Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 8 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 8: The Death of Daredevil written by Charles Soule and art by Phil Noto

Daredevil is back on the anti-mayoral crusade, trying to take down Wilson Fiske who is New York City's mayor. He has an added complication--one of his super-powered friends accidentally created Mike Murdock, Matt's fictional twin brother that he used long ago to deflect attention from himself. Mike has a weird combination of motivations that creates a lot of drama for Daredevil and the few allies he has in his legal fight against Kingpin.

The story has a lot of out-of-left-field elements, including the ending which only sort-of delivers on the title. A new villain is introduced whose identity turns out to be really weird. I found a lot of the elements of the story unsatisfactory. Oh well, this is the end of Charles Soule's run on Daredevil. Overall, there's been more good than bad in the series and the Disney reboot is using an earlier villain that Soule created, so this narrative has left its mark in a good way.

Mildly recommended--it wraps up the series.

Book Review: Hunt for Wolverine: The Claws of a Killer and Mystery in Madripoor by C. Soule et al.

Hunt for Wolverine: The Claws of a Killer written by Charles Soule and Mariko Tamaki, and art by David Marquez, Paulo Siqueira, Butch Guice, and Mack Chater

Wolverine died encased in adamantium (the same metal that makes his bones unbreakable). The X-Men had set up a cabin in remote Canada with his remains. A group of desperate villains, the Reavers, find the location and try to steal the encased corpse. The X-Men had set up some security and arrive to stop the desecration of Wolverine's grave. The Reavers try to get a little bit DNA so they have something to sell, only to discover the adamantium covering is only a shell--there's no body inside. The X-Men had moved his corpse to a grave not far away. When they go to visit the real burial place after the fight, the X-Men discover Wolverine's body is gone. Realizing this is a perilous situation, Kitty Pryde organizes several teams to search of the missing body.

One group after Wolverine is led by Lady Deathstrike, who is a former Reaver. She's informed by the one Reaver who escaped the X-Men that Wolverine's body is missing, so she puts together a team to hunt for Logan. Old enemy Sabretooth and Wolverine's estranged son Daken follow Deathstrike to a small desert town. An adamantium scanner shows activity there, though when they arrive, the town is overrun with zombies. They have to fight their way out as they figure out what is going on.

The story quickly morphs into a Walking-Dead style horror story with the larger story looming over the action. A lot more people than Daken wind up having family issues by the end of the story. It wasn't that interesting overall though there were a few good moments. Nothing really happens to affect the characters or the bigger story. Meh...

Only recommended if you like the rest of the Hunt for Wolverine series.

Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor written by Charles Soule and Jim Zub, and art by David Marquez, Paulo Siqueira, Thony Silas with Leonard Kirk

The final group after Wolverine is led by Kitty Pryde. She takes a few of the X-Women (Storm, Jubilee, Rogue, Domino, and Psylocke) to Madripoor, an island overrun with crime (Wolverine had lived there years ago). Magneto has been in charge and he seems like a likely suspect for taking Wolverine's body. They arrive to find Magneto himself has been kidnapped and a group of villainous women led by Viper have their own project that may or may not involve the fate of Wolverine. 

The tone is like a James Bond-style spy adventure. The group of heroes tries to infiltrate the seedier side of Madripoor, so they dress scantily and head into action. They wind up fighting an interesting variety of opponents, also all female and scantily clad. So the whole package comes off a little exploitative. The story is interesting but does not resolve the larger mystery and only provides hints toward who really took Wolverine and where he is now.

Not really recommended--I guess you need to read this for the whole Hunt for Wolverine narrative but it definitely does not stand up on its own.

Book Review: Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost and The Adamantium Agenda by C. Soule et al.

Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost written by Charles Soule, art by David Marquez, Paulo Siqueira, and Matteo Buffagni

Wolverine died encased in adamantium (the same metal that makes his bones unbreakable). The X-men had set up a cabin in remote Canada with his remains. A group of desperate villains, the Reavers, find the location and try to steal the encased corpse. The X-men had set up some security and arrive to stop the desecration of Wolverine's grave. The Reavers try to get a little bit DNA so they have something to sell, only to discover the adamantium covering is only a shell--there's no body inside. The X-men had moved his corpse to a grave not far away. When they go to visit the real burial place after the fight, the X-men discover Wolverine's body is gone. Realizing this is a perilous situation, Kitty Pryde organizes several teams to search of the missing body.

