Writer: Charles Soule / Artist: Mike Henderson / Marvel Comics
At the end of Daredevil #603, I rolled my eyes at the dramatic entrance of Matt’s badass priest to save the day. By the end of the next comic, my hardened cynical shell was melted into childlike wonder. Daredevil #604 continues Charles Soule’s story of the Hand attacking New York City as Matt Murdock unexpectedly becomes the mayor.
Comics cover such a wide set of genres that there’s something for everyone. Superheroes? Tons of them. Ninjas? Hell yea. Medieval? We got you. Political drama? You’re welcome. It wasn’t until I read this one that I appreciated how special Daredevil’s publication history has been. It’s only in a Daredevil comic that a blind, acting mayor superhero is exorcised by his priest who leads a secret organization of paladins to help him fight zombie ninjas and the reader thinks, “Oh yea, that sounds totally Daredevil”.
This comic hits a lot of soft spots for me. Daredevil often has a spiritual tone, his Catholicism being a prominent part of his character (I mean, who doesn’t love a solid confessional scene?). His character isn’t always annoyingly referencing his religion or the Bible in his dialogue, which makes sense because the people he interacts with don’t share his beliefs. Every once in a while, a character will reference it, and it reads so smooth.
Father Jordan exorcises the Beast’s toxin from Matt and references Acts casually. We get a little history of the “Order of the Dragon” seeing their battles over the centuries with vampires, zombies, Nordic monsters, and the like. The accompanying spread is my visual favorite for this comic. Particularly interesting is the evolution of the soldier’s uniforms from the 15th century to the 20th. The modern costumes are sleek as hell, somewhere between Beetle and the White Power Ranger. The peak of this book’s action is a fight between Daredevil and the Ordo Draconum vs the Hand and the Beast. Mike Henderson and Matt Milla on colors create a wonderful fight scene. The blue night sky and the toxic green mist on the ground blend into turquoise. The colorful battle hits its own peak as Daredevil decides to don a sword as his weapon of choice.
This book continues to excite and impress me between the striking story directions Soule makes and the beautiful scenes Henderson and Milla craft. Next month promises to intrigue as readers say, “Oh yea, he WAS here all along!” See you then.
8 “Van Helsing References” out of 10
Reading Daredevil? Find BNP’s other reviews of the series here.
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