest of the issue happened. Best Hickman Avengery comic I've read thus far. Not too sure about other people's ambivalence towards this. The character driven dialogue of this comic really knocks this out of the park for me.

Full recap/review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIK0luVcy2U

Well polished and made on the whole.

It's nice to see the issues are started to get a bit more focused. Some pretty awesome stuff happened this issue too. :)

One of DC's least compelling events in history. Not offensive, just lame.

Fun, looking forward to seeing where this goes next.

I love how much love Stan Lee shows for the series' new artist Wallace Wood. Not a lot of writers do that even to this day. The Matador is not a great Daredevil villain, though. Weirdly this isn't the most racist version of the character I've seen so that's something. I do also like how Matador isn't easily defeated and even racks up a couple of wins against Daredevil during this issue. And that directly leads to him being overconfident and cocky, which leads to his downfall. Matt at the law firm was pretty good - impressively so for a comic only five issues in and older than my parents. That being said there isn't any lawyer stuff here, Matt just takes Karen to a costume party. I'm not the biggest fan of Foggy and Matt employing and wooing Karen simultaneously like this, but the ultimate love square that forms between them, Karen, and Daredevil (and I guess even "Mike" later) is pretty creative. Overall, while flawed, there is stuff I do appreciate about Daredevil #5.

Yeah, Daredevil pretending to be "Mike" Murdock, Matt's brother, to fool Karen, doesn't hold up at all. Mike is insufferable right out of the gate here. In some ways this makes me appreciate the shenanigans of the 90s a little better. Sadly it is a huge part of the issue and detracts from what could have been a fun dynamic around the romantic tension between Foggy, Matt, and Karen. I mean, kind of. Karen is also the employee of these two men and it does feel a little inappropriate, come to think of it. The aliens Matt fights are pretty superficial. There really isn't much to them and this isn't Stan Lee's best. I also found the art to just be so-so.

A pretty wild issue where Daredevil somehow uses plastics to make himself look exactly like Thor. The real Thor is here along with the questionable duo of Cobra and Mr. Hyde. There is a fight between Daredevil and Thor that is silly and fun, at least. But it just ends and we're left with some lacklustre stuff around Hyde and Cobra, who do kind of manage to beat Daredevil here. It alright. I'd probably be more enthusiastic were we not in the "Mike Murdock" era as Daredevil's Mike identity has some truly awful dialogue.

Daredevil continues his conflict with Hyde and Cobra, while having lost his powers and actually experiencing full blindness. It's pretty interesting as a concept but Hyde and Cobra aren't very fun villains here. The Mike Murdock sage reaches a new level of ridiculous as Foggy and Karen are now to believe Mike and Daredevil have also gone blind like Matt. Still, the Lee/Colan team is fun enough, and this is a good example of Silver Age cheese if there ever was one.

It's not the best ending to this already questionable Hyde/Cobra trilogy Stan Lee did. I'm not a fan of a story like this where the villains should win but lose simply because they stalled out on just finishing off Daredevil in some way. Visually, it's a great comic at least, as we get some great shots of the Hyde/Cobra duo capturing Daredevil and taking him to a scenic lighthouse. And, to it's credit, Daredevil's ultimate victory is pretty satisfying.

Oh boy. I'm not a fan of this "Mike Murdock" era, but he isn't quite as terrible as some of the earlier "Mike" issues. Foggy, Karen, and "Mike" all going to Montreal was silly but the writing wasn't terrible, either. The battle between Beetle and Daredevil was also underwhelming but they fight on a train which leads to a pretty good set piece. I don't have a lot of memories of seeing Daredevil fight outside of a city so that was pretty cool, too. Also, as Stan Lee actually points out in the comic, Gene Colan did some remarkable work. This comic is flawed but Lee's writing, in spite of all these flaws, is still very charming.

Beetle could have killed Daredevil in this issue and won, or at the very least unmasked him, as his own henchmen point out. Instead, he does that classic villain thing and messes up his own scheme thoroughly by trying to set up an exhibit at the Montreal Expo to try and make a big spectacle of Daredevil's defeat. It is disappointing, and definitely doesn't feel like this story needed to be two parts. A lot of the charm I felt in #33 is kind of absent from #34 and that makes and incredible difference, but it is present in stuff like how we learn the Beetle's origins in this comic. Gene Colan's art remains great, at least.

A pretty standard Silver Age affair where Daredevil is in Hollywood and battles the Stilt-Man. Not a lot to it, for good or ill. It's not very fun but the art from this era is reliable as always. Karen and Matt breaking up felt really rushed, even if it makes sense with her being in LA now.

I love how this opens with Daredevil receiving a summons in court while he is out on the street in costume. It's just the perfect set-up for this court-themed adventure with the villain Tribune posing as a judge. His defeat was abrupt and empty, like so many Silver Age stories of this era, but otherwise it was a pretty solid read. I feel Roy Thomas and Gene Colan did a great job with this one overall. This story also feels weirdly predictive of the Central Park Five case that would happen almost two decades after this comic was published. I think it was a bit ahead of its time.

This comic is charming as hell but Conway relies way too much on flashback as a storytelling device here. It would have just been better to structure the story a little differently, I think. It and some choices to have Matt maybe a little too bummed out over losing Karen Page makes this comic feel a bit clunky. Tagak the Leopard Lord was an alright antagonist of sorts for Daredevil. His powers feel fun enough, and his story makes him more distinct than the average villain. With a couple of tweaks, this comic could have been great. Gene Colan's art is fun enough.

