Death-Defying 'Devil #5 - Dynamite Entertainment

DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL No. 5, December 2019

Initially appearing, for all intents and purposes, as an issue-long punch-up between this comic’s titular character and Lucifer himself, Gail Simone’s script for this final instalment to her “Death-Defying Devil” mini-series probably caught a fair few of the book’s readers off-guard with its subtle shift in focus away from the fisticuffs. In fact, the American author’s script for this twenty-two page periodical rather cleverly brings some clarity to much of this title’s lengthy story-line, as it becomes increasingly clear that Bart Hill’s battle “to protect the residents of the Winslow House from the evil that wants their home” was never really about the physical fighting, but more about him building up an unassailable bond of trust with the buildings numerous tenants.

Of course, that doesn’t mean for a second that the costumed crime-fighter doesn’t spend a fair proportion of this publication trading blows with the personification of evil, or rather reeling from a veritable torrent of flesh-rending claw-swipes, hoof-stomps and bone-cracking grapples. However, arguably the real action actually takes place on the haunted dwelling’s main porch, as Satan’s son tries to shatter the strong sense of loyalty the vulnerable inhabitants have developed for the masked vigilante by offering them their heart’s deepest desire in return for just three words - “I rebuke him.”

Such emotional turmoil really is at the heart of this wonderfully penned piece, with each member of Simone’s supporting cast seeming to have an awful lot to gain by making a deal with the devil, and it genuinely appears that at any moment one of the residents will finally give in to the ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. Indeed, just as a badly bloodied Bart haplessly lies at the feet of his apparently victorious, horned opponent and all appears lost, it is the solidarity of Staff Sergeant Crouse, Roberto, Yolanda, Mister Tubbins, and Miss Thomas which ultimately wins through to send an impotent Mister Bedlam and his weakened father straight back to Hell.

Providing this comic with plenty of dynamically-drawn action-packed panels, as well as prodigiously portraying the internal struggles upon the pained faces of this comic’s “good people”, is Walter Geovani. The Brazilian visual artist really does help imbue “Devilson” with all the haughty arrogance and overconfidence a bibliophile would expect from Satan’s offspring, and the wicked creature’s eventual disbelief at being outplayed at his own deceitful game is undoubtedly the highlight of this book.

The regular cover art of "DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL" No. 5 by Inhyuk Lee

Death-Defying 'Devil #4 - Dynamite Entertainment

DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL No. 4, November 2019

Having finally started to ‘rationalise’ the utterly bizarre happenings occurring within Winslow House with her script to Issue Four of “Death-Defying Devil”, Gail Simone probably felt a little hard done by that this title was only the three hundred and forty-seventh best-selling comic book in December 2019. True, the GLAAD Media Award-nominee’s slightly choppy narrative still lurches in between the modern day world and a universe populated by a little girl’s demon-infested flights of fancy. But at least the publication’s 2,867 readers are shown just why the child who “died when she should have lived” is haunting the residential building, even if the twenty-two page periodical doesn’t explain how the dearly departed Mika is doing it.

In addition, the Oregon-born writer also includes a rather fun nod to “Dungeons & Dragons” fans everywhere by transforming the titular character into a steely-thewed barbarian, and thrusting him into a mass battle against an entire army of Frost Goblins almost single-handedly. This sense-shattering sequence really forms the central core of this comic, and aside from its superb portrayal of a brutally bloody battle atop a frozen mountain top, also contains some much-appreciated cameos from Masquerade, the Black Terror and the Green Llama; “So we are a company, you see, not a solitary guest. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? They’ve killed enough of your kind.”

Somewhat surprisingly, for those gore fans not sated by this scene’s graphic depiction of severed heads, dismemberment and splattering of brains, Simone then later repeats Bartholomew Hill’s apparent predilection for gratuitous violence, by having the costumed crime-fighter mercilessly butcher a number of hot-headed demons with his infamous razor-sharp boomerangs. To be fair, this modern-day, street-level skirmish is probably far closer to the original concept of the “public domain Golden Age character” than the vast majority of this mini-series’ plot has produced so far. Yet it is still somewhat disconcerting to witness a so-called super-hero gleefully decapitate hoodlums, even when they’re torch-waving, red-skinned demons.

