Book Review: Daredevil, Vol. 2: West Coast Scenario

Daredevil Vol. 2: West-Case Scenario by Mark Waid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Mark Waid's great run on Daredevil continues with this book which collects Daredevil #1.50, a Fiftieth Anniversary Issue, and Issues 6-10 of the latest Daredevil series.

The fiftieth anniversary Issue features three stories. First off is a sort of, "What If..." story from Waid imagining an older Matt Murdoch having lived in San Francisco as mayor, retired, and married to Kirsten with a son much different from him, It's a nice little story with a great twist at the end.

Second is an illustrated text story by Brian Michael Bendis which reminds us of how depressing Daredevil used to be. The issue wraps up with a lovely tribute to Mike Murdoch. Back in the 1960s, Matt pretended to be his own twin brother Mike to throw his friends off the fact that he was Daredevil. Mike was then fun and somewhat carefree character. The story is lovely tribute to how wonderful and messed up that whole plot thread was.

Issues 6 and 7 feature a tale that's spun off from "The Original Sin" storyline in the Marvel universe (though reading the storyline isn't required to understand it.) The story answers what happened to Matt's mother. It also called into question the decency of Matt's Father (which had me mad until I saw how the story played out.) On a a character level, it's a very solid tale that fills in a hole in the Daredevil mythos. The plot angle of the new Wakandan government arresting nuns is a bit convoluted and political and plays out with a bit of a comedic flourish. I also have to comment that Daredevil's second West Coast sojourn didn't last longer than his first is that the writer did keep having him have business in New York He's drawn back like a magnet.

Issues 8-10 have two threads running through them. Kirsten's publisher Dad offers Matt a book contract which causes him to think about all of the problems in his life and question whether happy Matt is anything but a facade. The other sees the return of the Purple Man who seeks to reclaim hsi children who all have his gift for emotional manipulation and once empowered are fully immune from his charms, so that they can honestly react to him. The plot is solid and psychologically engaging.

Overall, this is another great collection of Daredevil comics made even better by the inclusion of the Fiftieth Anniversary material.




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