The Zodiac Cartel feels like lame crossover fluff, which is all it really is. Art is fun but this just doesn't feel like a Daredevil comic.

This comic rather infuriatingly opens on a dream sequence. The rest of the issue is more classic Silver Age fun as the people of New York are suddenly struck blind. Mixed feelings about this one overall. At least it feels like the main story is pretty creative. It's the kind of thing that works thematically well for Daredevil's character in the most obvious way possible, but just because it is obvious, doesn't make it a bad story. It's really neat how other blind civilians Matt meets in this issue are able to take the lead and help out. The villains and ending are a little lacking, which seems to be an unfortunate trend with a lot of these early Daredevils.

Art is pretty fun at least and the storytelling is creative. It's not as racist as I thought it might have been but this issue still comes across as pretty dated thanks to its references and depiction of Latin America as kind of primitive and backwards. Foggy and Matt working together and the former trying to get over Karen Page was pretty well done, at least, and I do like some of the other characters they meet who are living in whatever fictional country this takes place in. That being said, El Condor has a very goofy looking costume and doesn't have much teeth as a villain.

The second El Condor issue isn't that much different or worse than the one before. The art is great and the writing is a little dated but still has its moments. I do wish these books were paced a little more briskly as they were a bit of a slow read, not helped by Daredevil fighting El Condor's goons for way too long in a fight I found entirely boring. I'm sure that drawn out fight is the exact reason the ending of all this feels rushed, too. Also, this issue felt a little worse in its dialogue than what I got out of #75, bordering on outright racism.

Love the comparisons Conway makes between Spider-Man and Daredevil at the start of this issue. There's some excellent dramatic irony here as Peter feels jealous of Daredevil's life, not knowing just how similar their current circumstances are. That being said, Mary Jane is blonde in this comic by mistake, which really feels out of place given her character and Peter is still freshly grieving Gwen. I can definitely see why some people might not love this comic as its pacing is way off. The character stuff at the beginning is great but means there's no room for the Namor content to really be fleshed out. It winds up being a pretty underwhelming team-up and I didn't really enjoy the battle between Spidey and Daredevil against Namor. It doesn't feel like it gets properly resolved, either. It winds up being a very clunky narrative overall and not one of the better Daredevil comics out there, to be sure. Maybe it's even one of the worst. I'm not a huge fan of how Conway is dealing with the current break-up between Karen Page and Matt Murdock, as that stuff feels very drawn out and like a soap opera.

There's lots of little things that charmed me about this comic. This is part of that era of Daredevil where Black Widow was such a huge part of the series she even shared the title, and it is fun to have her here working with Matt. I also liked how this is part of a time where Daredevil is operating out of San Francisco at a new job, and this issue has lots of little touches to showcase the change in scenery from NYC. It's a pretty fun read overall with the same ol' reliable art of the era. The Dark Messiah stuff is unremarkable but really doesn't feel like the focus of the issue anyways, and I much preferred the stuff where we were exploring Daredevil's new status quo, which luckily is what the comic feels most centred on.

With the focus of this issue largely on the Dark Messiah and his Disciples of Doom, Daredevil #98 becomes very hollow in terms of fun content. Matt's banter in this issue with the Disciples of Doom is annoying and the fighting isn't very good. Once again the more interesting stuff is in Daredevil's personal life. I like how his new partner went to the trouble of making a briefing for Matt in Braille. And Black Widow teaming up with Matt was pretty fun - there's a great part where she says she's going to fight the Messiah with or without Matt - and that makes sense, with her being an independent hero herself. There's stuff to like here, including some pretty creative visuals, but it is a little lacking with the whole Dark Messiah stuff is just so lame. The guy just... explodes at the end? And then Daredevil closes out the issue with a few terrible lines I hated. This is not Daredevil at its best, which is a shame, because with this fun status quo, Black Widow, and the creative team, I definitely would have expected a lot more out of this comic.

What a bizarre read. Daredevil gets in a fight with a random thug at the start of this issue and this has to be some of the worst banter I've seen with the character. Not only is it very silly and unrealistic, there's even a mild touch of dated ableism to it. Additionally the fight choreography isn't that great and I didn't find this comic that engaging or exciting. Eventually the fight with the goons ends and Daredevil has a very underwhelming encounter with returning villain The Ringmaster. I normally quite like Conway as a writer but this comic felt pretty bad on the whole, though Foggy and Matt at least have a solid conversation at some point which makes up for things a bit. I feel like the Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime were at least somewhat fun, too, especially since we actually get to see a bit of their show. However, their scheme is kind of silly, even by the standards of this time, and the comic basically just doesn't have much of a proper ending at all. At least the art is well done even if Conway doesn't give Don Heck much in terms of interesting stuff to draw. Additionally, there's some technical choices with how the art flows throughout the page that seem way off to me.

Daredevil calls it quits this issue in some character beats I felt were done fairly well even if it doesn't even last half of an issue. Then he gets pulled into this story with Death-Stalker and it's not much of a plot, nor is the battle any good at all, but it is big on style and that is something. Heather comes across as annoying and a poor man's Karen. I'm not a fan of what I've seen of her character so far.

You know, Daredevil is a lawyer. More comics should use a courtroom as a framing device like this one does. It just makes sense and it feels like we never get enough time with Matt in the courtroom in these comics. Sadly this isn't the first Daredevil comic to depict Latinx people in a dated way, this time in the form of the returning villain Matador. Wolfman's writing can get a little awkward here beyond that, too. At least Man-Bull was pretty fun.

