Tag: daredevil

Batman and Nightwing #23 and Daredevil #30 Both Pick of the Week!

Batman and Nightwing #23 and Daredevil #30 are both Pick of the Week for me. Both stories were so strong in a similar way that it was hard to choose between the two. I tried flipping a coin, but my daughter ran into the room screaming “It hit the floor, it is mine,” and ran off with the quarter before I could see which way it landed.

Daredevil #30 and Batman and Nightwing #23 both made Pick of the Week!

Daredevil #30 and Batman and Nightwing #23 both made Pick of the Week!

Both are Team-Ups

Batman and Nightwing #23 obviously teams Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson (I will never get used to calling him Richard), but this issue could also have been entitled Batman and Alfred. I can’t go too much into that as it would give away parts of the story. On the flip, Daredevil #30 teams Daredevil and the Silver Surfer.

Both Contained Stories

Both issues are fairly contained stories. While both draw on elements from past issues in the series (in the case of the Batman title, it pulls from other Batman Family titles as well). Both could be considered as issues which could stand alone from the rest of their prospective runs as they both have a set beginning, middle, and end.

Contained Stories Rare

In today’s market, it is very difficult to find fully-contained stories. Many issues might have a beginning , but you have to wait until the next month for the middle and a few more months for the end of a story. Once arc storytelling took over, many comic book creators and publishers apparently forgot that you can tell a story in one issue. Both Batman and Nightwing #23 and Daredevil #30 were fresh air.

Would Have Purchased Both in Graphic Novel Form

Both Batman and Nightwing #23 and Daredevil #30 are tight stories which pack a ton of information into a limited number of printed pages. Both stories are strong enough, though, that they could have been expanded into their own graphic novels. This is a compliment to the writer of Batman and Nightwing #23, Peter J. Tomassi, and to the writers of Daredevil #30, Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. It is a very difficult task for a writer to create a story which leave you wanting more while satisfying you with what you received at the same time.

Both Have Had Pick of the Week Status

Both the Batman and Robin title and Daredevil have had Pick of the Week status in the past. This should tell you something. If you are not reading these titles, you should be.  Batman and Nightwing #23 and Daredevil #30 are perfect spots to check out these titles if you have not.

Mark Waid’s Daredevil #29 is My Pick of the Week!

With many big issues coming out this week, Daredevil #29 is my Pick of the Week! Batman, Detective Comics, and Flash all have annuals, but paled in comparison. Series such as The Wake, Pandora, and Uncanny X-Men all come out this week, but fell short of what was needed for this week’s Pick of the Week. None could compare with the connection I had with Daredevil #29.

Daredevil #29 is my Pick of the Week!

Daredevil #29 is my Pick of the Week!

When Did Larry Start Reading Daredevil?

For weeks, Steve (from our Detroit area comic book store) has laid little hints and nudges here and there for me to give Daredevil a chance. Over and over again, I told him that I had never been able to connect with Daredevil. There was nothing wrong with the character; I just never had an interest in him. I never made a connection with Daredevil. The fact that Daredevil is being written my Mark Waid finally led me into picking up issue #28. Luckily for me, it appears to be the beginning of an arc.

Larry Likes Mark Waid?

This might come as a shock that I really like the work of one of the greatest proponents of digital comics. I have talked with Mark Waid a few times this year, and disagree with his stance on digital comics, but that does not take away from the fact that I respect his work, and I respect him as a person. I put aside my disagreement with him on this major comic book market topic because his body of work includes many of my favorite storylines. He is a down-to-Earth guy who wants the best for the comic book industry, readers, and collectors.

Sons of the Serpent

Some of you know that I was a big fan of the Defenders when I was a kid. One of the memorable storylines from that title was when they faced the Sons of the Serpent, the Aryan organization which had placed agents in all walks of life. As I got older, I sought out other comics in which the Son of the Serpent were used (The Avengers, Captain America, etc.). I have always liked how Marvel used an Aryan group as an enemy to teach that racism is wrong, but thought they fell short. The problem is that the creators never used them as the long-term menace the group could have become. The Sons of the Serpent would be declared as far-reaching and powerful and then gone in a few issues. The organization ended up not being as powerful as the creators originally suggested, and I felt this was a disservice to the readers who wanted their favorite superheroes to battle the most powerful of foes.

Back to Daredevil #29

If you read Daredevil #28, you know that the Sons of the Serpent are back. The come back in a big way in Daredevil #29, and the organization shows how it can infiltrate society. There is even a reference picture to the Defenders fighting the Sons of the Serpent from their first arc with them many years ago. In this issue we find Daredevil battling against the Sons of the Serpent, and find ourselves asking how powerful the organization really is, and wondering what struggles he will face in attempting to cut the serpent’s head off once and for all. Daredevil #28 and Daredevil #29 appears to be the start of the first Sons of the Serpent storyline in which the organization is shown as a powerful force to be reckoned with.

My Connection

Connecting with a comic is the most important factor in choosing my Pick of the Week. Maybe I connected with Daredevil #29 because of the Defenders reference which took me back to my youth. Maybe it was because it used an evil organization which I always believed Marvel creators came up short with. Either way, the issue kept me turning the pages with anticipation. As I read the last page, I found myself looking forward to the next issue. This is all due to Mark Waid’s writing and the ability he has which I just discovered. Daredevil #29 made me realize Mark Waid has the ability to get me to care about Daredevil for the first time in my three decades of reading comics.