Daredevil #606 // Review
Now that Wilson Fisk has been returned to his position as Mayor of New York and Matt Murdock has quit the position of Deputy Mayor, things move back to relatively normal for Daredevil. Right? Writer Charles Soule and his art partner Phil Noto have returned for Daredevil #606 to show that things are never normal for ol’ Hornhead.
With the conclusion to Mayor Murdock, Matt Murdock overheard a stunning revelation: Mayor Wilson Fisk rigged the election. Matt has decided to dig deep into his resources, pulling in from fan-favorite C and D listers to gather information on the Mayor. But he’s not stopping there: Matt unleashes his secret informant on the underworld, his long lost “brother” Mike Murdock!
Soule has an uphill battle, following up on the excellent Mayor Murdock story. Luckily for the reader, Soule seems to have a plan and is executing it wonderfully. He is obviously drawing from current events and controversies in the American political system, and downsizing it to New York, but it really works. In order to meet the unspoken action quota for a superhero comic, Soule also pens in a fantastic fight with Hammerhead. The subsequent monologue that comes from Daredevil is actually one of the best in the comic in a long time, speaking about how even the most common person on the street can be a hero as well. The comic plays the current event usage subtly, but it’s not hard to miss when you know what to look for, and makes for a great comic package.
Going along with some great writing,there is also some fantastic artwork from Phil Noto. The opening scene with Hammerhead busting open a bank vault is fantastic on all levels. From the scummy metal making up the bank vault, to the shadows covering Hammerhead, to the colors used for the explosion itself, Noto is hammering away on all cylinders. Noto even has this great way of showing action in the fight, penciling in every stage of a dodge roll Daredevil pulls off, and making it look like a massive blur of motion despite being on a static page. The non-action content is also great, with some solid body language on the side of Matt Murdock, but he does rely on some cut-and-paste for talking head scenes that is a little distracting.
The real gem is the cliffhanger, however. With such a mind-bending conclusion staring the reader in the face, long-standing readers of Daredevil are left with many questions as to what the devil Soule has planned. Buckle up, the crazy coaster is going uphill for another run.
