After reading through some of the comments on the net, I thought it prudent to write a review to defend this book.  I’ll come right out of the box and tell you all:  I’m completely biased.  Daredevil is my favorite character, and ever since I’ve read comics, I’ve read his book.  I don’t know what it is (or maybe I do, and just don’t want to explain it), but I’m drawn to  Matthew Murdock like no other character. 

With the reboot (I guess you can call it that) that began with Kevin Smith’s intial run and continued on into what is now known as “The Bendis Era” this character has been on a meteoric rise.  When Brubaker came the book, I remember people saying, “I just don’t know how he’s going to live up to Bendis.”  Then came the storyline where Matt was in prison, and people suddenly took notice and said, “Just who is that Brubaker fella?” 

Lately, Bru’s storylines have been faltering in the book, but I think it’s almost harsh to call it that.  He’s merely telling these stories differently.  With Bendis, Daredevil was thrown through the ringer with crazy and dynamic things happening to Matt each issue, but with Bru, we’re getting what he does best: the slow burn.  I’ve been reading and watching as he’s slowly put Matt Murdock into a precarious position.  Long gone is the crazed man that declared the himself the Kingpin of Crime.  In his place, Bru has given us an emotionally unstable, beaten hero who questions just about everything he does.  As was done through this Mr. Fear storyline, Bru has put fear into Murdock, something very few writers can do with such deft skill.

Was the ending to this issue anti-climatic?  Well, yes, if you look at it from the perspective of the hero beating the living hell out of the villain.  But from the perspective of the bigger picture (something we all know we have to do with Bru), it’s an intensely satisfying conclusion.  The villain wins in this issue, the love that we all hate is out of the picture, and somewhere in there, The Hood waits and lurks in the shadows.  Frankly, this issue may not have brought the ass whipping I was hoping for, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t setup some intriguing places to go. 

Lark’s art was great in this issue as well, and I’m so pleased that he’s been drawing this book so well.  His dark tones and “hard boiled” images fit the tone of this book perfectly.  He paints this visual picture that hell is descending on Matt’s life, something that Bru wants us all to believe.

I think this book can only go up from here, especially with Rucka jumping on for co-writing duties.  Frankly, I’m excited, but then again, I’m also a bit biased.