One team is headed by Daredevil, who likes a good mystery. He recruits Misty Knight, an ex-cop from New York City with a cybernetic arm, and Frank Magee, an ex-detective from NYC who became an Inhuman when the city got dosed with Terrigen Mist. They start chasing down leads with the help of Cypher, a mutant who can communicate in any language and is addicted to the internet. Cypher finds a lot of online leads about Wolverine's whereabouts, too many for the team to investigate. They start narrowing the list and following up on the most likely leads.

The overall story has an interesting set-up and is spun out over several different series following the various teams (one lead by Iron-man, one by Kitty Pryde). The Weapon Lost story is deliberately noirish in style and provides an interesting investigation. The story is not fully resolved, so I will probably read the other series.

Mildly recommended--this is the middle of a larger narrative arc. I read this before I read Death of Wolverine, so the whole "encased in adamantium" fate was new to me. But I found it intriguing enough to keep going.

Hunt for Wolverine: The Adamantium Agenda written by Charles Soule and Tom Taylor, art by David Marquez, Paulo Siqueira, and R. B. Silva

The team in this book is headed by Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. His investigative group is Spider-man, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. Why those three? A couple of years ago, Tony and those three worked with Wolverine to stop a bomb from destroying Manhattan. Wolverine had made a mysterious deal with  all of them that brings them back together to search for Logan. Tony finds out about a black-market auction that promises the complete DNA of someone from the superhero community. Has the black marketeer has acquired Wolverine's body to monetize it? The group goes off on an adventure to find the sale and bring the seller to justice, hopefully finding out the fate of Wolverine along the way.

The mysterious backstory provides intrigue for readers and motivation for the main characters. I found the tale interesting even though it is not entirely conclusive.

Mildly recommended--this is stronger than the above tale.

Book Review: Death of Wolverine by C. Soule et al.

Death of Wolverine written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Steve McNiven

Wolverine has lost his healing factor and has become the target of every enemy who ever wanted to get even with him. He spends his time fighting off bad guys and visiting the smartest people to see if they can help. Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four can't immediately help but he is sure that he can. Wolverine is not patient enough to wait. Also, he discovers that a contract has been put out on him, not to kill him but to bring him in alive. Logan realizes that the only way to end the constant fighting is to figure out who is putting up the money and put a stop to them. 

The story wanders through a lot of Wolverine's "greatest hits" including visits to Japan and Madripoor. The finale is a bit disappointing as he seems to be able to avoid dying, though death has been his wish for a while. The plot moves so quickly that the four issues fly by. The art is quite good. If only the narrative had lived up to it. 

I read this because the Daredevil series I am currently reading crosses over with the next narrative, Hunt for Wolverine. Because who really believes that Wolverine is dead and gone? That's the problem with popular characters. They might get killed only to be brought back from death (which has happened with Batman three or four times since 2000). 

Barely recommended--it looks great but it doesn't read great.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 7 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 7: Mayor Murdock written by Charles Soule, art by Mike Henderson, and color by Matt Milla

The Hand attacks New York City left and right, including shooting a million arrows into Mayor Wilson Fisk.Through a legal fluke Matt Murdock is now the mayor. At the time of the mayoral attack, Matt is fighting as Daredevil and has landed in police custody. He manages to get out of that and into City Hall. He starts directing the civic response as he also tries to participate in the street fighting. Matt calls on Foggy Nelson to be his chief of staff, freeing himself for more time on the street. The Hand's boss, The Beast, is in the city for a specific purpose. As a bonus, the chaos feeds its desire for fear and panic. The story makes a bunch of twists and turns, some very outlandish, as it makes its way to a happy-ish ending.