Helping inject this book’s outlandish storyline with some dynamically-drawn action and just the odd bucket of blood, is Walter Geovani, who alongside colorist Adriano Augusto, does a prodigious job illustrating Daredevil’s peculiar exploits. The “Brazilian visual artist” seems especially talented at pencilling large formations of warriors, and as a result there is a genuine feeling of great scale to his representation of Bart’s aforementioned confrontation with the vile Goblin King.

The regular cover art of "DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL" No. 4 by Inhyuk Lee

Death-Defying 'Devil #3 - Dynamite Entertainment

DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL No. 3, October 2019

Despite Gail Simone’s utterly bizarre belief that fans of this comic’s titular character from the Forties would enjoy an ‘anything can happen with the next twenty-two pages” nonsensical narrative, the Oregon-born writer’s storyline for Issue Three of “The Death-Defying Devil” actually contains a pretty compelling adventure which disconcertingly deals with the issues faced by an elderly super-hero who can no longer even walk without the aid of a Zimmer frame, let alone dispatch his foes with his infamous razor edged boomerangs. Indeed, if the American author had simply ditched the idea that all the elder abuse depicted within this book was actually caused by the machinations of a daemonic entity determined to steal the souls of an apartment block’s tenants, and instead solely focus upon the caregivers preying upon their vulnerable patients just to bolster their own self-importance, then this book would arguably have been all the more impactive.

As it stands however, an aged Bart Hill’s desperate battle to evade the brutal clutches of Freddy and Derek is somewhat lessened by the World War Two veteran’s persistent trips to an inter-dimensional place and discomfiting conversations with a little girl wearing a toy unicorn horn on her head; “But you really don’t belong in this time… You defied the calendar. You defied life and death.” True, the young child provides the white-haired, somewhat frail Daredevil with the solution to all his problems within the Winslow Convalescent Home, by restoring the man’s youth and re-arming him with a pair of “two-pound stainless steel ball bearing Frisbees.” But seeing as how the geriatric had already managed to batter both his attackers with a vicious blow to the face using his walking frame, as well as a jaw-dropping punch to the nether regions, it would have been far more interesting to see Jack Binder’s co-creation succeed via his own merits rather than relying upon a supernatural solution.

Perhaps this comic’s biggest positive takeaway is therefore the artwork of Walter Geovani, who manages to somehow etch the horror of his helplessness upon Hill’s face the moment he wakes up to discover he’s become an enfeebled shadow of his former crime-fighting self. The Brazilian artist does an incredible job of pencilling the physical menace Derek exudes whenever he threatens the patients, and any perusing bibliophile can surely hear the crack of bones when Bart quickly decides enough is enough and begins mercilessly brutalising his shocked would-be assailants.

The regular cover art of "DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL" No. 3 by Inhyuk Lee

Death-Defying 'Devil #2 - Dynamite Entertainment

DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL No. 2, September 2019

Considering that this book is absolutely packed full of nostalgic nods to the super-powered Mystery Men from “the early days of Western comics”, and a healthy dose of head-breaking as this comic’s titular lead brings his brutally badass style of street-level crime-fighting to the aisles of Miss Thomas’ local super-market, the vast majority of its audience probably thoroughly enjoyed the opening half of Gail Simone’s screenplay to Issue Two of “Death-Defying Devil”. But whilst the twenty-two page periodical continues to contain plenty of socked jaws, broken ribs and bust guts all the way to its utterly bizarre conclusion, the Oregon-born writer’s disconcerting decision to suddenly transform Daredevil into an actual boomerang-slinging cowboy probably made them then drop the publication like a partially read hot potato.

To begin with however, there is a reasonable amount to enjoy regarding the former hairdresser’s narrative, courtesy of a somewhat sickly-sweet sentimental scene depicting Bart sat upon an ornate settee, munching a slice of homemade coffee cake and delicately holding a tiny cup of tea. Literally surrounded by cats and old movie posters, this well-penned look back over the Swan from Milan’s motion picture career provides a convincing rationale as to just why the frustratingly mute super-hero would ever consider accompanying the elderly actress to the “Food 2 Go” store for some vanilla or rum raisin ice cream.

