If you like the logistics of being a superhero and everything that comes with having powers, you’ll probably love Daredevil #3. Out this week, the new issue continues to follow Matt Murdock’s new role as a priest looking over an orphanage. He remembers he used to be Daredevil, but he doesn’t yet have all the details. Now, one of his most reliable friends, Ben Urich, is acting funny and a gang appears to be rising up to do some major harm in his neighborhood.
Daredevil #3 opens with our hero zipping across skyscrapers. Aaron Kuder captures the weightlessness of this hero giving each swing a superhero-level zip. There’s also some cool layout design integrated into the environment as he listens in on Ben’s conversation. Something is not right with the usually stable journalist, but before he can investigate further Daredevil is called back into action.
That is, back into action as the head of the orphanage. Farid Karami takes over on pencils from here on out, delivering an expert level of detail to the children’s clothes as they push back on a check-in. Writer Saladin Ahmed puts Matt’s feet to the fire here reminding us he’s gotta be a hero not just to New Yorkers, but to the kids under his roof too. There’s a Spider-Man level of complexity to Matt’s life that’ll be fun to see how he manages going forward.
Cool layout design here.
Credit: Marvel
Much of the rest of the issue is a response to the frustrations Matt is dealing with as he takes to the night as Daredevil. This is where the superhero logistics come into play, as Ahmed reveals how Matt can take a phone call while battling bad guys. There are also some clever tricks he uses to take out a group of bad guys like taking out lights or using his super senses to swing a crane’s hook into a bunch of baddies.
Karami does an exceptional job with this action sequence, making it easy to follow and highly entertaining. This is some of the best fight choreography you’ll read this year and it feels right at home for a legacy character like Daredevil. The character’s body does look a touch lumpy, but it’s meant to look muscular which it does in most panels.
When you take a step back and take in the plotting of the issue, it does feel a little thin. The cliffhanger will get fans hyped, but the ongoing demonic storyline seems to take a backseat for the time being. This may be due to “Gang War” taking over soon, but a lot of the build-up dissipates.
Colors by Jesus Aburtov brings brightness to Kuder’s pages and a great sense of dramatic lighting throughout. It’s kind of fascinating to see the art styles switch but the colors remain the same. Seeing Karami’s pencils with Aburtov’s colors has a grittier feel, for instance.
Daredevil #3 brings exceptional fight comics and the ongoing trouble of Matt’s personal life together wonderfully. Lifetime Daredevil fans will be extremely pleased with how this series blends action, superheroics, and the ongoing complexities of being Matt Murdock.
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