Well it didn't suck, so that's the main thing.  Unfortunately, it didn't succeed in the way that Brubaker's first issue did.  When that first part dropped a few years back it immediately reassured me and, in fact, made it clear that he was going to better his predecessor.  Which Bru accomplished in spades in my opinion.  So why didn't this seem like a complete success? Well, it's true that it's tied to The List event, which may have hampered Diggle.  The next issue preview suggests something more in the vein of what we've had before.  There was something very bombastic about this one shot, which did not fit the tone of a DD comic.  The main fight between Daredevil and Bullseye was really poorly scripted, full of really clunky exchanges between the two. There was none of the elegance of the previous run. The scene with Kngpin and Lady Bullseye also worried me, for some reason making me think we were in for a retread of Daredevil storylines of the past, this time as recent as the last few months of Brubaker's run.  I won't even go into Tan's art.

However, it wasn't a complete loss and there are several elements which will keep me on board.  First, Diggle hasn't jettisoned the leader of the Hand plotline, instead it feels as though he's embraced it wholeheartedly.  Maybe we will see something brand new here, which has got to be good with a Daredevil book.  It's one of the few comics that has to constantly stand out from the works of the creators that have gone before.  Secondly, the destruction of the appartment building is a genuine tragedy (at least in fictional terms).  I'm mad with Bullseye and Osborne, and I'm rooting for DD at the end.  This is the kind of motivation that always brings out the best in Matt Murdock.  Also, the supporting cast could still be very strong.  While Foggy will have to step back for a while now, we've got Tarantula and White Tiger, as well as a possible new confidante in the honest cop, Kurtz.

In the end it was the preview that really won me over.  De La Torre seems to be channelling Sienkewitz and Maleev, and it looks kind of promising.  More than that though, the two scenes are more in keeping with the mood of modern Daredevil.  The memorial service that segues to the exchange with Izo are far more subtle, and point to a direction I think I just might enjoy.  Far from pick of the week, but a good start.