Review: ‘Daredevil’ #8 Celebrates The History Of Marvel’s Best Series

Marvel Comics has been celebrating all sorts of anniversaries for the last few years. Perhaps the most consistently good series in the company’s history is Daredevil and with this week’s issue #8, we get to see an example of how it’s gained that reputation over 60 years.

This massive celebration features a lead story by the current creative team of Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, Jesus Aburtov, and Clayton Cowles. It also includes back up stories from Ahmed, Tommaso Bianchi, and Aburtov; Ann Nocenti, Stefano Raffaele, and Dee Cunniffe; DG Chichester, Ken Lashley, and Juan Fernandez; Erica Schultz, Jan Bazaldua, and Cici De La Cruz; and Elsa Sjunneson, Eric Koda, and De La Cruz; and a cartoon page by Ty Templeton, all with letters from Cowles.

Matt Murdock is often fighting wars on multiple fronts. Now that he’s been returned to life as Father Matthew though, it’s been even more chaotic. However, he’s not alone, as Elektra continues to wear the mantle as well. Luckily that means that they both have back-up as the new gang known as the Heat begins to organize. But when the Heat’s latest operation is led by none other than Bullseye, both Daredevils are about to end up in a much bigger war.

And after the lead story, Daredevil superstars explore Matt and Elektra’s past and present, with some hints of the future…

There’s no denying that there’s something that there’s something about Daredevil that brings out the best in writers. Prior to this volume, I was often fairly cool on Ahmed’s work. Here, he writes a remarkably engaging narrative, with Matt at his conflicted best, Elektra continuing to shine as Daredevil, and a gradually building threat that culminates in a final page that frankly we should have seen coming but was surprisingly none the less. This is the sort of storytelling that had made Daredevil Marvel’s most consistent title for thirty plus years, and I’m glad to see it.

Kuder and Aburtov are a great one-two punch on the art. Kuder draws the quiet and the action with equal skill. The action really shines though. Daredevil at its heart is a martial arts comic, and the fight between Bullseye and the ‘Devils is laid out and choreographed like the best Kung Fu movie. There’s a frantic sense of motion that just landed all throughout the sequence. Aburtov uses colors throughout the issue to set tone and mood, or to deepen the sense of place. But his best skill is his use of reds, making DD’s trademark color the focal point of any moment it’s in.

All the back-ups are fun trifles and good shorts. Ahmed and Schultz both use theirs to set up future stories. Nocenti and Chichester’s stories are both reminders of their extended runs on the character, especially with some moments of overly purple narration. They’re both fun though, and Sjunneson’s story is a great reminder of Matt’s heroic core. The art on each is great, even if they all lean at least a little towards Marvel House style.

Daredevil #8 is available now from Marvel Comics.