A pretty goofy issue where villains Mr. Hyde and Cobra team up and Daredevil ultimately fights them on a jungle rooftop some rich guy made in Manhattan, I guess. Not some of Wolfman's best.

I feel like these comics are too simple for their era. At this point both Marvel and DC were more than capable of much more engaging content that made sense and had better character work than this. Daredevil #142 and 143 are as simple as hero vs. villain stuff can get, I feel. It is at least weird in that way only comics can be weird and a little fun at times, I guess, but I didn't find this story all that creative overall and the pacing is way off. At least this issue has some lawyer stuff unlike 142 and it's better than the Cobra/Hyde nonsense.

Openly made as a filler comic due to a missed deadline, this strange story starts off with Daredevil having to go into an unstable reactor. I'm not sure why the scientists on the scene aren't more qualified but it leads to some pretty creative art so I'll give the odd moment a pass for what we get out of it. The reactor's radiation gives Daredevil amnesia and winds up becoming a boxer. Eventually Matt gets his memory back and he fights a leopard in the dark. Comics are weird sometimes and this is a good example of that. It wasn't the best or most engaging book, but it definitely was creative and memorable, at least.

This has to be one of Nocenti's weaker if not weakest Daredevil script. It's cool Ditko is the guest artist here but it's not a very fun story. The Owl is featured in this issue and he's just not that fun at all. Neither is Daredevil, and fun is really all a silly story like this could ever hope to be.

Weird but fine, I guess. Pretty standard Daredevil vs. The Hand stuff coupled with the usual quirky Chichester writing.

There is cool art and cool moments peppered throughout this issue, but Chichester cannot make The Hand exciting for the life of him.

A decent comic where Matt Murdock battles the Hand and things are appropriately sinister. It's not the best comic, but not the worst - not even the worst Daredevil story I've seen written by Chichester.

Way too overly wordy right out of the gate for a comic book. Especially one from the 90s that should be more deferential to the art, because the art is really nice. The Owl is presented in a somewhat sinister way, at least, and the comic does have some stylish moments as we see our characters living their lives in New York. Certainly not the worst Chichester comic I've read at this point.

This was a pretty fun and action packed issue. For a comic where the Owl and Daredevil are mostly just fighting each other, they do manage to still make Owl seem both sinister and tragic. While not perfect and I don't love all the art here, I'd say this was a solid issue on the whole.

This wound up being a pretty solid Owl story. It's still a Chichester book, but at least he made the villain quite interesting here.

Spider-Man and Daredevil team up to take on a new villain named the Surgeon General. She's a fun idea for a villain but Chichester just isn't that great at dialogue and this comic doesn't feel as fun as it should be. I do like the vibe of this being just another case for Murdock, Karen, and Daredevil - there's a certain day-in-the-life feel to this comic that works well with its traditional art style by McDaniel.

Having read quite a few Chichester Daredevils at this point, I was expecting another dud. But this was great. The second part of the Surgeon General story reveals the Surgeon to be an incredibly sinister and deadly villain. It was good stuff and on the whole this worked pretty well as a two-part superhero team-up story.

While not a terrible start to a nine-issue crossover arc between Daredevil, Punisher War Journal, and Nomad, this still isn't a great issue. Chichester is not a great Daredevil writer and even shows some weird attitudes towards body image in this particular comic. A pretty ugly affair overall which is a shame because it starts promising by showing off the Vegas setting and how Daredevil perceives the world.

Pretty solid for a Chichester book. Daredevil riding a show horse around Las Vegas battling the Hand is genuinely fun, and there's good little moments with the Punisher and Kingpin. Not a bad read at all. For a crossover I thought I was going to hate, I'm actually largely enjoying myself.

The Daredevil side of Dead Man's Hand spends a lot of time on all these criminals meeting and dividing up Kingpin's former empire. It's pretty well done even if it falls into the trap of Chichester's endless awkward dialogue and at some point loses me a bit in this issue. That's another problem with Chichester's writing in general - he seems to have trouble even communicating the basics of what he's trying to say with a story - bordering on the incoherent at times. He also really seems to struggle keeping the tone and pace feel consistent as the Punisher and Nomad stories start to cross over a bit more here. Finally, there's this whole thing where Baron von Strucker is resurrected by this virus and is scheming in the background, and not only does he look like Jim Carrey's Mask, but it feels deeply silly as a plotline and wildly out of place with everything else. Daredevil's parts are by far the weakest of an otherwise decent crossover, but it does have its moments.

This was alright. I assume the stuff with the Haitian demon is probably not the best example of cultural sensitivity, but it is a fun story and the visual of a demonic Daredevil is cool as hell.

Zombie Daredevil is pretty cool and is conveyed through the art really well. A big step up from the last issue creatively. The defeat of Calypso and restoration of Matt Murdock was a bit underwhelming, though.

The first half of the comic is just a very stressful and realistic situation where Daredevil is dealing with a building on fire. It's quite well done on the whole. The second half deals with the legal consequences of the fire, which works well in a Daredevil comic but Chichester is clumsy with his dialogue as always. Still, there are good moments here - like the firefighters smashing cars like they do in real life if they are blocking a fire hydrant, or when a photographer agrees to give Matt information in exchange for letting him film himself punching Daredevil. The second part is less endearing when Matt winds up punching him back, but it's kind of deserved.

