To Hell with the Devil
As you can see by the cover, Daredevil visits the Savage Land in this issue. And, once again, removing Daredevil from Hell's Kitchen proves to be a mistake.
The new artist beginning with this issue is John Romita, previously primarily known for his work on romance comics, which is probably why when the comic opens with an emotional scene of Matt Murdock leaving behind a pensive Karen Page in the arms of Foggy Nelson, Stan Lee felt the need to plaster a giant 'Special Bullpen Bulletin!!' smack dab in the middle of the page to alert us to the fact that, while it appears to be a soap opera, not to worry, it will be filled with action starting on page 3. What a profound lack of credit to the readers!
Anyway, Matt decides to get his mind off things by taking a cruise. After returning to his apartment and reflecting on things for a panel, he realizes that he's going to be late and miss the boat. So he turns into Daredevil to race across town to make his ship. Not really a great use of Daredevil's powers, and it seems like this sequence was merely thrown in to demonstrate that Romita could in fact do action - and possibly to liven things up by editorial request.
In one of the most contrived moments in Daredevil to date, once Matt Murdock boards the ship, a concerned passenger asks the captain if they need to fear a pirate attack. The captain scoffs at this, so of course, 2 panels later the ship is attacked by pirates. Ugh! Really? You had to broadcast that ahead of time?
The pirate - with the incredibly original name 'The Plunderer', decides not to plunder the ship after all, but merely to take Daredevil hostage. He then converts his ship to submarine mode and sets off for his base of 'Skull Island' - which happens to be in the Savage Land.
Skull Island, which is apparently important to Ka-Zar as well, has been attacked by savages who set it ablaze. When the pirates land there, they immediately run afoul of a mad Ka-zar. From then on it becomes the Ka-Zar show, with Daredevil relegated to guest star status in his own book.
Look, I dig pirate stories, lost worlds, and pulp adventure - but this just isn't Daredevil. It's an adventure that would be better suited for Hawkeye or Captain America, or maybe even the Hulk. So, despite some great art, good action sequences, and a few moments of genuine tension - I have to give it a thumbs down.
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