collects issues 15-20
by Soule, Sudzuka, Panosian, and Garney
"Identity" contains two three-issue storyarcs: "The Seventh Day," and "Purple," both very pensive and introspective stories for Matt. As he struggles with the fallout of previous issue, he weighs the "worth" of Daredevil against the pain he inflicts on others. It's all framed as a conversation with a Catholic priest, and the flashbacks and forths between that and Matt's brushes with death leading to a fight with Bullseye, but there isn't very much consequence to it. We don't get to hear how Bullseye came back (From Waid/Samnee's storyarc in DD #25), and Matt easily takes care of Bullseye.
The next storyarc is about Matt's encounter with the Purple Children, and how he got his secret identity back. Color me impressed at this retcon: since the story is from Matt's point of view, he makes for an unreliable narrator, when he recounts to the priest that the details are fuzzy to him. Whether he actually visited ex-lover Kirsten while under the influence of Kilgrave, or whether he dreamed it, for example. It's such a sly, comic book-y way to explain the restoration of Matt's secret identity while being able to leave some details ambiguous.
Sudzuka pencils the first half while Garney pencils/inks the second. I've praised his drawings of Daredevil before, and they're just as good here -- but there are instances where the pencilling is rough and unpolished, but they decided to go with it anyways. Not what I'd expect in a finished Marvel comic book.
I think there was a lot of overwriting to compensate for the flashbacks, which makes this collection weaker. There's a lot of telling rather than showing, and when there are attempts at honoring the transition that Matt's life went through, it's over broad strokes of explanation that do the job, without much of a story. When Matt tells Kirsten that he has to leave,
What I had to do to really come to grips with that resolution, was understand that these stories weren't meant to give us a previous writer's Matt Murdock. If you wanted those, just go and reread those. These comics are meant to give us Soule's Matt Murdock, a man who loves being Daredevil despite the guilt he feels over how it affects the people he loves. A man who swears he has a way to end crime in New York, using his guile with the rules of law. That's the Matt we're going to see, and that's as "true" a Matt Murdock as Mark Waid's Matt Murdock.
by Soule, Sudzuka, Morgan, Garney, and Milla
collects issues 21-28
Just how frequently is DD being published? There are three (three!) pencillers on the series, and it's been that way ever since Volume 2. It does awful things to the collection, but you wouldn't think it looking at this one. Issues 21-25 tell the story of "Supreme," and are penciled exclusively by Alec Morgan. Think courtroom encounters of the superheroic kind -- Matt's got a plan to get rid of crime in New York, and he uses his position at the A.D.A to do it, court by court, word by word. Each issue is a meticulous step towards the Supreme Court, with superhero action in between. With Soule's law expertise, it really reads like a courtroom drama that happens to have Daredevil, and Alec Morgan's subdued lines let you breathe the story in through the words. Great pairing for this storyarc, with huge implications for the legal world of the Marvel Universe. You can tell Soule put his best work into this one.
Issues 26-28 comprise "Land of the Blind," a three-part action thriller against "The Beast," a mystical creature that gives the ninja clan, the Hand, its power, as well as Tenfingers, from the very first storyarc of Soule's "Chinatown." Blindspot's loyalties are put to the test and, ultimately, he chooses the right thing. It's typical superhero fare, with one wrinkle: Sam Chung (Blindspot) gets on his soapbox for a while to figure the math on the number of geniuses and brilliant people that the American immigration system neglects, illegal or otherwise, explaining the title: "Land of the free? Land of the BLIND," he says. Soule is showing his hand here, wearing his beliefs on his sleeve about immigration. Which I don't mind, Marvel has always had room in their comics regarding social justice topics, so while slightly jarring, it is OK in my book.
BONUS PANEL: Daredevil versus the Hand, in a cool splash-ish-page of dodging ninja stars:
After "Supreme," they folded Daredevil back to its original numbering, and I started collecting the series in single issues. Check it out!
Daredevil #595, "Mayor Fisk" Pt One, Pt Two, Pt Three
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