With everyone unsure of what to do with their lives, Daredevil starts to take the Kitchen back, by himself if he has to. Minor spoilers for Daredevil #14 follow.
Another issue of Daredevil, more contemplative proceedings. There are very few mainstream comics willing to be as contemplative and dialogue heavy as Daredevil has been doing since Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto took over and that’s a good thing. This series has continuously set itself apart from most other comics because of that. This issue doesn’t change anything about that style and continues to be thought-provoking.
What’s been so great about this run on Daredevil so far is that every character has been put in impossible situations. Whether it be Matt Murdock, Detective North, or Kingpin, they’re all in no-win situations. Because of that, this creates a moral dilemma relative to each character, making each issue compelling. That’s the same in this issue as well. Matt is forced to become Daredevil, at least in part, again even though he doesn’t want to. Detective North is forced to work with Daredevil despite his hatred for him. Kingpin is simply trying to turn over a new leaf. Each struggle is relative to each character and is incredibly compelling. Each dilemma pulls you in and doesn’t let go of your attention.
Tied directly into all of that though in this issue is the theme of accountability. In a very prescient, social commentary move, this issue is willing to go there. It discusses the differences in accountability between cops and civilians. Between those who power and who don’t. Even between those who believe that they have power and those that actually do. There are a lot of ways that this could’ve gone wrong, but it never does in this issue. It’s an issue that’s kind of perfect for a grounded hero such as Daredevil to take on and it does so well.
Probably the least interesting thing in this issue is the actual plot. That’s not because it’s bad, it’s actually quite interesting. However, because this is a character driven issue, like most of the run, the overarching story takes a backseat, becoming slightly uninteresting.
Marco Checchetto and Francesco Mobili share art duties on this issue and, despite the difference in style, the issue looks great. Checchetto is one of the most underrated artists working in comics right now and everything he does looks great. As for Mobili, he’s relatively new on the scene, but his art looks great as well. It’s not as refined as Checchetto’s, but it works well in tandem with it and doesn’t disrupt the flow of the issue at all.
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