The art was like this a bit in the last issue but really gets over-the-top edgy by this comic. The whole issue feels overly dark and grim, in that cheesy 13-year-old-edgelord kind of way. The dialogue was pretty awful and Daredevil interrogating a pyromaniac with fire was worse. Still, the actual investigation into the fires isn't terrible, but it is a little repetitive in its storytelling. I do appreciate how it elegantly requires both the Matt and Daredevil identities to solve. All told this might be one of Chichester's better Daredevil stories, as much as that is damning him with faint praise.

While not terrible, it wasn't a very exciting comic either. I notice Chichester stories tend to start out big before meandering for the rest of the issue, and this is a good example of that. Daredevil #314 starts with a somewhat interesting nightmare sequence, only to kind of get bogged down in setting up this new story with a classic Daredevil villain Mr. Fear and his daughter. There's some sinister ideas to the story, but it's not explored enough to really work that well.

This could have been fun and even is at times. The new Mr. Fear - his daughter who calls herself "Shock" unleashes the fears of New York citizens and Daredevil has to stop her and the resulting chaos. There's some good visuals accompanying this but the dialogue reads like Chichester is barely holding things together in telling a coherent story and, knowing how often he fails at that, it really does feel like the story just barely works for a reason - it just barely works on the whole and is rather underwhelming.

What a bizarre plot for a story. And old man dies, and reveals a half a million dollars worth of grease was in his possession. And so a bunch of criminals get into a mad race to get it. The audacity of such a wild story in a Daredevil comic is pretty fun, but Chichester often seems to get these interesting ideas and totally flail when it comes to execution and some of the dialogue is unbelievably cringey or confusing. This is at least the trend less in action, and this issue does have at least some fun moments in it. I had fun watching all the villains showing up.

317 and 318, the grease issues, are clearly meant to be a little silly, and that does work in their favour. If the comics had a better writer this could have been a great story. I do love the sense of chaos around Daredevil as all these crooks scramble for a mother-lode of restaurant grease. Chichester is just such a tacky writer, though. A thug getting his clothes torn in a fight with Daredevil, only for an embarrassing tattoo to be revealed and so the thug and his friend run away, feels like an example of how Chichester can't quite deliver on the silly tone in a way that works. Humour is tricky and subjective so all I can really say is that the timing of these jokes just didn't work for me. A lot of this issue is like that. The story should be fun but Chichester's writing here makes it a little miserable for me and I kept finding myself distracted because the story wasn't really holding my attention after a while. Something this goofy shouldn't feel like that much of a slog.

The art is pretty creative but Chichester's stories feel like they are moments away from exploding into absolute gibberish on any given page. I find it so easy to just get lost in his stories. Not in a good way, but in a, "I'm not interested enough to make the effort of fully deciphering what is going on" kind of energy. I'm really not a fan of most of his Daredevil comics, it seems.

I've heard this arc described as messy and that's really the perfect word for it. It would be fun in theory to have this Daredevil story where he goes up against Silver Sable but Chichester just can't execute a good idea for the life of him. Art is great, though. Really it's only saving grace, and I do like how torn up Daredevil's suit gets in this issue - that's good set-up for what is to come.

At least Venom and the Daredevil-demon were fun in this one... kind of. I'm not entirely sure why they are here, but fun is fun. It's not terribly well written but it was somewhat coherent and actually enjoyable which is more than I can say of some other Chichester Daredevil books. Even Daredevil encountering the telepath he has been tracking down was actually executed decently. I also really like the logistics and premiere of Daredevil's armoured suit in these last two issues. That was done pretty well and McDaniel, in spite of Chichester's constant flubbing of the script, is a really cool artist. Colour me intrigued for the first time in this story arc, though I doubt the feeling will last.

Chichester gets into these habits of using the same words or phrases across multiple issues and it drives me a little crazy. These comics often feel like a chore to get through, outside of the random sporadic comic that kind of works like the last one. We're back to the grind again with a slow-moving, kind-of clumsy story that just barely almost works. But it doesn't work - most Chichester Daredevils read like a weird fever dream. McDaniel's art isn't even good in this one - it feels rushed and sloppy (outside of one black-and-white splash page that's simply jaw-dropping). Also intentionally having two unrelated characters named Eddie in your story is nuts. These little annoyances add up very quickly in these comics.

There's a lot of characters in this story. On the one hand, it feeds well into the chaotic nature of Daredevil trying to protect this telepath named Eddie. On the other hand, it feels like way too much, a little bloated, and extremely unfocused. The pacing on Fall from Grace as a whole is erratic and relentless in a frustrating way. And these last two comics have let me down in the art department, too. This issue features Venom a little bit and it is very underwhelming. I've seen this a couple of times now where Chichester just lets Daredevil talk a villain out of a fight with the silliest, flimsiest logic, and seeing it happen to Venom here was extremely lame. And it's a shame too, because this issue has a big bomb to drop - the press know that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. This really could have been one of the best Daredevil stories ever in better creative hands. As it stands, I think it's one of the worst.

Now Morbius is showing up in this thing?! What a train wreck. And THIS is the comic where Daredevil's identity gets put out in the world. It should be such a better and bigger moment and doesn't feel handled well at all. We barely spend any time on it at all because we have to deal with Eddite the telepath and now some sort of virus. It's so boring, but at least there's some good art again. Oh, and Elektra's back, because, just like the whole secret identity thing we also need to start getting really confusing and convoluted on that front too. Chichester is opening some bottles he is not prepared to deal with the consquences of at all and it feels like a complete mess.

