Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

Daredevil #71 - 75

By Kevin Scott
August 30, 2005 - 13:32

DAREDEVIL #71 - 75 “DECALOGUE”

The wait is over! Exactly what happened during Daredevil’s year-long reign as the new Kingpin? His historic cleaning of Hell’s Kitchen will finally be revealed in bloody detail. Framed around the Ten Commandments, this epic story-arc is like nothing you’ve seen before!

Sometimes a writer does something, something at such a level, you wonder how can they top that. In the annual of time, I don’t know how Golden Age will be judged, but it was, for me, an amazing story. So how do you follow that, you can’t can you. Well, Bendis is definitely wearing grown man trousers!
This story is like, WOW, it’s definitely at a different level. It’s a group Hell Kitchen residents sitting in a church, having a self help type meeting about how Daredevil has affected their lives. Bendis does a fantastic job of making these characters, who in all likelihood we won’t see again, more than just a momentary blimp. You become invested in why they are there. You want to know their stories and how Daredevil affected their lives. The power of the story comes from the conviction in which it is conveyed. This is dark, gritty after watershed business. Its an under belly that is highly believable. Straight away you get sucked in with the blonde girl’s story and by the end of issue #74, damn!!! And the last issue, Bendis is one sick cat! It’s nice to see how everything affects Matt, though and the ending makes you think on several levels.

Maleev, with every issue, hell, with every stroke of his pencil, elevates himself above average! His work is truly captivating. You become apart of the story, as he breathes so much life into each page. In issue #71, when the young blonde lady is telling her story, the emotion just jumps off at you from the page. And her story itself, he captures the empty, detachment perfectly. With the whole story, the level of realism is amazing. And coupled with the transition in feel when things move to a flashback sequence. You have to give a lot of props to Dave Stewart, for his moody atmospheric colour pallet.

Rating: A- /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12