Written by: Chip Zdarsky
Art by: Marco Checchetto, Nolan Woodard, and VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 6, 2019

I have been really into Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run and while I can’t really gauge it against much as I am pretty new to the character, it has inspired me to remedy that. Of course, inspiration without perspiration doesn’t amount to much and I am a very lazy man! So, I will continue enjoying myself here without all those fancy comparisons I see from other sites. You know the ones that give everything 10/10s and use big phrases like “Perfect combination of art and story” or “Me like books”. Yea, I wish I could be so fancy! Here is my non-fancy review of Daredevil #13…

While the issue opens with Matt trying to be a better man with Mindy and a better fighter with Elektra, I don’t think there is one person who didn’t want to skip forward to find out what is going on with Kingpin after that fucked up shit that went down in the last issue!

I mean, we all saw it coming, especially after Owlsley went against Kingpin’s plan and then laugh in his face when the Big Man called him out on it. It was a great scene that showed that while Kingpin is more powerful than ever, he is not respected. That has to be eating him up inside and he exploded big time by the end of the last issue. Zdarsky gives us the straight dope…Kingpin is freaking and needs Wesly to clean shit up pronto!

It’s cleanup time and this one makes what the Wolf had to do for Jules and Vincent look like a quick spit shine. Wesley is one the case though and he is just ruthless. I didn’t think that we could get a twist cleaning up a murder that is more fucked up than the murder itself (which was plenty fucked up!), but I stand corrected.

While all this is going on, Matt is trying to figure out what he can do versus what he wants to do and I was really hoping to get more Elektra here, but I guess I’ll have to wait on that as we head off to see…Owlsley?!? Yep, he’s meeting with Izzy Libris and while she wants to maintain the old rules, Leland really couldn’t give two shits what she wants and shows it big time.

The issue then continues and ends with Fisk tying a bow on his story of suicide instead of murder, Cole North decides it’s time to do the right thing even if it’s not really the right way and the cliffhanger promises the team-up I’ve been waiting about a year for!

There are a lot of pieces moving around in this issue. Sure, some are more exciting than others, but they are all part of the machine and while the Fisk stuff was a highlight, I want more of the Owlsley stuff right now. I hate his guts so much and really want him d-e-d dead! Then there’s Cole who I love and Elektra and, oh yea, Daredevil. That’s the cool thing about this book…there isn’t much Matt at all and I didn’t care one bit. Sure, I hope we get much more of him next issue, but I didn’t miss him much at all this month.

I like Marco Checchetto on this book and while most of the issue looked really good, there were a couple of pages that looked a bit rushed. It’s a tough thing to be compared to your own great work, but I kinda expect a bit more from Checchetto and he just slightly misses the mark.

Final Thoughts:

I am really enjoying this book and Chip Zdarsky showed me that can be the case in an issue with very little Daredevil in it. I am looking forward to seeing more of him and Elektra in the near future, but this issue was all about Kingpin and Owlsely and I couldn’t have been more happy about that.

9.3/10