Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 2 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 2 written by Mark Waid, art by Paolo Rivera, Joe Rivera, Emma Rios, Kano, and Khoi Pham

Daredevil winds up with a hard drive full of information on five different crime organizations: A.I.M., Hydra, Agence Byzantium, The Secret Empire, and Black Spectre. They naturally want it but any one individual organization would have great leverage over the other four. While they work out a deal to cooperate, Matt Murdock gets on with his life.

After a one-off adventure where Murdock saves and is saved by a bunch of kids on a winter bus trip, the action starts in full force. Spider-man comes by asking for legal help--his friend/former lover Black Cat is in trouble. She's a master thief and is accused of stealing some high tech equipment from the outfit where Peter Parker works. The slip-up that got her busted seems fake. Daredevil and Spider-man investigate, though they don't need to break Black Cat out of custody. She does just fine for herself. The three work together to figure out what's going on. 

Their adventure is cross-cut with a subterranean horror that Matt has to deal with--the cemetery where his father is buried has been graverobbed...from underneath! What sinister plan does the Mole Man have for the dozens of coffins his minions have stolen?

The stories are interested and Daredevil's new, more light-hearted characterization is fun. Matt attends a Christmas party with an "I'm not Daredevil" sweater, still trying to get out from under his identity being revealed. He doesn't find as much humor in situations as Spider-man does (but who can match Spidey in that department?), but he isn't mopey or conflicted like a lot modern superheroes. He still deals with serious issues without being glum.

Recommended.

Book Review: Pretty Deadly Vol. 2 by K. S. DeConnick et al.

Pretty Deadly Volume 2: The Bear written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and art and covers by Emma Rios

After Volume 1, the story jumps ahead to World War I with an elderly African-American woman on her deathbed. All of her family and friends have come to visit except for one son, Cyrus, who is off in Europe fighting in the trenches. The old lady convinces Death's agent, a guy named Fox, to delay a month to give Cyrus a chance to make it home and say goodbye. Turns out Fox is an old flame for the old lady, so he not only agrees to the month delay but he actively campaigns to get Cyrus back home. The narrative shifts to the World War I battlefield. There, Ginny and Sissy (two of the main characters from Volume 1) are in pursuit of Cyrus. They also want to take out the Death agent who is causing so much carnage during World War I. Can a senseless war end with the banishment of Death's agent?

The story in this issue is simpler, more direct, and more artistic. With less plot to get through, the artist has more room to show the plot and themes of the book on big panels and splash pages. The big images also give an epic feel to the more intimate story of a son trying to get home to say goodbye to his momma.

I found the story enjoyable but not as good as the first volume, which was able to pack in more mythology. Also, the theme of Ginny being a sort of avenging angel (which I found the most interesting part of the story) is dropped. This book contains some fun supplemental materials about the creation and the art of the story.

Book Review: Pretty Deadly Vol. 1 by K. S. DeConnick et al.

Pretty Deadly Volume 1: The Shrike script by Kelly Sue DeConnick, art and cover by Emma Rios, colors by Jordie Bellaire, letters by Clayton Cowles

Kelly Sue DeConnick crafts a new myth set in the American Old West! A young girl in a vulture cloak and an old blind man wander from town to town as storytellers. Their main story is about the Mason Man and Beauty, who get married. Mason Man is jealous and locks Beauty in a tower. Death eventually comes to take Beauty but is enchanted with her and she has a child by him before she dies. Death raises the child as Ginny, a reaper of vengeance who may be called by anyone in need.

The girl and the blind man have a run-in with Johnny, who gives the girl something before they flee the town. Later, a woman comes after Johnny looking for a journal. He doesn't have it so she shoots him. The chase is on, though people are not necessarily who they appear to be (hint, the myth is truer than true, no surprise there).

The story takes its time setting up characters. The story slowly reveals of how everyone is related to everyone else and who has what roles in the Mason Man/Beauty story. As a mature Western it is a bit bloody in the violence and has some nudity and sex. Just because it is mythological in character does not mean it is meant for children! I found it engaging and am looking forward to more.

Book Review: Captain Marvel Vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight by Kelly Sue DeConnick et al.

Captain Marvel Volume 1: In Pursuit of Flight written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, art by Dexter Soy and Emma Rios with others

Earth's Mightiest Hero, Ms. Marvel (real name Carol Danvers), got her superpowers from a Kree device that makes wishes come true. At the time, Carol was a pilot in the United States Air Force (with the rank of colonel) who wanted to be an astronaut and have the powers of the alien who was attempting to save her, Captain Mar-Vell. When the machine exploded, she was granted Mar-Vell's near invulnerability and super-strength, which among other things let her fly into outer space unharmed. She fought alongside Mar-Vell on Earth and in the cosmos. He eventually died and in this issue, Captain America convinces her to accept Captain Marvel's legacy by taking his name (she's already wearing a new costume more like his). She's reluctant until he dares her, which pushes her into the decision.

Another of Carol's heroes, legendary pilot Helen Cobb, dies and leaves her plane to Carol with a mysterious note. Carol tries to replicate one of Helen's many altitude records in the plane but doing so sends her back to World War II. She battles alongside the Banshee Squadron (an all-female group of US Airforce pilots) against some Japanese soldiers who have Kree ships. She makes another time hop to 1960s Texas where a young Helen Cobb and some female friends are trying to become astronauts but NASA is reluctant to train women. Captain Marvel has plenty of opportunities to change history, but will she?

Time travel stories are a bit of a pet peeve for me. Often, they are incoherent, sometimes blatantly so. The more consistent ones are better (like the first Terminator film), though the best are stories that don't focus on the time travel so much as another interesting story (like Back to the Future films throwing Marty in with various generations of his family). This book falls in the later category. Carol discovers bits of the Kree device which made her superpowered and assumes they were scattered through time when the device exploded. As she's trying to undo that damage she has the chance to undo the accident that gave her powers, but does she really want to do that? The time travel is just there to provide an interesting existential crisis for Carol along with some fun adventures and an interesting puzzle to solve.

Carol Danvers is an interesting character. She has a gung-ho attitude and is able both to work together with other heroes (super or regular) and to go it alone if the situation requires it. She'll take the time to think out a problem but is decisive under time constraints. Her main interest is helping others and she isn't afraid to sacrifice herself in doing so. She makes a great role model.

She's a great character and this is a fun story, so I recommend it heartily.