Daredevil #117 Review

Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

Story - The Return of the King: Part 1

Review
After the excellent issue of Daredevil that we got a few weeks ago "The Return of the King" looked to be one of the stories that may be going under the radar of some readers with all the different crossovers going on in other books that have replaced this year having an actual company wide crossover this year. And after reading this issue I can say that this story arc of the Wilson's return as the Kingpin to the Marvel Universe looks to be just as strong as any story we will be getting this year.

The opening scene with Wilson literally going underground and announcing he is back to a bunch of gangsters at a sewer club was very well done and shows kind of how long Wilson has been away from the Marvel Universe overall picture. At one point Kingpin was one of the biggest bad guys in the Marvel U, think Norman's current role. But to see him now and how low he had to go to announce his return shows that if Wilson wants to return as the Kingpin of Crime he has his work cut out for him, that is if he survives this story arc.

And as I said in my previous review, I really like how Brubaker is drawing many parrallels between Wilson and Matt. Throughout the issue Matt continuously finds a way to make his life more miserable, intentional or not, by pushing those closest to him (Dakota and Foggy) away with his actions. Brubaker does an excellent job just showing how desperate Matt as a character has become that it is believable that were he is know, with all the crap he is dealing with between Milla's parents, Dakota, and Lady Bullseye and the Hand, that a partnership with his mortal enemy isn't so far fetched. It will be interesting to see were Brubaker takes the Matt and Wilson relationship from this point and if they truly can work together to defeat/kill Lady Bullseye and the Hand.

Even though this issue had a dark tone to it I continue to enjoy the Matt and Master Izo relationship. It is a fun little relationship that brings some humor to an otherwise dark story. It will be interesting to see what Master Izo's reaction is to Matt teaming up with a former enemy. Maybe he'll give Matt some old adage of "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," just to get under Matt's skin.

While I am not a fan of Lark it seems that the one issue break he got did him and Gaudino some good as his art has improved and doesn't look as rough as the previous few issues he has done. A lot of his art reminds me of Aja's art from the last issue of Daredevil. I hope Brubaker gives Lark and Gaudino more action to illustrate in the next issue as I just want to see Wilson bust some skulls when he fights the Hand.

Issue Rating
Story: 9.2/10 - Brubaker does a wonderful job with creating a situation were it is believable that two people that hated each others guts as much as Matt and Wilson are now "forced" to team up to take down a greater enemy.
Art: 7.7/10 - Lark and Gaudino do an impressive job with the art and continues the gritty feel this title should always have.
Overall: 8.45/10 - This was just another great issue of Daredevil and if you have drop this series in the past I recommend picking this series up again as it is in what could be a epic story that may go under the rater to some readers.