Daredevil [2022] #3 - Marvel Comics

DAREDEVIL No. 3, November 2022

Whilst “Marvel Worldwide” may well have tried to sell this particular publication’s plot to its readers as Daredevil “putting together a team” with which to lead the Fist, Chip Zdarsky’s script is arguably much more about providing an intriguing insight into Luke Cage’s mayorship of New York City. In fact, the former New Avenger probably steals the show from Matt Murdock’s alter-ego, despite never actually throwing a punch in anger at his holier than thou opponents; “I’m not Fisk. I’m actual power. And I have friends with magic hammers. You’ll find my proposal in what’s left of your table. Talk soon.”

Much of this ‘hook’ has to do with how underplayed the human mutate appears in his initial dealings with the Stromwyns. Having been ‘summoned’ at four in the morning to the nefarious socialites’ skyscraper, it would have been so easy for a lesser writer to pen Power Man angrily striding into their office and grumpily making his concerns clear about their housing applications. Instead, the Canadian author merely has Cage politely converse with the criminals until they start to threaten his daughter and son. Only then does he show a flash of temper, and that is limited to him simply pulverising the huge table between them.

Far more adrenalin-fuelled however, is the epic fist-fight between Daredevil and “the woman who trained Elektra.” Impressively putting the Man without Fear on the back foot straight from the start, this skirmish is incredibly well-paced, thanks largely to the pair engaging in a running battle across the Big Apple’s night-time skyline. Furthermore, it seems clear that in his current befuddled condition, Murdock is hopelessly outclassed by Aka – something which probably does not bode well for Cage considering that the martial artist is also apparently the Stromwyn’s personal assistant/body guard.

Working some mesmeric magic on this twenty-page periodical’s layouts is artist Rafael De Latorre, whose ability to pencil both Luke’s internal rage and Matt’s evident physical fatigue adds enormously to the scenes in which these characters appear. Furthermore, the graceful movement of Aka is wonderful to behold, and depicts a warrior at the very peak of her profession, as opposed to a somewhat hapless Hornhead, who seems slow and cumbersome in comparison.

Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Artist: Rafael De Latorre, and Color Artist: Matthew Wilson

The Incredible Hulk [2023] #5 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 5, December 2023

Considering the sheer size of the malevolent swamp siren confronted by this comic’s titular anti-hero, some Hulk-heads may well have been anticipating “an epic brawl” between the Jade Giant, Man-Thing and the formidably-strong, multi-limbed, Floridan monstrosity. But whilst that may well arguably be the case, much of the battle’s impact is disappointingly lost as a result of Travel Foreman’s crude drawing style. In fact, many of this twenty-page-periodical’s harsher critics might even go so far as to suggest that the Honolulu-born artist’s inexpert illustrations wouldn’t look out of place inside an adolescent’s homemade fanzine rather than within the cover of a magazine produced by the current “comic book specialty market's top publisher.”

This disconcerting visualisation of Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script also debatably distracts the reader from emotionally connecting with poor Charlie Tidwell, when the young girl relives the trauma of her ‘baby’ brother Earl dying at the hands of their abusive father. Charny’s despair is so tragically deep that it actually forces the onlooking Defender to painfully revert back to Bruce Banner. Yet due to the quality of the layouts any perusing bibliophile may well struggle to find even the smallest amount of sympathy for the unsatisfactorily sketched schoolboy's second demise; “If I wasn’t so… so clumsy, maybe he wouldn’t’ve… sniff. You didn’t even do anything…”

Perhaps this book’s biggest mystery though lies in precisely what threat the siren poses to the Nexus of Realities. Ted Sallis is very clear that the “mindless avatar of hatred and grief” is both “old and angry”. However, Man-Thing never explains how the wretched creature is physically threatening the cross-dimensional gateway, and eventually just resorts to informing an unconvinced Hulk that if the founding Avenger doesn’t help him, it’ll eat the Green Goliath’s unlikely companion. 

Somewhat more successfully delivered is this comic’s “backup story featuring a surprise guest character to honour Latin and Latinx characters and creators!” Penned by Vita Ayala, this unlikely fist-fight between the “World-Breaker” and Victor Alvarez initially appears to be little more than a staged set-piece to show-off Power Man’s impressive Chi-manipulating super-powers. However, once the Hero-For-Hire passes out and is temporarily cared for by the Hulk’s somewhat emaciated alter-ego, the storyline quickly transforms into a tolerable tale which focuses upon “Goggles” insecurities about being “nothing but a bootleg copy of a C-lister…”

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #5 by Nic Klein

Doctor Strange [2015] #24 - Marvel Comics

DOCTOR STRANGE No. 24, October 2017

As cataclysmic confrontations between Karl Amadeus Mordo and this comic’s titular character go, Dennis Hopeless’ script for Issue Twenty Four of “Doctor Strange” must have pleased the vast majority of its 28,992 strong audience, with its excellent blend of heart-pumping shenanigans, multi-faceted strategies and dark incantations. Indeed, as conclusions to multi-part storylines go, the Missouri-born’s decision to depict the Sorcerer Supreme utilising his wits as opposed to simply relying upon exotic magical items, not only allows the rest of this book’s supporting cast to share in the ‘limelight’ as they collectively attempt to penetrate the Baron’s formidable protective bubble, but for once shows the Master Of The Mystic Arts relying upon his intimate knowledge of Hydra's “trumped-up pawn” so as to use his arrogant vanity against him; “No one was going to defeat you from the ground. Not while you held the Sanctum. I had to compel you to gather up your mindless beasts and ill-gotten spells -- and leave my house.”