Unfortunately, some of the surprises are completely out of left field and come off like Deus Ex Machina stuff. I laughed at the more preposterous moments but I am not sure I was supposed to. After the dramatic build up, the creators had a hard time bringing things back down to the status quo. I was less impressed with this volume than the previous ones but will still go on.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 6 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 6: Mayor Fisk written by Charles Soule, art by Stefano Landini and Ron Garney, and color by Matt Milla

Having returned to New York from an extended Asian adventure, Matt Murdock discovers that Wilson Fisk, the very villain named "Kingpin," has become the mayor of New York City. If that wasn't bad enough, Fisk asks Murdock to be his deputy mayor! Of course he buries Murdock in paperwork, having an aide read out all of the previous administration's policies and procedures (many volumes!). If that wasn't bad enough, the serial killer Muse escapes from prison and returns to Manhattan. Of course he starts doing his "art" again, often using human remains for his creations. He makes a lot of murals of New York superheroes (Spider-man, The Punisher, Iron Fist, Daredevil, etc.). These displays enrage Fisk who wants both to confirm his legitimacy and to suppress the vigilantes in the city. Blindspot has come back from China and has some dealings with Daredevil, though he really wants to kill Muse in revenge. Matt has a huge balancing act--is it beyond his capacities?

The developments in the plot are very interesting. Half the people wonder why Murdock doesn't just kill Fisk and become mayor. The succession doesn't work that way, and Daredevil does not work that way either. Murdock wants to shift Fisk's policies or at least have an inside ear (remember his superior hearing?) on Fisk's plans. The political intrigues do a good job setting up narrative tension and some fight scenes. Two big twists come at the end making me ready for the next volume.

Recommended, highly for Daredevil fans.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 5 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 5: Supreme written by C. Soule and art by Goran Sudzuka, Alec Morgan, and Ron Garney

This volume has two stories in it. The first, the titular "Supreme," has Matt Murdock arguing his way up the legal system to allow for the testimony of masked superheroes without revealing their secret identities. He starts off by setting up a case where Daredevil can testify on behalf of the prosecution against some small-time New York thugs. The plot has a couple of actions scenes so the tension isn't completely on the legal arguments. While the characters are on board with the plan, it's not really clear that success will make a sea-change for the superhero community or the criminal community. Will criminals be more worried if the superheroes capturing them can also testify against them in court? If heroes get tied up testifying in legal cases, will that cut down on saving the world?

The second story follows up on the fate of Blindspot, the new apprentice to Daredevil from previous volumes. Blindspot's mother took him back to China deep in the mainland. Daredevil gets a message from Blindspot asking him to come, it's an emergency. Sure sounds like a trap, but Matt Murdock travels there anyway, discovering a secret, fog-enshrouded temple in the middle of a Chinese jungle. The story makes some interesting turns. It also resolves the situation (Blindspot's fate and Matt's guilt over what happened) that has been hanging for quite a while.

Daredevil is in China for a long time. On his arrival back, he discovers that Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, has been elected Mayor of New York City! That's just a tease for the next storyline.

Mildly recommended--the good art and action make up for the implausibility.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 4 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 4: Identity written by Charles Soule and art by Goran Sudzuka, Ron Garney, and Marc Laming

Daredevil goes to confession in New York City, providing the chance to tell the backstory of how his secret identity returned to secrecy. First he tells the priest of his integrated life, that is, people knowing that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. He had some benefits but there were a lot of drawbacks. People assumed his Daredevil antics were done to pad out the Matt Murdock autobiography that was coming out. His Daredevil activities were frowned upon by his fellow lawyers and caused a lot of conflict of interests in court. He managed to find a girl who loved him and they were great together, but the celebrity lifestyle was hard on both of them. The biggest problem was he didn't know exactly who he was anymore. Combining the two separate lives was hard and confusing. He moved to San Francisco and eventually had to fight The Purple Man, who wants to take over the world for his own amusement, this time by making people do what is the worst thing they could possibly do. He gets control of Daredevil and asks him, which causes a lot of reflection on Daredevil's part before he can answer.

Despite having some fundamental misconceptions about the sacrament of Confession, the story presents the backstory in an interesting way while still sorting out current issues. Matt Murdock has plenty of guilt over the injuries his protege Blindspot received at the hands of Muse, a psychotic artist. Here, Matt's given an opportunity to reflect on the situation and come to a better place, setting up a new story arc for the next volume. 

Mildly recommended--I'll keep going but I am getting less interested.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 3 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 3: Dark Art written by Charles Soule, art by Ron Garney, and color art by Matt Milla

Daredevil and his new sidekick (of sorts) Blindspot face off against a new threat--a killer who has painted a huge mural in human blood. The blood comes from over a hundred different people, one of whom is the missing niece of a city councilwoman. She pulls strings to get lawyer Matt Murdock to shut down the profiteering owner of the building where the blood mural is located. He's selling ten-dollar tickets to a willing public. Daredevil and Blindspot (who has a day job with Matt at the DA's office) have to put in a lot of overtime to work both sides of the case.

