Daredevil’s second story arc begins today with Daredevil #5, featuring She-Hulk in a sin-related squabble. Writer Saladin Ahmed has slowly revealed that sins have come alive in demon form and are giving Matt Murdock a hard time. Now a priest with his secret identity unknown to most, how will a day out with She-Hulk go? Let’s say you’ll feel full after reading this issue.
Once again, I’m blown away by Farid Karami’s art. They drew half of issue #3 in great detail with a great sense of framing and storytelling. This issue goes beyond what he did in that issue, with a more story-focused narrative and a bit of action thrown in at the end. From the high detail of a shop interior to the ripped abs on She-Hulk, there’s a lot to take in, making you linger a bit longer than usual for a superhero comic.
The story opens with Matt trying to buy a TV and getting the family discount because he is a man of god. In stumbles She-Hulk, and the two go out for lunch. Before they do, Ahmed recaps how we got here, and Karami renders it all through stained glass. It’s a pretty half of a page that’s efficient at giving us the details.
Foodies will delight in this issue. Matt and She-Hulk eat a ton, and Matt can’t help himself and indulge. It’s not until they’re off for dessert at a third location that things start to go sideways, and Matt realizes what has been going on all along. A lot happens in this issue once the eating ends, from confronting another demon to a major Daredevil villain popping up. It ends with an amazing, nearly full-page splash of a hero who will complicate Matt’s life in the next issue.
She-Hulk has entered the building.
Credit: Marvel
The eating scenes do run too long, though. It feels a bit redundant and serves to hint at what is up with She-Hulk and deliver some info about Matt’s youth home. Running ten pages before the action kicks in – and the entire point of She-Hulk being in the book – feels too long. It’s not boring or badly drawn by any means. It just feels too slow of pace.
The eating scenes have a purpose, and it’s nice to see the story back on track with Ahmed’s demon narrative. I can’t say we know more about what is going on yet, but we have undoubtedly moved forward with the sin-related confrontations.
The art in Daredevil #5 crushes, which is fitting since She-Hulk literally crushes things as her muscular body ripples throughout the book. Ahmed progresses his main story forward while there’s a well-written superhero book with heroes doing everyday things on top of it. That’s a win, especially in an age when superhero books go high stakes on a universal scale too much.
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