REVIEW: ‘Daredevil,’ Issue #35

Daredevil #35 is published by Marvel Comics. Written by Chip Zdarsky. The art is by Stefano Landini and Francesco Mobili. The colour artist is Marcio Menyz and the letterer is Clayton Cowles. This is part 5 of the ‘“Lock Down” arc.

Daredevil has been put in prison. Jailed for manslaughter, he became an FBI informant investigating prisoner deaths inside the facility. He found something worse, where the inmates were used as lab rats for experiments. The lab exploded, destroying much of the prison and getting a dose of the gas used in the treatment. Now enraged, he attacked Detective Cole North and battled his way out of the prison, heading for Manhattan.

In Matt’s place, Elektra became Daredevil and protects Hell’s Kitchen. Hunting down Bullseye, she finds more than one of him; cloned by Kingpin. The assassins have been slaughtering dozens in New York and no one is safe. Elektra barely survived the first battle, but she returns to Times Square for round two. This time with help from Typhoid Mary.

In this issue, the battle erupts. Elektra and Typhoid Mary battle a trio of the world’s deadliest killers. They are highly capable, but they need to trust each other. Their enemy knows them though and is unpredictable. The women are separated and both are put in impossible situations. Even Murdock may not be enough to save the city.

This final part of the battle is extraordinary. The tension is high from the very first page as all of the pieces are falling together. This has been a long saga, stretching over many issues. The pace isn’t just a full-on, high-octane onslaught though. There are slow moments that leave the reader aching to discover the solution. Zdarsky can play with emotions, venturing between nervewracking and intensity, and the characters he has at his disposal are perfect instigators of both. With Bullseye controlling the direction of the battle, chasing him raises the suspense and the unknown. The ending is full of both hope and unexpected moments, only one of which is a frequent theme within Daredevil.

The characters are fantastic inside Daredevil #35. Elektra and Typhoid Mary fighting alongside each other is an interesting concept that may not have been seen before. An interesting factor of the duo is that they don’t interact with each other much, focused on fighting their own side of the conflict. But Elektra is relying on Mary as a partner, needing to trust her to survive. Mary has been an underrated figure within this arc, but her devotion towards Kingpin is very endearing. As for Elektra, she has been the real hero of Daredevil ever since she took the name. Matt is secondary and has a very absent role within this comic as well.

As for Bullseye, this may be one of the greatest stories regarding the assassin. Zdarsky as brilliant explored his unrelenting brutality. The most terrifying aspect about the character is that there is no reasoning with him. He is this loud, vicious being whose only desire is to add to his death total. And he also knows Typhoid Mary, Elektra, and Daredevil well, understanding how they move and what makes them weak.

The art is awesome. Every artist that steps into this book, whilst superb, maintains a similar style to the previous issue so as to not be jarring to the reader. Landini and Mobili are excellent at establishing their awesome abilities, but the relative look is not drastically different from Marco Checchetto or Mike Hawthorne. All of the costumes and characters are phenomenal. Typhoid Mary has a distinct new look specifically for this issue that is simple and effective. The fight is incredible. The artists display a sensation of speed through blurring lines, making the high velocity of the action infectious. The battle is superbly choreographed, tricky with background characters and clones being involved.  Each swing or gunshot has the potential to kill, the danger well-illustrated. There is a confrontation between Bullseye and Elektra that uses a horrifying but fantastic reimaging of their iconic costumes. It is not just the characters that look amazing, the locations are also depicted with brilliance.

The colour artist is consistently tremendous in Daredevil #35. One of the glaring contributions Menyz adds is a very blocky, opaque black for Bullseye’s costumes. In other comics, the incentive is to shine the uniforms with gleaming light. Instead, it is this darkness that is only rarely framed by a dark blue. The other primary colour is red, toying with slightly different shades. There are guest stars in the end of the comic that almost look out of place in Hell’s Kitchen. This isn’t due to how they look, but their colour palette does not fit the bleak nature of what this neighbourhood is swarmed with,

The lettering is very good by Cowles. The font is dynamic, shifting in size to match the volume of the speaker’s voice, whilst the SFX are stark and purposely abrasive.

Daredevil #35 is a thrilling conclusion to the arc. Zdarsky has ensured that other plot points have been put to the side so that this war with Bullseye is streamlined and entirely captivating. The use of characters that know each other so well shows an incredible understanding of this small corner of the world. The fights in this run have been drawn out and exhausting sometimes to wear down the reader. Great heroes and great villains are brought together in an expertly choreographed action thriller. Zdarsky and the brilliant artists are creating a new classic before our eyes.

Daredevil #35 is available where comics are sold.