What a stupidly and unnecessarily complicated plot this all was. It's interesting how Matt fakes his own death here to preserve the safety of the people he loves, but it isn't really the focus of this or the next arc and isn't given the weight a big moment like this deserves. The whole thing with Snakeroot is a complete waste of time. These characters suck so much and feel like generic comic book slop. Six issues of bloated plot and no emotional significance or weight to it. It's just bad writing, especially around Elektra's return. I don't know how else to describe it, I'd expect better writing out of a soap opera. I think calling Fall from Grace messy is putting it a little politely, now that I've finished it. McDaniel at least sneaks in a few nice pages to round of the ending though, saving this comic from my lowest possible ratings.

Not bad given the writer, era, and story arc. Matt Murdock fakes his death to preserve Daredevil's secret identity and protect those he love. The funeral is quite well done on the whole. Unfortunately, as we pivot to the larger story arc, the comic gets more unremarkable. This is the start of the story line "Tree of Knowledge" and though it kicks things off with a bang - showing off a dark status quo where Matt has even been pushed to start using a gun - things start to fall apart pretty quickly and everything is a mess by next issue.

Truly awful art, convoluted storytelling, and other awkward moments made for a truly terrible reading experience on the whole. Matt is unnecessarily rude to an Avenger (an Black Knight is pretty crappy to him). There's an interesting story hiding under a cluttered mess of an execution - a ferry blows up so Daredevil and the Avengers each react, and it ultimately leads to Captain America and Daredevil teaming up by the end. It should feel like a fun story, but instead comes across as really sloppy overall and pretty hard to get through. I have to assume the rest of the arc is going to be similarly rough.

This is a neat premise for a comic where a guest creative team tells an interlude side story in the middle of the larger arc. Gregory Wright and Sergio Cariello do a much better job than the normal creative team... shocking so.

Shaky storytelling, but seeing Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Captain America team up was entertaining enough, I suppose. I like this art here a little better from some of McDaniel's other work I've seen so far in this series.

The art isn't terrible, but the writing and dialogue is just so bad. There's something so off-putting about how Chichester does conversational speech that I had a very tough time getting through this issue. McDaniel's art is becoming a saving grace and acquired taste in this messy and boring story arc. Gambit's cameo is another in a long line of superhero appearances during the Tree of Knowledge story, and I'm not against it. It makes sense a bunch of heroes would show up following a big ferry blowing up. Yet the bad writing makes these ideas feel half-baked and I even felt a bit of a misogynistic edge here that made this issue especially feel like a particularly bad comic overall because of it.

The writing is still dated and full of groaners that make for a very slow read overall but at least some of the plot points Chcichester has been teasing in Tree of Knowledge come to a head here. Mixed feelings on the art this issue. Some panels popped, others kind of looked ridiculous. Not great and pretty annoying how, after teasing this story as being five parts, this again leaves on a cliffhanger for a finale next issue.

Throughout Tree of Knowledge, Black Widow leads the authorities in basically declaring martial law in New York after the ferry blows up, and I've been waiting to see what is to come of this. And the answer is... well, something about the dangers of authorities developing technology in the name of security. There really are some good ideas here but it is amazing how bad the execution of it all is. This was a truly awful read. The art and storytelling is so clunky and feels very amateurish. This is so far from the Daredevil comics at their peak it hurts a bit. This story arc and this issue has its moments but boy are they few and far between, while it is easy to spot weaknesses in every corner of Chichester's writing here.

While refreshing after having read a buttload of Chichester's Daredevil, this storyline by Wright starts off with an issue that's just okay. I like Grindberg's art, but the writing still feels a little clunky and the whole comic just has a weird, ugly vibe as Daredevil gets involved with some of New York's most downtrodden and it doesn't seem to be written that sympathetically - some of them come across as basically feral. It's definitely not that bad, though. There's some good moments here as Daredevil does advocate for one innocent man the police are beating. And the story's villain, the King of the Sewers, gets a solid introduction. He seems real gross and Daredevil fighting him in the New York sewage is... something, alright.

This issue feels overly heavy on the dialogue for what should just be some grungy adventure in the sewers. It's like the Ninja Turtles with all the joy sucked out of the story along with a lot of weird conversations. I don't think I'm going to like this arc at all, at this rate. The King of Sewers slaps a guy with a rat - this story is already ridiculous and I'm two issues in. At least Grindberg's art is pretty cool and interesting - I just wish he wasn't given such an ugly story to draw. The last page he draws with Bushwacker is intense though. I wish it better reflected the mood of the larger story because the villain knocking out Daredevil in the rain looked great.

This comic opens up with an amazing fight between Bushwacker and Daredevil in the rain. With the rain blinding Murdock, and that making him impaired enough that Bushwacker thinks he can't be the real Daredevil, are among the great details and art showcased in this fight. The rest of the issue kind of sucks. It's overly reliant on text when there's some great art here the comic should be leaning more on, and that's especially disappointing to see in the 90s when there was such a focus on comic book art. Still, a pretty strong improvement over the last issue, with pretty much wall-to-wall action throughout.

I don't know a lot about Gregory Wright as a writer, but I'm not a huge fan with how he goes about this story arc. It just feels deeply off-kilter and all over the place in its tone and pacing. Last issue was a tight action thriller as Daredevil fights for his life in the rain, now homeless people are dressing up in torn up old costumes and Daredevil's fighting a Mayan tiger thing. This story is way too chaotic for my tastes. Worse, the whole bringing in of this Blackwulf character feels like way too much in a story already stuffed with crazy plot threads, and we're nearly at the end of the arc.

