Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Fornes
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 21, 2019

I have been a big fan of this series since issue #1 and while it did dip a little after the first arc, it is back in high gear now! Watching Matt fight urges in both his superhero and regular life has been great and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Well, let’s not waste any more time…let’s get to it!

The first thing that most people are going to notice when they pick up this book is Jorge Fornes’ art. I have to admit, I didn’t dig it much in Batman, but after a page or two, I thought it really fit this book and what Chip Zdarsky is doing.

The issue itself opens with Cole North visiting his partner in the hospital and things do not look good for Higgins. We see how much it is getting to Cole and how helpless he feels. Of course, we know that’s not going to last long, but the tension that Zdarsky has been building with the Cole storyline really felt like it was about to come to a head…but that’s for a little bit later.

Meanwhile, Matt is continuing to see Mindy and knowing that he is such a sucker to his Catholic guilt, I was surprised it went on this long. He does mention it, but there are bigger things going on…he has to get to the police station to see Joe, his parolee…you know, the guy whose brother Matt killed earlier in the series. It seems that while he is now sober, he got caught carrying a gun and will be going to jail because of it.

While this is all going on, Matt notices some odd things…surveillance cameras going off, people yelling, accelerated heartbeats and while he’s trying to figure things out, the reader knows what’s happening. The whole police department is setting up Cole North!

I don’t know about most readers, but I really like Cole. It’s not that Zdarsky has made him 100% likable…in fact, he was kind of the villain of this book at one point. I like him because he is a good man who has stuck to his guns even if it was not an easy thing to do. It’s made him and those he loves a target, though, and now he is fighting for his life.

We get an extended firefight between Cole and his fellow officers and if it wasn’t for Matt, he would surely have gone down. It’s a crazy turnaround for Cole when he realizes that he just was saved by Daredevil and hopefully it’s the start of the team-up I’ve been waiting for.

All is not all hunky-dory, however, as Matt is seen switching over to his new superhero persona (I call him bandana mask guy because I am not that original!) and Mindy’s Mafia family are the target of the Owl once again, though I am a bit suspicious of all that and think it’s an inside job. The book then ends with a classic cliffhanger that is awesome and has me counting the days until the next issue!

I love this book so much! Chip Zdarsky took his time a bit with this second arc and it paid off big time here. If you have even the slightest interest in Daredevil, pick this up! The art and story blend so well together and really, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time reading it and that rarely happens with me.

Final Thoughts:

Chip Zdarsky is killing it on this book…I just hope everyone survives! This issue is full of tension and over the top action and it’s all wrapped up in a smart and gripping story. Jorge Fornes’ art took a tiny bit to get used to, but after that, I was up and running. Highly recommended!

9.5/10