The new artist villain is an interesting twist on the usual superhero bad guy. He spouts off a lot about his importance and his works (other items show up besides the blood mural). Some of the images are a bit grim but follow the generally darker tone of Daredevil. This isn't for kids but I liked it.

Recommended.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 2 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 2: Supersonic written by Charles Soule and art by Matteo Buffagni, Goran Sudzuka, and Vanesa R. Del Rey

Elektra comes hunting for Daredevil with an outlandish claim--her child has gone missing and she thinks Daredevil is behind the mystery. Daredevil knows nothing about Elektra having a child though the age she is claiming would make it possible that he's the father. The situation is tough to sort out when the aggrieved party is throwing knives and punches as quickly and as skillfully as possible. In the next story, Matt travels incognito to Macau and participates in a Texas Hold'em tournament, though it's more of a way to get in to a high-security hotel to get highly valuable information. Spider-man has come along for the job, providing his usual banter and advice (especially about having a "black supersuit" period). In the third story, the deaf hero Echo goes to a concert where all the fans go nuts...because they are being controlled by Klaw, a former human who is now living sound and trying to convert all of Manhattan into people like him. Echo gets Daredevil to help with the situation.

All three stories are interesting but the Macau one is the best written and most entertaining. The others are good, but not as good. Soule does a great job with Matt's character and his abilities, including his lack of abilities. If you thought, "How can a blind guy play poker?", you are not alone. They make it interesting and manage to get a little character nuance out of the situation. The Elektra story is less convincing but the art is really good, with a noir-ish use of minimal colors and high contrasts. The music story tries to throw in a lot of visuals that represent the music but it makes the images more chaotic. The effort was good but the results were underwhelming.

Recommended overall.

Book Review: Daredevil: Back in Black Vol. 1 by C. Soule et al.

Daredevil, Back in Black Volume 1: Chinatown written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Ron Garney

Matt Murdock did some deal so no one remembers that he is Daredevil except for Foggy Nelson. Matt's returned from California and is fighting crime in Hell's Kitchen as Daredevil (in a black suit), so that's normal. In the unusual category: his outfit is black with red highlights, he is training an assistant named Blindspot (an illegal immigrant who wants to fight crime in his neighborhood--Chinatown), and Matt has taken a job in New York City's District Attorney office. New trouble has arisen in Chinatown. A preacher named TenFingers is gathering the illegal immigrants and promising them safety in his flock. TenFingers does indeed have ten fingers...on each hand! And he's trained some of his higher disciples to fight, so he is serious about protecting people. But he does also have a villainous agenda. Daredevil and Blindspot fight his gang at night while Matt prosecutes him by day. What could go wrong?

The story has a definite noir vibe. The art is often black and white or only a few colors with some stylized visuals, especially in the fight scenes. The tone works well for the story, which is more about the backstreets of New York and the smaller but just as important battle against evil that happens on the local stage, not the world stage. Daredevil has a lot of moral conflict--about having a sidekick/apprentice, about deceiving everyone, about living a double life that is so hard to manage. Blindspot makes an interesting parallel and contrast for Daredevil's life and problems. He's a new character (though there have been other characters named Blindspot in Marvel's history) and has enough distinctness that he's not just another version of a similar superhero.

The writing and art are very sharp and enjoyable, getting a good Daredevil story going. I hope it continues.

Recommended, highly for Daredevil fans. 

Book Review: She-Hulk Vol. 2 by C. Soule et al.

She-Hulk Volume 2: Disorderly Conduct written by Charles Soule, storytelling by Javier Pulido, and colors by Muntsa Vicente

See my review of Volume 1 here.

The legal and action adventures of She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, continues. A scientist friend who is not a superhero has developed a shrinking and enlargening ray but is having trouble monetizing it because his partner doesn't want to. The partner has also disappeared, presumably having shrunk himself. She-Hulk calls on Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man, for consultation but he insists on joining in the adventure. After that's resolved, Captain America comes to Jennifer's office with a case he needs help with. Steve Rogers is being sued for a wrongful death dating back to the 1940s. He needs representation. Too bad the lawyer for the other side is Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. If that wasn't bad enough, Cap doesn't want to settle outside of court or get off on a technicality, making things more challenging for Jennifer. This volume concludes with a wrap-up of the "Blue File" storyline.