Yet sadly, once the “comic strip” adventurer has bloodily dispatched the axe-wielding assailants such a shopping trip was bound to enrage, things take a horrific turn for the worse as events are seemingly sucked back in time to an old black and white picture studio, where corrupt police officers are transformed into trench coat-wearing marshals, Louisa rejuvenated into a buxom wench, and Daredevil distorted into “a rotten actor in a lousy B-movie.” In fact, almost everything which was compelling about Simone’s story-telling is arguably torn away from beneath the feet of this comic’s readers within the space of a single sheet of paper; “I’m askin’ one last time tenderfoot. A bullet here, or a noose at the penitentiary. What’s it gonna be?”

Wretchedly, even worse is to come though as Gail decides a brief sojourn to Robert Zemeckis’ 1990 science fiction film “Back to the Future Part III” isn’t pulp enough for her perusing bibliophiles, and shockingly reveals that one of the modern-day cops turned Wild West desperados is actually a cloven-hooved, red-skinned demon, who instantly teleports Bart to a lynching atop a ludicrous-looking, antler-bearing satanic beast. Poorly pencilled by Brazilian artist Walter Geovani, who quite possibly couldn’t quite believe what he was being asked to illustrate, this change of events completely ruins what had initially appeared to be an enjoyably grounded tale of penniless house-bound tenants fighting against the tyranny of their town’s indigenous crime boss.

The regular cover art of "DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL" No. 2 by Inhyuk Lee

Death-Defying 'Devil #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL No. 1, August 2019

Whereas Gail Simone’s plot to Issue One of “Death-Defying ‘Devil” might prove uncomfortably similar for those older readers who remember director Michael Winner's 1985 American action thriller film “Death Wish 3”. Its basic premise of the titular character protecting a bunch of ‘misfit’ tenants in a rundown apartment building from a sadistic racketeer undeniably taps into what arguably made the “precursor to the modern street-level heroes we have today” so successful during the Golden Age of comic books.

Indeed, the ‘down-to-earth’ nature of this twenty-two page periodical’s narrative, with its vicious razor boomerangs, cowardly axe-attacks, and gritty pugilism, make it abundantly clear just why the two-time GLAAD Media Award nominee herself has apparently “been fascinated by the Death Defying 'Devil since I first saw him on the cover of Jim Steranko’s History of Comics” and decided to pen such a brutally basic tale of easily recognisable good verses spine-chillingly outright evil; “Well, maybe we just got better things to do, little mamacita. Than risking our lives for dirty little scofflaws like you. Maybe don’t be so stubborn, little immigrant bitch.”

Somewhat sadly, that doesn’t mean that Simone’s storytelling isn’t necessarily without its faults though, as her lead antagonist seemingly takes down Jack Binder’s creation far too easily considering "Daredevil" was ‘slaughtering’ his numerous henchmen just mere moments before, and then inexplicably leaves the “hero” alive for no valid reason other than its not the hooded villain’s decision to kill him but rather “up to Mister Donovan.” This bizarre decree makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, particularly in view of the life-changing injuries the public domain vigilante has caused, except to contrivingly set-up a future revenge-fuelled re-match between the one-time “Lev Gleason Publications” property and his semi-mutilated attackers…

Such illogical quibbles are however, fairly easy to gloss over thanks in large to some action-packed pencilling by Walter Geovani. Crammed full of atmospheric attention to detail like his figures’ footfalls and skid-marks in the snow during this “Dynamite Entertainment” publication’s opening brutal confrontation, the Brazilian’s artwork genuinely helps create the bitingly cold weather and desperate nature of the fisticuffs, as well as later miraculously imbues a seriously sedentary sequence involving a sofa-laden crime-fighter with some semblance of dynamism, courtesy of the bandaged invalid’s ever-scanning right eye.

The regular cover art of "DEATH-DEFYING 'DEVIL" No. 1 by Riccardo Federici