Comic Review: Daredevil (2019-) #9

Daredevil #9

Marvel Comics

Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artist: Lalit Kumar Sharma

Chip Zdarsky’s tale of Matt Murdock’s post-Daredevil life finds itself twisting and turning in interesting ways this week. After an assassination attempt broke up last issue’s intense dinner party debate, Matt Murdock’s relationship with Mindy Libris continues to deepen. The moral conflict caused by her connection to the notorious Libris crime family is a classic Daredevil dilemma. Meanwhile, Detective Cole North encounters conflict in his anti-vigilante mission. This is a story of two men trying to do good in a corrupt city, through very different methods…

The last issue was very dialogue-heavy, but they made it work. At the start of the issue, I was worried we would have two conversational issues in a row, but thankfully Zdarsky is smarter than that. A fascinating conversation between Matt and Reed Richards opens the issue, followed by more scenes from Matt’s personal life. The issue then kicks into high gear about halfway through. Zdarsky has a good sense of rising action. He takes us from dense conversation to snappier dialogue, to brutal action. This all flows nicely and culminates in a final page that is sure to drive Matt further into emotional turmoil.

Unfortunately, the art doesn’t quite live up to the story. Sharma is great with facial expressions, as I noted in my #7 review. That served him well the last issue and does so again in the first half of this issue. There’s a fantastic-looking scene in the rain, but the action that follows leaves a lot to be desired. The fight choreography feels off, and characters often look like they’re floating. The strange physicality takes me out of the book. It lessens an otherwise solid issue.

Java Tartaglia’s colours remain excellent, adding a lot of atmospheres. He has a knack for keeping different environments distinct. Jay Leisten’s inks shine in the fight scene too, providing the right amount of dramatic shading without looking overdone. And once again I must pay special commendation to Clayton Cowles’ lettering. He plays with the size of dialogue boxes to give a great impression of Matt’s enhanced hearing.

He continues to keep things interesting, even when the art isn’t always up to the task. Jorge Fornes is coming in for the finale of this arc, so I’m excited to see what he brings to the book. Overall, this is another solid issue of Zdarksy’s Daredevil run, and I remain invested in the story he’s telling.

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