Randi seems like an underwhelming character in this new status quo for Daredevil. She's barely left an impression on me after a while now and this kind of seems it for her character. It really feels like they just didn't know what to do with Daredevil at this point in the 90s. So many of these comics seems to be spinning their wheels. I guess it is nice Daredevil has been trying to get two innocent people out of prison this whole arc. We desperately needed more of that kind of stuff from this era of Daredevil. But the way that and the King of the Sewers stuff is resolved is very anti-climactic.

I was a little worried when Chichester didn't even want his name put on these comics but they aren't as awful as I expect. It's very dark and gritty but not in an unbearable way so far. Matt Murdock's new identity as Jack Batlin is a little cringe, though. His stuff just feels like one cliche lumped onto another and his dialogue can often leave a lot to be desired with its repetitive and silly nature. Jubran's art is pretty cool at least.

The Kruel Saga continues with some occasionally cool art but the writing is still all over the place in quality. I wish the action were conveyed better, Jubran has a lot of potential but I don't really like how he draws Kruel, the villain of this arc. So far this is a pretty underwhelming story that's more silly than anything else. This Kruel guy is seeking revenge against a bunch of Daredevil characters, but the flashbacks are handled so clumsily and he looks so goofy it is very hard to take this story seriously at all. Ben Urich's wife being almost killed in front of him at least is done pretty well and has an appropriate amount of weight to it, preventing this comic from being totally terrible, at least. Karen Page has a story line I was skeptical of this arc about CSAM but so far it has been pretty interesting. I'm not totally hating this arc so far like some of Chichester's other nonsense.

This story arc reminds me of that Community episode, where a flashback reveals the cast had unknowingly met each other long before the events of the Pilot. It didn't work in that show any more than it does here - literally creating a plot hole in Karen Page's history in the process. There's also a bit of an anti-poverty bent to a lot of these 90s Daredevil comics I am not a fan of either. Also, this is two story arcs in a row where we have villains being gross in the sewers and it's hard to really engage with content like this. At least Chichester and Jubran do some interesting things with their storytelling here, so it isn't a total wash, though there are just about as many awkward moments that pull down the fun of the better content here. Why does Daredevil insist on drinking milk in a weird way after a fight this issue? I just want to know...

This story arc has been very hit-or-miss for me. Keith Pollard takes over art duties for these last two issues and I definitely like the quality and style of his art - at least at times. Kruel looks as goofy and terrible as ever, if not much worse. The story wasn't a complete nightmare this time. It's not the best, still full of cliche and awkward one-liners, but it definitely isn't Chichester's worst.

Ugh. Having Kingpin's goons dose everyone in the flashback so they didn't remember things in the present is such a tacky bit of writing. That sucks so much and is a terrible way to kick things off with the final issue of the Kruel saga and Chichester's time as the head of Daredevil. I was mostly okay with this story arc compared to Chichester's worst comics, but this was not a great way to wrap things up. Kingpin and Daredevil teaming up to take on Kruel is fun, at least, even if it wasn't handled well at all. We've spent an entire story arc as readers learning about Kruel, so having Kingpin also explain it to Daredevil is a waste of time. So many plot points just don't work with me, like Karen Page ultimately hiring on John Garrett - that's where all this CSAM stuff has been building to in this arc? And then I guess it is supposed to be a big deal that Daredevil and Kingpin ultimately defeat Kruel in a way that kills him. It hardly even feels like a murder, but I guess this is what causes Daredevil's unhinged breakdown next issue... What a miserable waste this all was...

This was insane. I really like Arvell Jones and Keith Pollard's art, but Ellis' writing is borderline incomprehensible. Matt Murdock dresses up in a lawyer's suit and beats up a bunch of cops. The NYPD deserve worse, but Matt's inner monologue during all of this literally makes no sense and in his suit he looks absolutely ridiculous. Maybe Warren Ellis always kind of sucked. This was violent, full of self-loathing on Daredevil's part, and obscenely edgy. It's in response to the preceding arc, but it is still a terrible way to follow-up on what happened there and was a real bummer of a read overall. And, also, knowing what happened in that arc, Matt is basically overreacting. He's been through so much worse so this behaviour feels completely out of character.

This comic is baffling and everything people like to make fun of around 90s superhero comics. It's so creepy the way Daredevil is smiling in this comic. I guess it is intentional? I don't know what is purposeful here because I found the writing pretty bad too. It's supposed to be Matt turning a new direction in life, being a little more optimistic and purposeful, but I think it's a very bad example of execution.

I was pleasantly surprised by this comic. Daredevil finds himself in conflict with Mastermind (or at least one of his daughters). He battles illusions of his worst foes all while dealing with a major falling out with Foggy after his partner learns of his Daredevil identity. Not bad and a big step up from the previous issue, even with McManus returning for art duties. My only qualm is that Mastermind is defeated rather abruptly, although I'm not sure you can expect much more out of a single, standalone issue.

An intriguing start to the last story arc of this volume but one that is executed very poorly. It's basically not a Daredevil comic, nor does it explain its premise very well, but Matt finds himself trapped in a deep cover identity he no longer remembers, and the SHIELD handler responsible for deprogramming dies. Or something along that line. It could have been cool if it were structured better.

Much better than the last issue especially structurally, but still not great. There's a really wholesome moment with Foggy that I liked a lot, at least.

