REVIEW: ‘Daredevil: Unleash Hell’ – Red Band Issue 1

Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band Issue 1 is published by Marvel Comics. Written by Erica Schultz, art by Valentina Pinti, José Luís and Jonas Trindade, colors by Dee Cunniffe and letters by Cory Petit.

As Elektra fights crime across Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil, a demonic presence makes itself known in the city.

This latest venture into Daredevil takes a very unique turn. When it begins, there are no hints that this new miniseries will go in the direction it does. It’s a regular street-level Marvel comic with explosive results, with Daredevil clearing out a drug-making warehouse. Just this part of the book is exciting and captivating. But whilst Elekta is healing from injuries, something else is setting into the vicious and horrifying city. These elements blend art with slaughter and immense violence.

Schultz taps into a plot that works brilliantly for both the mantle of Daredevil and Elektra’s past. Both have faced off against the forces of Hell, and Daredevil is a pretty religious mantle to behold. The pacing of the opening is fast and savage, which is Daredevil’s natural habitat. But then the comic settles in and gets slower, revealing the main themes of the story—one of which is art, but in a twisted way. After the first foray of action, the rest of the issue is full of surprises. The last part descends somewhere far below the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.

The characters are engrossing in the opening of this series. The focus switches from hero to villain, and the narration changes. You get half of the comic following Elektra’s captions and the second part through the villain’s viewpoint. Whatever is happening in the panel, her thoughts are always calm. This is due to her years of experience as a martial artist and assassin. Nothing phases her.

Schultz brilliantly uses the narration to catch readers up to recent events in this Daredevil’s life, revealing why Elektra is now alone in her own home. She also muses on the teachings of her master, Stick. Both Daredevil and Elektra link to Hell. Matt connects due to his Catholicism, whilst Elektra has died and travelled there in the afterlife, which directly connects her to the villain.

The enemy is an existing member of the Daredevil universe, but many readers may have forgotten about it. In the captions, the personality shifts from someone calm to someone petulant, malicious, and murderously eloquent.

The art is elevated from the previous miniseries due to adding a particular label. Daredevil: Unleash Hell Issue 1 is a Red Band comic, the title given comics that possess much more blood than usual. This means the violence is extreme and gory. There is an escalation to the blood and gore. The fight with Elektra in the warehouse is exceptional. Her unrivaled movement and martial arts skills are capped off with the occasional grizzly injury. Knees snapped and arms stabbed look dramatic and make you flinch, but they are nothing compared to what comes later.

What appears later is an absolute bloodbath, covering everything with entrails and blood. Switching between hero and villain in Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band Issue 1 shows two separate considerations. Pinti takes time to show Elektra how to treat her injuries while someone else inflicts them. It’s one of the best pages in the comic, and it shows Daredevil for the hardcore force of nature she is. Luis and Trindade enter the book for the last five pages, changing the location and turning the comic into a biblical story.

The colors are pivotal for Red Band comics. The blood splatters are gloriously over the top. In the opening battle, the blood sprays out of the wounds due to the fight. However, the blood is placed in specific places in the other scenes, like painting on a canvas. The red is rich, coating everything on the panel. For the rest of the book, only a few colors are used. The most common two are red and blue.

The red is on costumes and the sky, whilst the blue lands on the buildings and surroundings. Occasionally, Cunniffe will utilize a bright mixture of yellow and orange during the most explosive moments. The lettering makes it easy to determine whose mind is being explored in the caption boxes, and the word balloons are also superb.

Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band Issue 1 turns violence into an art form. Adding the Red Band label is utilized for more than gratuitous gore. It becomes part of the plot, where the villain sickeningly celebrates blood. Matt Murdock has often had demonic encounters and storylines, but it’s fitting and exciting to see Elektra get the chance to face those same foes. She’s got the same connections but through a different backstory. Schultz has excelled in Elektra’s solo stories, and Daredevil has the opportunity to flourish independently.

Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band Issue 1 is available where comics are sold.