Daredevil

Daredevil has always been one of my favorite superheroes, and I find it almost criminal how little attention he sometimes gets. Ever since Mark Waid started his run with the character, I've been loving every panel of it, and while this issue pulls away from the story arc it has slowly created, this standalone issue is more than good enough to forget about it, just for this month.

The first thing i have to say is that this creative team makes great use of the fact that a comic book is a visual medium. This issue focuses on a school of blind children Murdoch is doing volunteer work with, but I don't think there's a single moment where he expressly states that they are blind: that is communicated to us through subtle things, such as a cane in the background, or the children breaking off sticks to use as make-shift one, or the fact that they all have their eyes covered by their hats, or other visual cues meant to show rather than tell. Not only that, but the art also helps express the danger they are in, and how some scenes can be conveyed without any dialogue at all, yet we all understand what they are trying to do and accomplish.

The story also remains simple, yet also at the same time, powerful. Good ol' DD gets another bout of bad luck, gets in a serious accident, and has to save himself and the group he has found himself with. There's no action, no antagonist (other than whatever god has decided to make Murdoch's life hell), just a simple survival story that is filled with drama and tragedy. The focus is on Matt and his struggles, and I feel more than any issue of Mark Waid's run this issue approaches subtly how crappy Daredevil's life was and how that has affected him emotionally, perhaps even suggesting his new, happy go lucky personality is a defensive front?

The fact that this series hasn't become the biggest selling thing Marvel is putting out is nothing short of a crime, and I hope Waid continues to release such a fantastic series for years to come. Hell, it'd be a dream come true if he did like Bendis with the Avengers or Geoff John's and Green Lantern and committed to this series full time. time will tell.

The Good: Daredevil probably has some of the best covers of any marvel comic currently running. They're always so damn artistic and minimalistic. They're not trying to be every other cover, they're trying to be unique; and they're succeeding. This cover so perfectly captures the beauty and solitude of the winter season.
I love the subtleties in which Pablo Rivera portrays Daredevil's super hearing. I don't remember what the technical term for it is, and I don't care. The point is, Rivera does a perfect job showing it, and Mark Waid does a perfect job writing the subtleties of it.
This is possibly the best use of a 'See later, then earlier, then back to later which becomes now' pacing. The flashback is simply to showcase so interesting character development, along with Matt having fun with proving he's not Daredevil, and it's set off by him hitting his head transitioning back as suddenly as it began. But the important thing is that nothing's spoiled because the flashback isn't meant to fill in all the gaps, it's just a framing device.
There's nobody to fight here. It's Daredevil vs. Nature. This is a story you rarely see in a superhero comic, because most heroes have powers or contacts with powers; but Daredevil is on his own here. Well, he's also got eight completely freaked out little children to take care of. Every little decision Daredevil has to make is key, he has to use not only his super senses, but also his courtroom knowledge of psychology. He has to think about how his choices will impact himself AND the children. And he doesn't always make the right decisions. Daredevil frequently makes bad decisions and has to learn from them and fix his mistakes. And in the end he realizes he was trying too hard to be strong for these kids, they have the potential to be strong all by themselves.
Overall this is an incredibly humanizing story. It's so grippingly real, but so very superhero. It's a superhero in real situation, but not an everyday situation. I winced at Daredevil's injury far more than I do most, because it was something so easy to identify with, very naturally grotesque that you can genuinely imagine how much it must have hurt.
 
The Bad: As much as I appreciate subtlety, and this one might be on me, it flew over my head that the kids were blind up until the end. I kept wondering "Isn't he worried they're going to see him when he puts on his costume!? These kids know they left with Matt Murdoch, aren't they going to be confused when suddenly they're with Daredevil?" And I feel like this could've been brought up when Matt mentioned this trip to D.A. McDuffie, School For the Blind. As it was I was confused as to why he was taking those particular kids on this trip. But maybe that was just me missing the clues, focused more on other parts.
 
In Conclusion: 5/5
Daredevil may not have been fighting any supervillains, but he was given one of the hardest challenges a man of his talents can be given. It's always an intereting story when we see heroes failing, but not in an overdramatic way. Daredevil failed a lot here, but he kept right on trying again and again, he wasn't going to let these kids freeze to death. Those are the qualities that make a true hero.

Matt has taken some blind students on a field trip up to the mountains, but when a simple accident tears their bus in half, he has to make some hard decisions to get these kids back home safely.

The Good

This was probably my favorite issue of Daredevil so far, for a couple of reasons. First, we get to see a side of Matt that isn't shown very often. An extremely caring, protective and vulnerable side. Obviously, he cares about the clients he works with, but the way he encouraged the kids and worked towards their safety was on a whole 'nother level; they were the most important thing in the world to him. There is one scene where one of the children gets separated from the group and when Matt realizes it, he yells out the child's name and you can just see and feel how scared and worried he is. Second, is how unpredictable this issues is. I didn't know what was going to happen to Matt and these poor kids, and for that reason I was actually scared for them. Rarely does that happen, especially with some kids that were just introduced. Lastly, the art. You really can't say enough about it, but the thing I enjoyed the most is how every detail is taken care of. Specifically in this issue is how cold the characters are when they are lost in the mountains.The red noses of the children, Matt's frozen boogers. Everything about the art gives you the sense that these people are freezing and it's a powerful way to evoke emotion in the reader.

The Bad

There doesn't appear to be any effects from Dardevil's last move in the previous issue. It was a pretty big and important decision he made so hopefully they will address it and not just forget about it.

Verdict

If you are not reading this series, YOU NEED TO START. ( I think there is a hardcover coming out in January, so you have no excuses.) I have always liked Daredevil, but now I love him. Simple as that.

Matt Murdock se encuentra en el espíritu navideño pero no antes tiene que sacar a unos niños ciegos del peligro cuando una gira por la naturaleza toma un giro inoportuno. Este issue es bueno para leer de principio a fin. No hay necesidad de saber de lo que ha pasado anteriormente en los issues pasado. La historia es sencilla y se puede leer en cualquier momento. Los diálogos son excelentes. Las cajas le trae esa narración que algunas veces tratan de implementar pero Waid las escribió de una manera creativa. El arte hace su trabajo de una manera excelente. Pero el uso de los colores le da significado a lo que pasa, además que los mismos sobresalen. Este issue no tiene peleas, sangre y demuestra que para contar una historia no es necesaria la violencia.