Daredevil #111

It's been joked on the airwaves and along the ether that Marvel is getting into a habit of "lady-izing" all of their villains.  First, came the female Loki.  Then, there was Lady Kraven.  And now, we see the introduction of Lady Bullseye.  Like many of you, I went into this issue with mild trepidation, not because women scare me (although they are a mystery...) but because of what Lady Bullseye could be.

Luckily, we had Brubaker working his magic on this idea because the reality is that it's not too bad...or to put it another way, it's pretty darn interesting.  I like to think of this issue as the return of the Matt Murdock that we all know and love.  He's not mopey, he's got serious lady problems, and a hurricane of shit is about to enter his world.  It might sound like this is a recipe for mediocrity, especially considering this is something that Bendis used in epic (and completely amazing) tenure on the title.  But for me, this is the character boiled down to its essence, and it's where the magic happens.  It's not that Matt is in a situation we've seen him in before, but it's how he reacts and changes to these different combinations of story telling.  In his last arc, Brubaker made Matt into a whiny, mopey guy that was near unreadable.  But with the previous arc and this arc, I get the vibe that we're back to basics and really looking at the character from where he shines.  And as a long time fan of the character, I couldn't be happier.

The introduction of the Lady Bullseye character is well done, and I actually prefer this to something along the lines of her being his daughter or something like that.  What we don't know yet is if this character truly has an infallible aim, a mystery that will surely play well in the coming issues.  She also seems more ruthless and devoid than Bullseye might be, who often loses to Murdock because of his rage and personal hatred of Murdock.  In a way, Bullseye's emotion is what often blinds him to his mistakes.  With this villain, I get the sense that we're going to experience a Bullseye-esque villain from a whole new light.

The evolvement of Matt's relationship with Dakota in this issue is of note as well because it brings relationship troubles to the forefront of Matt's life.  I also get the sense that we may see Mila take a back seat for a while in Matt's heart, which is fine by me.  While Mila had some moments in her existence, she has, for the most part, been annoying and lame.  I think that Dakota is a much stronger character for him to be with, and it's even realized by Matt as they stroll through the park together.  This is someone who can live with his lifestyle, and will save him his guilt.

So, did anyone else miss Michael Lark from this issue?  As much as I love his work, I really, really enjoyed Clay Mann's pencils on this issue.  His style is very close to Lark, and yet the lines don't seem as thick.  The characters don't have quite the darkness to them that Lark's do, but that could also be a coloring and inking difference.  If Mann were to stay on the book, I wouldn't be sad because he's drawing the hell out of it.

Judging from the current rating on the website, I am sure there are people out there who won't agree with this review.  But for a long time Daredevil fan and reader, it's excellent to see everything coming back to form after wallowing so far away from it for so long.  Thank you, Mr. Brubaker.