It's fun having Foggy so directly involved in Matt's espionage adventure overseas. The arc got off to a rocky start with me but has had its moments so far. It's still just okay at best, though. Lobdell isn't exactly writing this story with finesse, often being overly clunky in his wording, not just in its style but also in the sheer volume of text he throws around sometimes like the worst of Daredevil writers. To his credit, he did put together a Kingpin moment in this issue that at least made me chuckle even as most of it didn't.

I loved the cover of this one. Otherwise it's a very clunky, slow, and repetitive end to Lobdell's arc in a way I didn't find all that satisfying, nor did I enjoy Cully Hamner's art that much. One that essentially closes out this iteration of the Daredevil series, which is interesting. Not great or even good, but interesting. And to its credit I did enjoy the idea of this Jason Bourne-style story for Daredevil. Here's to the brighter days that were in store for this character's storytelling.

Chichester has written some bad Daredevil comics, but this one is particularly incoherent and embarrassing. For the final issue of the first volume, this is bafflingly bad, the pacing feels off, and there's way too much dialogue in a way that does a huge disservice to the otherwise decent art. Considering Chichester seems to be one of the worst Daredevil writers, it says a lot that this is probably one of his worst Daredevil comics.

This was an odd but not terrible Daredevil read for sure. Mark Bagley is an amazing artist, I've always been a big fan. It is quite weird such as how the villain is keeping Spider-Man around like a pet dog. Daredevil's in a dark place at this point in the series and I think this annual handles that pretty well on the whole at the beginning, but very quickly devolves into standard superhero crossover fluff for the barely connected Atlantis Attacks event. At least Doctor Strange's appearance here was pretty consistently well done. I really like the part where Strange talks about Daredevil's pain and how he respects Matt too much to tamper with it. That was interesting. It very much feels like a Conway script and has his specific energy to the book, for good and for ill.

Gregory Wright does a good job portraying the horror only kind of hinted at in the previous chapter of Lifeform. The dialogue is just okay though, especially from the Lifeform itself. The bonus stories weren't very impressive, either, but it is neat how they were all connected to the Lifeform storyline and do add a bit to it's character - said character being George the man infected into the Lifeform creature.

I was not thrilled to see the return to Snakeroot being advertised for this comic as I did not enjoy Daredevil's first encounter with them. But, to this Annual's credit, it brings about their return at the start of this story with a bang and some gorgeous artwork depicting a resurrection ritual carried out by this evil group. I can't say I really cared when Snakeroot did all this though to revive some Z-Lister villain named Ghostmaker, even if that's just an excuse to bring Shang-Chi in for a fun team-up. And it is pretty fun, even with all the 90s cheese Renkewitz and the art team do a great job bringing this story to life. I do wish the action had a bit more thought put into it though as I kind of tuned those parts out a bit. Elektra's return and the armoured Daredevil era kind of remains underwhelming as always for the background status quo, though. Her and Matt kind of feel miserable here and the only reason this comic has a sense of joy is thanks to Shang-Chi along with the excellent use of colouring and character design. And that ending did nothing for me. I liked the back-up story way more, all about Black Widow and her meeting with Nick Fury. They talk about Matt Murdock's apparent death and I wish we got more follow-up on said death like this because it was really good. It's got some decent spy stuff too. This comic is a good showcase of what doesn't really work from this era as much as it shows off what did work.

The art leaves a lot to be desired, but I do at least love the premise. We open this story on Maya Lopez at a concert where everyone is being infected by these strange sound waves that clearly involve the villain Klaw. So she rushes off to find and save Daredevil before he hears the music and gets infected. It really works well to showcase a blind and deaf person working together to solve a problem nicely. I do wish the art were better though. A lot of plot points around the sound wave creatures people are turning into isn't well showcased because the art is often light on the finer details here. I'm just not sure the art style matches this kind of story. That being said though, the stylish, almost dream-like quality of the art is often very beautiful to look at and overall this book just isn't that bad. I just feel a different artist could have made this story's plot beats and the spreading sound infection more impactful. Also, Klaw's defeat is sudden and anti-climactic. Not a great read overall.

I like the idea of this comic - a sort of flashback story told from Misty's perspective and showing her getting to know Daredevil in his early days. And it does very much look great - but I didn't get much if anything from the story.

I'm surprised at just how much I enjoyed the first issue of this arc. There's a lot of baggage from Ahmed's run at this point but this issue does a good job at showcasing Matt's current situation. Plus it has great art, and intriguing start to a larger story, and a nice reason for Daredevil to bring back his armoured suit. I just plain loved this.

Another solid issue with excellent art. People were down on this run and last arc in particular but so far I am enjoying it! I like how Ahmed explores Matt's vulnerabilities so far in Rites of Responsibilities. I think it's really well done. There's also a great scene where Matt is using his powers to track down a network of fungus, and the fungus reaches back out to him. This is a creepy and interesting story arc in spite of a couple of awkward lines.

Oh, I was down with this story so far, but now it just feels like we are ripping off the Last of Us, but in a really lame way. Also, the dialogue kind of suddenly takes a nosedive once the villain Lionsmane reveals himself. Not a good sign of what is to come, I fear. And after such a good start, too... I do like the ending where Daredevil shares a moment with Nyla at least. She seems like a consistently positive point in Matt's otherwise currently bleak life.

Not a bad issue, but there's weird quirks to this comic. I figured the Lionsmane stuff would come back due to the cover but no, the cover is basically just a bad representation of this issue. But, to be fair, this is a solid Taskmaster comic where the villain actually gets to be cool for a moment. That's something, and the art of these books are so great they make up for a lot of the weirdness of the story. And there's a lot of weirdness going on with Elektra and Nyla this issue. We just saw how happy Nyla and Matt were last issue, and now they're breaking up? Colour me skeptical.

