Daredevil No. 2 review: The sins that one commits

After a crook dies after a fight, Daredevil must try to prove he didn’t actually kill him and that he’s not a murderer.

The first issue of this new volume of Daredevil started out extremely strong, with it invoking shades of some of the best Daredevil stories ever, but also very much being its own thing. With this issue, that trend very much continues due to Daredevil being thrown lower and lower down a seemingly neverending pit of despair.

Evil has constantly been a part of Matt Murdock’s life. He fights against it in the public eye and within himself. However, it’s hard to fight it when you didn’t mean to do something evil. It just, happened. That’s the dilemma that Daredevil is in with this issue, as he’s been labeled a murderer. He knows he isn’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that the criminal he fought died.

What’s compelling about this is that it feels like something that has been done before with Daredevil, but still feels new and its own thing. A common thread within many Daredevil comics is that a creative will start Matt at the end of his rope, before working his way back into a sense of normalcy, and that is ever present here. Matt so desperately wants to prove he’s not a murderer that attacks people who had nothing to with the death and even comes to grips that The Kingpin had nothing to do with it. This a story where the hero may truly be in the wrong and has to be held accountable for that, which makes for a compelling read.

Image by Marvel Comics/Art by Marco Checchetto

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There’s also the religious aspect in play in this issue, which was heavily focused on in the first. It’s not as prevalent here, but it presents a great dichotomy for Matt Murdock and Daredevil. Matt wants to be a good Catholic and repent for what he has done while also still trying to do good. On the other hand, Daredevil feels no repentance other than the fact that he scares as he is trying to help. It’s a fascinating dichotomy that is mainly used in subtext with this issue and is done well.

Marco Checchetto’s art in this issue is again magnificent, as well. The way that he’s able to take the iconic imagery from Daredevil comics and put new spins on it is so fun and great. Whether it be the use of Daredevil’s radar vision or the perch on a gargoyle, Checchetto is able to do something new and different with it in order to make it feel all his own.

He’s also able to make dialogue-heavy scenes intriguing to read by not simply having the characters stand around, but rather having them move and the shot choices move with them. Not everything he tries works the way it was assumedly intended to, but so many more work than don’t that it doesn’t really matter at a certain point.

9.0/10 

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto have started off hot with their run on Daredevil, and hopefully, it continues to keep with the pace.