The "Blue File" story goes very quickly, I think because the series was ending before the creators were ready. The other stories are a good blend of fun and drama. Soule does a good job with the legal situations and language. He also captures the spirit of adventure and goofy charm of She-Hulk. The art isn't great as drawings but some of the layouts are very well done.

Recommended.

Book Review: She-Hulk Vol. 1 by C. Soule et al.

She-Hulk Volume 1: Law and Disorder written by Charles Soule, storytelling by Javier Pulido and Ron Wimberly, and colors by Muntsa Vicente, Rico Renzi, and Ron Wimberly

She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, is at a prestigious law firm and it's time for annual reviews. She's put in almost 3000 billable hours. She feels she's a lock for a raise and bonus. The partners have a different perspective--they wanted her to bring in some superhero business to expand their services. She likes to keep her superhero life and her legal life separate, so they part less than amicably. The law firm lets her take one file, the Blue File about a suit against her and a few other superheroes and villains. She-Hulk sets up her own practice, hoping to get everyday clients. While she's not on other cases, she'll look into the Blue File. Unfortunately, her first client is Doctor Doom's son. He wants political asylum in America rather than go back to Latveria and be his father's puppet. No other lawyers in town want the case, probably because of looming Doombots.

The story is entertaining enough. The art is a hodge-podge. It starts okay but the second artist doesn't have a good knack for drawing people and it becomes distracting. The overarching Blue File plot does not make some forward progress but not quite enough. Maybe it will pick up in the next issue?

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters by C. Soule et al.

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters written by Charles Soule and art by Steve McNiven, Luke Ross, and David Messina

This story is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Boba Fett has flown off with Han Solo encased in carbonite. He has to make a pit stop because the carbonite is not holding together. Jabba the Hutt is annoyed by the delay and puts a bounty out on Fett, so every other bounty hunter in the galaxy is after him. If that wasn't bad enough, someone snatches the frozen Solo, so Fett has to regain his prize and fight off other greedy lowlifes.

The story suffers from a lot of problems. The biggest is continuity--how can this tale fit in with the larger stories around it?* There's hardly a break between Episodes V and VI. Any dramatic possibilities for change are not suspenseful. Readers know Fett isn't going to die and he will have Solo back in his clutches by the end. Luke has a non-confrontation with Vader. Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando try to rescue Han at a few points though failure is inevitable within this series. Another problem is that the title promises something the book doesn't deliver. Sure, Fett has run-ins with Dengar, Zuckuss, Bossk, and all those other action figures I had as a kid. But the fights are short and pre-determined (see problem #1). The situation is hardly a war between bounty hunters. The third problem is that much of the story sets up the Crimson Dawn as a new, dangerous force in the galaxy that's ready to challenge groups like the Hutts, the Rebels, and the Empire. Their introduction sets up further comic book series, making those parts read more like marketing filler than genuine storytelling. I was very unsatisfied.

Not recommended.

*Actually, this is not impossible to do. The obvious exception is Rogue One, which tells a Star Wars story where you know how it will end but the filmmakers do such a great job that it is exciting and engaging. This book needs some of that magic (or is it The Force?).

Book Review: Star Wars Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith Vol. 1 by C. Soule et al.

Star Wars Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith Volume 1: Imperial Machine written by Charles Soule, art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, and inks by Cam Smith

Picking up Darth Vader's story from the end of Episode III, Vader is sent by Emperor Palpatine in search of a weapon proper to a Sith Lord--a red lightsaber. HE can't just build a saber. Vader has to take the saber of a Jedi he has defeated. That's not easy to do since they killed almost all the Jedi. With a little research, Vader finds a hidden Jedi who has forsworn a public life. With all that free time, he has perfected his fighting skills so Vader is in for a very tough match.

The story is interesting enough, with some new mythological additions to spice up the story. While those new things don't feel too far-fetched, they do feel like they are created specifically to move the plot along. So they are not that satisfying. The art is fairly impressive. Artist Camuncoli has found a way to make Vader's mask emotionally expressive without looking distorted, a trick probably only achievable in comic-book form. The art is very enjoyable.

Mildly recommended.