I'm really surprised at how the Nyla relationship stuff went from great to bad so quickly. It kind of feels like we are rushing to just wrap up Ahmed's run as soon as possible all of the sudden and I'm not a fan. Elektra and Matt solving a murder was more interesting and even got a little gruesome. They even go to the Bar with No Name and battle one of the Wrecking Crew. It's fun stuff, but some of the writing was a little tacky (other parts were great at least).

The art is great, the writing... not as much. The Kingpin is back and the confrontation with him is pretty unhinged in the best way possible. It's a good fight, even if that dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. And the Kingpin kind of just wins and... leaves. It's a very disappointing story with some excellent art. And, at the very least, it leaves Daredevil and Elektra on a nice note. Not a great way for Ahmed to close out his run, though.

There's something very charming about seeing another story in Daredevil's early days. It's not overly sophisticated but its fun seeing him go up against some of his classic villains and working with Foggy and Karen during more innocent times. A pleasant read overall, even if the dialogue and narration can be a little silly at times, with Daredevil having a lot of lame quips in this story. Also, the whole thing kind of just breezes through one villain to the next without a lot of time to dwell on any of it, so it doesn't feel overly substantial. I still liked it more than I didn't, though. Matt and Foggy work a pretty cool case together and that's enough for me in a lot of ways, I just wished I liked the superhero stuff a little more and some of the character stuff was handled a little better. Our main characters are fun here but do feel a little off.

I just can't seem to be drawn in by this. Probably something subjective, this is just not for me.

Earth 2 World's End #1 Review/Recap - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbHGEshe8D4&list=TLxS1MDHHqvqAt7XF-V0r7dL7T52gJBZmc&index=3

A vast improvement over the first two Lifeform stories. This felt like a classic Hulk comic, even with him battling the army at the start. Peter David is just a great writer overall. I love how he lets George the Lifeform narrate this story - it adds valuable perspective to this weird-ass villain. Some of the other stories were a little lacklustre but the bulk of this Hulk did not make me sulk.

Featuring an idea that should be really exciting, this issue left me feeling very disappointed overall.

Not really a huge Secret Wars spoiler, unless you still find connect-the-dots a challenging activity. Great comic overall.

This was boring and weird. It was fun seeing Daredevil show up.

Couldn't even finish it. I'm bored. I'm out again.

I didn't know anything about Magdalena going into this, but her character fits really well in a crossover with Daredevil. The art looks great, but the comic is a fairly standard and predictable story with some not-so-great choices in the writing. The demon they fight is fun enough as a villain and it leads to a fairly solid ending.

Fun but a little disappointing after the explosive issue 1.

Good. Really, really good.

It's fine, but not very memorable. And like everyone says a very quick read.

Wow.

This is... not overly entertaining. It's not bad, exactly, but it does feel boring. Nothing terribly interesting has happened thus far. Boring action and boring dialogue.

A decent but slightly poorly written start to the Lifeform storyline.

A decent read. It's been a while since I've read a fun Dixon comic, so that was nice. I do enjoy the set-up of the Punisher coming in to this big crime meeting along with the other heroes in this crossover story, but it isn't the most impressive issue, either. For Dixon this writing felt just okay.

A solid read overall. I like how this comic fits in with some of the other stuff we've seen in Dead Man's Hand so far, and I really thought it was interesting reading the Punisher's thoughts on holding a baby after it having been many years since he had done such a thing. A great comic!

Though the Daredevil comics are messy, Nomad and Punisher War Journal deliver a fun time. Dead Man's Hand runs long at nine issues but thanks to Nicenza's Nomad and Dixon's work here, it's pretty entertaining and didn't feel like a long read. This issue was a fun ending to it all, even if it didn't really feel like a big ending we were building to, it was a solid enough wrap-up that matched the tone of the crossover.

A pretty great ending to a very weird crossover story. A little awkward in the writing but it lives up to the power of the Silver Surfer and was pretty cool how the Lifeform is finally defeated.

Full recap/review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77xXQ223zfM

Wow. This was awesome. A little rushed, but I don't even care. Too much to enjoy. I'm actually pretty excited for Spiderverse. I honestly have no idea why people have any sort of problem with this issue. So much awesome!

Fun!

I had a lot of fun reading this.

A competently made, seriously flawed issue.

Terrible comic, even for free. This is what is supposed to draw people in? The stories been done before, and to make things particularly disappointing, there are a few names attached to this thing that I really like. What a waste.

My full recap/review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37x_9YnGqlg&list=UU9Anx3CRncARu-Utf_Yaf3A

So, you'll spend this entire issue knowing exactly how it's going to end, but it still remains totally entertaining. This comic series has won me over, and it is a real shame to see Soule exit. Still, this was a fun ride, and I enjoyed it. Though I'm reluctant to continue reading unless the new writer can bring the same strong sense of characters and fun atmosphere as Soule has.

Good issue. I'm enjoying this series, after a bit of a hiccup, and can't wait to see what happens next.

Some of the most fun I've had reading a single issue in a very long time.

It wasn't perfect. Some characters acted really unusually, but man, did the good outweigh the bad. This issue was a lot of fun, and makes me want to read what happens next. There is little more one can ask for.

What a weird issue. Lot's of pros and cons, I guess? Funny but very dumb at times.

I found this era of Wonder Woman comics underwhelming.

Fun, doesn't do anything that crazy or epic, but enjoyable just the same.