Such a pleasantly surprising plot-twist also results in a far more physically dynamic battle than perhaps this publication’s bibliophiles were ordinarily used to, most notably Spider-Woman’s fantastic flying display behind the cockpit of the Phantom Eagle. Terrifically pencilled and coloured by Niko Henrichon, this “exhilarating… gun run in a zombie airplane with no roof” makes for a thrilling read, with Jessica Drew narrowly evading the tentacles of Mordo’s “great beasties of the Darkforce” and engaging in “a rousing round of hide-and-go death serpent”.

Likewise Benjamin Urich’s phantasmagorical swordplay against a “gangrenous horde” whilst inhabited by a spiritual Light Knight packs the Kansas State University alumnus' narrative full of scything sensationalism as the “investigative journalist for the New York newspaper The Daily Bugle” chops down an “abominable army of rot” with both his “luminous blade light” and bluster. It’s rare to see the chain-smoker portrayed as such an obvious action hero, and Hopeless’ dialogue strongly suggests just how much the reporter is enjoying himself by penning Ben confidently wading into a zombie host alongside a similarly super-powered Wilson Fisk.

Of course, this comic’s arguable highlight however, has to be the Baron’s utter astonishment at having been bested once again by a magician whose modern-day abilities are far inferior to his own. Dethroned by Strange’s astral projection “rope-a-dope” ruse, and faced with the combined physical might of such notable costumed crime-fighters as Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Cloak and Spider-Woman, the beaten Transylvanian nobleman is so enraged with frustration that he rather humorously stands indignantly transfixed before his foes spouting his unrealistic defiance until Matt Murdock mercifully socks him in the jaw.

Writer: Dennis Hopeless, Artist & Colorist: Niko Henrichon, and Letters: VC's Cory Petit

Doctor Strange [2015] #23 - Marvel Comics

DOCTOR STRANGE No. 23, September 2017

Featuring a fascinating phantasmagorical face-off between Benjamin Urich and Wilson Fisk due to the long-feuding antagonists inadvertently donning magical manifestations whilst thwarting Karl Mordo’s latest attempt to murder this comic’s titular character, Dennis Hopeless’ script for Issue Twenty Three of “Doctor Strange” certainly delivered plenty of pulse-pounding action to its 32,745 strong audience in July 2017. But whilst this mastery of the dark arts proves an intriguing moment within the Kansas City-born writer’s story-line, especially for those readers aware of the feuding pair’s violently short-lived relationship as depicted during the first season of Drew Goddard’s American web television series “Daredevil”, the supernatural duel featuring the “chain-smoking, tough-as-nails investigative journalist” as a Light Knight debatably detracts from the far more operatic-scaled battle taking place elsewhere between Power Man, Iron Fist, Cloak and the Sorcerer Supreme’s greatest rival.

In fact, the Baron’s battle against the street-level costumed crime-fighters is arguably well worth this publication’s cover price alone, as artist and colourist Niko Henrichon really pulls out all the stops to pencil a truly horrifying bout of fisticuffs involving multi-fanged mythical monstrosities, the blackest of arcane spells and Manhattan’s finest going toe-to-toe with all manner of slithering tentacles; “Mordo may look like a chump but he’s hiding a serious god complex under those Slytherin robes.” Disappointingly however, this admittedly rather one-sided affair is frustratingly cut short by the Harvey Award-winner’s evident desire to give the lion’s share of the ‘spotlight’ to his comic’s leading cast and resultantly, just as Tyrone Johnson is somehow shockingly sucked inside Karl’s spell book, the audience is disconcertingly snatched back to witness Spider-Woman being scooped up by the Phantom Eagle whilst preoccupied with her team-mates’ immature in-fighting.

This ‘change of view’ really is annoying when it quickly becomes clear, courtesy of this book’s concluding cliff-hanger splash illustration, that the “unbreakable brawler” and “immortal living weapon” have both subsequently been overpowered by the Transylvanian nobleman ‘off-screen’. Of course, such a dalliance with Stephen’s now magically-enhanced ‘friends’ appears entirely appropriate given that it sets up this story-line for an almighty altercation with the master of New York City’s darkforce bubble in the ongoing series’ next instalment. Yet surely such a premeditated re-positioning of Hopeless’ heroes within his narrative could have been otherwise manufactured without refocusing the publication’s attention away from such sense-shattering shenanigans as Luke Cage and Danny Rand’s disconcerting defeat..?

Writer: Dennis Hopeless, Artist & Colorist: Niko Henrichon, and Letters: VC's Cory Petit