Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Francesco Mobili, Victor Olazaba, Mattia Iacono, and VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 23, 2020

Whenever a new Daredevil issue comes out, I have been using this opening paragraph to tell everyone how much I love this book. I won’t do that this time. Nope, I will not tell you Daredevil is my favorite book in all of comics or that Chip Zdarsky is one of my favorite writers. I mean, I would sound like a broken record, right? I also think I’ve been a bit too pushy lately, so I won’t tell you that you’re a fool if this book isn’t on your pull list. I don’t know you, so that wouldn’t be right. What I am saying is, I’m just going to review this issue of Daredevil, my favorite book in comics right now, by one of my favorite writers, which everyone should be reading.

A lot has happened in this book lately. Hell’s Kitchen is a mess thanks to the Stromwyns, Typhoid Mary is back on the scene, Mayor Wilson Fisk hasn’t been himself, and Matt Murdock has turned himself in for murder. The last part is the big focus here, but Zdarsky weaves everything together, and that’s one of the things I love the most about this run.

The issue opens with Foggy and Matt downtown getting booked. I say Matt, but it’s Daredevil, and Chip does an excellent job of recapping and explaining how the legal system works in the MCU when masked heroes are involved. Secret identities remain secret, and while that makes sense for comic book reasons, not everyone is thrilled about it, especially Mayor Fisk. Zdarsky also uses the beginning to show that heightened hearing isn’t the most incredible power when it just lets you hear all the shade thrown your way.

After a fast-track preliminary hearing, Matt is out on bail (I kind of think the secret identity thing makes you a flight risk!), and while Foggy plans strategy, Daredevil is off to kick ass, take names and prepare for the worst.

While I never thought of Matt and Tony Stark being best friends, Matt needs a good guy who is filthy rich, and Tony fits the bill. In case Daredevil does go to jail (and I 100% think he will), Matt wants Tony to spend billions to keep the Stromwyns from buying up Hell’s Kitchen, and while that’s crazy, it’s so crazy it just may work! Actually, Matt guilts Tony into doing it, and while we leave it with an “I’ll think about it,” I think Tony is planning on getting it done.

Besides that, we get a bit of a rebirth for both Kingpin and Typhoid Mary, the promise of an Iron Daredevil suit I want to see now, and a cliffhanger that brings in a classic character to help Foggy get Matt off… in a legal way that is! It’s a clever twist in a story dealing a lot with Matt’s secret identity.

While Chip Zdarsky has used each issue to setup his overall story, this one was a bit more obvious. The big moments were “wait and see” stuff, and while they are pointing at a ton of awesome things, nothing hit here. I still liked everything we got, including Francesco Mobili’s art, but this wasn’t a “must-read” issue.

Final Thoughts:

Chip Zdarsky and Francesco Mobili give Daredevil fans a setup issue, and while some may need a breather after all the crazy shit that’s gone on in this book recently, it’s not “must-read” material. It’s “should-read” for sure, and I can’t wait to see what happens with Daredevil from here on out.

8.0/10