Daredevil #12

Posted: Thursday, April 20
By: Alan

Reviewed: Daredevil #12 by Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti and Rob Haynes

The Plot: While Daredevil and Echo confront each other, a number of Hell's Kitchen residents face despair and possible redemption.



That plot description is probably the nicest thing I am going to say about this issue.

The Marvel Knights Daredevil run has been frustrating, infuriating and occasionally terrific. The initial story arc by Kevin Smith featured some real high points for the character, such as Bullseye's brief return and the death of Karen Page, and some real low points, such as the revelation of the motivation of the arc's villain.

The artwork, by Quesada and Palmiotti, has been the one consistent joy of the run, but any enjoyment of the art or the story has been undermined time and again by the perpetual lateness of the title. One local retailer is convinced there was an eight month gap between two of the issues, and while I don't think it's been quite that bad (correct me if I'm wrong), only the first few issues came out on time and there have indeed been months-long gaps between issues for no discernable reason anyone has been able to convince me of.

About the time David Mack came aboard for his run, I gave up waiting for everyone involved to get their acts together. If Quesada and Palmiotti are continuing to take on new assignments (which they are: Quesada now writes Iron Man and Palmiotti is both writing and inking various assignments), any hope that Daredevil would eventually get back on schedule was very likely lost. I decided to just enjoy the book for what it was, whenever the hell it happened to come out.

When Marvel announced there would be a fill-in issue written by Quesada and Palmiotti and drawn by Rob Haynes, it seemed like maybe the book could get back on schedule. Then, Marvel announced the fill-in issue would be released two weeks after the preceding issue.

One is left to conclude that the people making the decisions here are congenital idiots. How does this issue allow anyone to catch up if it comes out two weeks after the preceding issue, and therefore presumably two weeks before the next one should be released?

I could be wrong, but I would be very surprised if the next issue of Daredevil comes out before late June. I would be even more surprised if we see even another three issues this year. For some reason, the Marvel Knights office refuses to get their shit together. For some reason, Marvel tolerates it.

And now, those of us who have patiently waited for everyone involved to act like professionals, we have Daredevil #12. Unless you are a completist of the most obsessive order, skip it.

The story "takes place between moments," as one of the creators described it to me a few weeks back. And it's true. The events of this title are as significant as a fart, and not, frankly, much more entertaining than that.

We meet a bunch of Hell's Kitchen residents who are in various states of despair. While Daredevil and Echo more or less remain frozen in time (facilitating the fact that this issue has no effect whatsoever on the resolution of last issue's cliffhanger), stuff happens. It's not very interesting stuff, and Haynes illustrates it like Geoff Darrow doing a colouring book.

I have had nothing but praise for Quesada's recent writing stint on Iron Man, and as I said he and Palmiotti have done some terrific artwork on Daredevil. But the time has come for something to be done about this absurd situation, and this issue demonstrates that fact definitively. It's superfluous, it's annoying, and it adds insult to year-long injury. Better to have gotten nothing at all than this ridiculous fill-in issue.