Comic Review: Daredevil (2019-) #1

Daredevil (2019-) #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artist: Marco Chechetto

 Hot off the heels of the Man Without Fear mini and Charles Soule’s run, Chip Zdarsky and Marco Chechetto are taking the reigns of one of the greatest superheroes ever. Five years ago, it would have been a real head-scratcher to put Zdarsky on this book. However, in recent years he has more than proven himself capable of a book like this. After his spectacular Marvel-2-in-1 and Chechetto’s Old Man Hawkeye, my expectations were admittedly somewhat bloated. Although they weren’t quite met, this issue is still worth the read.

The highlight of this issue is undoubtedly Marco Chechetto’s art. Tonally, it doesn’t just match up with the dark and gritty tone that is Daredevil’s bread and butter, it enhances it. The colors are dark and moody, but not bland or muddy. While the action isn’t plentiful, there is enough to see that it’s incredibly clear with a stellar pace. On the flipside, Chechetto does enough during the extensive dialogue sequences to make them as visually interesting as possible, with some not-so-subtle but effective symbolism through his use of shadows. Additionally, each character looks distinct, despite not wearing costumes of their own. He’s just talented enough to differentiate normal people through their faces and other features.

Great art aside, the story itself lags a bit. This issue contains many dialogue sequences back-to-back that feel tiring after a while. We open with conversation, then we flash back for more conversation, and then back to the present for more conversing. Zdarsky’s going for an introspective and reflective take, and that isn’t a bad idea. However, comics are a visual medium and I’d like to see more interesting things happening. It’d be beneficial to have the flashbacks or the present scenes be more action-packed to prevent the flashbacks from killing the pace. Instead, for the first long half of the book, I’m just wondering when Daredevil is going to punch someone. In fact, there’s a scene near the beginning of the book in which Daredevil supposedly took out a criminal, but we don’t get to see it. We instead see the aftermath, which consists of more dialogue.

Interestingly, the backup story, written and drawn by Zdarsky, is the polar opposite of the main story. It has almost no dialogue, and Zdarsky lets his art do the talking. It’s wonderful. It’s just a few pages but it’s incredibly impressive from a craft standpoint, allowing us to view an action sequence from Matt’s perspective as well as our own. This brief story is a fantastic demonstration of what makes comics unique, while the main story feels a bit like an episode of the television show.

Daredevil #1 is a potentially great book that has blemishes in the form of pacing. Regardless, it has wonderful art and is clearly very in tune with the character of Matt Murdock. While the choice in creators for this book is incredibly inspired, their potential hasn’t quite been realized yet. In time this book could become something special. Though it isn’t quite there yet, I have complete faith that it will get there.