Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Fornes, Nolan Woodard, and VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 5, 2020

I love Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil, and in a landscape of comics where I find myself more and more depressed each Wednesday, it has become a steady light to guide me home…alright, enough of that nonsense! I figured I needed to get all fancy in this review since I already know what score I’m giving this issue. A score that will undoubtedly launch me into the stratosphere where I can hang with the reviewers who drink with their pinkies up and say things that unquestionably come straight out of Roget’s Thesaurus. I don’t know who this Roget is, but he sounds fancy and talks real purdy! Thank you, Chip Zdarsky, for giving me my ticket to the good life! On with the review…

The issue opens with Matt walking through Hell’s Kitchen, thinking of Elektra, and what they have recently done. That includes the sexy parts, but also the money they stole from the Stromwyns and gave to the neighborhood. Sure, there was a little matter of another billion going right in Elektra’s pocket, but nobody’s perfect, right?

On the surface, this plays off as Matt helping his own with a quick fix that certainly won’t help in the long run…but there is more to it than meets the eye, and Chip Zdarsky is setting some cool things up that will play out in this issue.

While Zdarsky has been slowly pushing the idea that Matt has left Daredevil behind, it hasn’t been an apparent reality as far as actions go. Matt talks a good game and then usually heads off to do Daredevil things, just not in the old costume. This issue is where all of it pays off in a big way and gives the reader the proof and the pudding and everything else in-between. By the way, there is plenty of in-between!

It begins with Matt visiting Ms. Carraro. If the name isn’t familiar, she is Joey and Leo’s mother…the guy he is helping on parole and the guy he killed at the beginning of this series when he came back as Daredevil. Oh yea, Joey and her both know that Matt is Daredevil. Oh, snap! I won’t tell you what happens, but I swear I am not crying and have am not amazed at how good some people can be even at the worst of times.

While most of this issue shows Matt making things right, Izzy Libris gets her time to shine as well. What she does here is shocking, but I give so much credit to Zdarsky and his character-building skills. I didn’t think I liked Izzy at all, and yet I found myself pumping my fist for her while reading this scene.

Back to Matt, he goes from one person to the next, trying to make amends with almost everyone he has wronged or lead on during this series. It does seem like Matt wants to do this a different way, after all!

Some people who don’t share that sentiment are Owlsley and the Stromwyns. Owlsley sends out some goons to remind Izzy who the new Kingpin is, and the Stromwyns attend a masquerade ball where Matt will finally be able to confront them…face to mask.

The Owsley bit sets up a huge thing going forward while the Stromwyns continue to show what pieces of shit they are…the kind that can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and to whomever they want. They spell out that they know who stole from them and also spill the beans on what they are trying to do in the Kitchen. It’s not a crazy twist-filled plan. It makes complete sense, and that’s why it’s so good.

Of course, Matt is right in the middle of it all! Mindy needs his help desperately right when we see that the Stromwyns are calling in the big guns or at least the accurate ones. It’s one of those good cliffhangers that blends in with everything else in the issue that was full of awesome moments.

I loved this issue so much. It is my favorite issue of the series and one of my favorites of the last couple of years. It’s filled with big moments that were all well earned and shocking bits that were there for more than the shock value alone. Everything Chip Zdarsky has been setting up led us to these moments, but the best part is, things just keep coming. Not much got resolved here, and I am okay with that. With a book this good, I’m not sure I want things resolved quickly at all.

The only thing that brought my score down a bit was Jorge Fornes’ art. I liked it a lot more than the last issue, but it’s his Hammerhead I can’t get past. I just don’t like the way he draws him.

Final Thoughts:

Daredevil is my favorite ongoing in comics right now, and this issue is one of my favorites of the last couple of years. Don’t make me beg you to read this book since I am positive you will thank me when you do.

9.9/10