Writer: Jason Aaron, Chip Zdarsky, Josh Trujillo, Ram V.
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino, Joe Quinones, Ricardo Lopez-Ortiz, Cafu
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: April 17, 2019

I have to be honest, the amount of tie-ins to the War of the Realms Event has my head spinning a bit. That coupled with the cold hard fact that I am a lazy fella has made some of these books a mystery to me until I get them in my hands. This is one of those books. That’s not always a bad thing, though, as it opens up the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised…something that rarely happens with me. Is this one of those few and far between cases and does it continue making me more pumped for the WOR than I ever thought I’d be? That’s a lot to put on one book, but let’s find out…

This is an anthology book with four stories in it and I was surprised to see a Jason Aaron/Andrea Sorrentino Daredevil story starting things off. I am a huge Sorrentino fan so I was already pumped just looking at the first page! The best part is, Jason Aaron didn’t disappoint on his end either!

The issue starts with a flashback from years ago of a meeting between Daredevil and Thor. It’s all about Thor being a “god” and how that doesn’t work well with the Catholic hero who dresses as a devil. Thor gets the best lines here and while it just feels like a bit of a throwaway encounter at first, I really liked it. After another brief flashback showing the beginning of Malekith’s attack, we see what is going on in New York now and it’s not very pretty.

Daredevil was left behind when Doctor Strange teleported heroes and civilians out of NYC and he is now trying to save and protect what is left of his city. We get to see him kicking frost giant butt which is awesome and even more so with the incredible art on display!

What is also on display is Daredevil 2.0 who is now pretty much a god and it ties so well into the beginning bit with Thor. It also has me so excited to see more of this sort of thing going on in this event as a whole. I need more of this story and don’t want to wait a month to get it!

The next story is by Josh Trujillo with art by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz and this was an okay diversion with the Warriors Four (Three) teaming up with Cloak and Dagger to take it to the streets. It’s all very quick and has a touch of humor and I do like Ortiz’s art, which did fit the tone of this one-shot.

The next story is by Ram V and Cafu (best creative team names ever!) and it features the breakout hit team-up from WOR #2…Wolverine and Punisher! It’s more of a feel-good tale with some kids helping Wolverine fight trolls and dark elves. Wolverine preaches about sticking by your friends and then it ends with Logan and Frank trash talking in a friendly way. I could pretty much take it or leave it and while the message was nice enough, I wasn’t expecting a After School Special vibe here.

The issue ends with a Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones Howard the Duck story and while I didn’t expect this either, I smiled when I turned to it! It’s a crazy team-up story with Howard and crew saving a very rich dog from being trampled by Frost Giants. It has a twist ending that made me laugh and the whole thing is quick and funny and a cool way to end the book.

Final Thoughts:

Come for the Aaron/Sorrentino Daredevil story and stay for whatever else you find interesting here. Overall, this anthology comic was hit or miss, but I wasn’t mad I picked it up and even got a few surprise chuckles by the end.

8.0/10