For eleven issues now (ignoring the .1 issue and Megacrime crossover aside) I have LOVED this series. This is the kick in the ass Marvel needs creatively. Just get a A-class writer, and not label him as a ‘Architect’, and some fantastic artists and you got yourself one hell of a book. No tie-ins to major Marvel stories, just a stand alone series that kicks ass on it’s own merits. But sadly that wave of success has to dissipate eventually.

Let’s get thing straight here: A mediocre issue of Daredevil is still a hundred times better then most comic books. But for this series to dip anything below ‘Good’ is quite a shock to the system. It’s not that I didn’t hate anything about the book. It’s just that it kinda bored me a little. And it really shouldn’t considering what goes on in here. We got Daredevil fighting every super powered, criminal organization in Times Square. It’s just Mark Waid is writing the final fight scene in a Daredevil movie (cough) takenoticenewdDareDevilmoviewriters (cough). But it just felt predictable to read and we get some macguffin with Foggy in the beginning that’s never addressed which I was more interested with. Now this issue ends on a pretty big cliffhanger and if a certain villain is coming into play I cannot wait for Waid to write him. As for now though, it’s just a boring issue and that’s the end of it.

Now what makes this issue slightly even more boring to read is Khoi Pham. Make no mistake though, I do enjoy Pham’s artwork ever since I was introduced to it in ‘Chaos War’. Like the .1 issue, which again I’m trying to ignore, you can tell Pham is trying really hard to be Marcos Martin. If you want a fake Martin in your artwork then be ready to be happy. It’s not terrible but if I’m honest it’s nothing to really write about in a review. The art is just…there. Javier Rodriguez’s colors justify this style and it’s so damn colorful it kept me interested to look at the art more. I think the issue is that Pham is not inking his art here from before (and I think all the artists in this series ink themselves if we look back) so everything just looks uneven and rushed. Maybe if Pham inked himself, which he can do, I might have enjoyed the art more.

So yes, this issue is a bit of a disappointment. Considering it’s the end of this Megacrime nonsense it’s the only thing worth cheering about. I didn’t read the big crossover so this big build up to this final clash was a bit of a letdown. It’s still better then most books at Marvel so that’s the only thing that is going for it with this issue. Hopefully we go right back into 5-star ‘holy shit this is amazing’ type of issue when the next issue comes out. (Which might be tomorrow considering this ridiculous schedule)