“The Devil in Cell-Block D: Part Three”
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano, Frank D’Armata (colours)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Kicking the issue off with a great piece of writing which sees Bullseye brought to prison in a gleefully Hannibal Lecter-esque contraption as Matt can only helplessly listen from his cell, Ed Brubaker continues to ratchet up the tension in his superhero prison opus, bringing the same kind of pressure to bear on Matt Murdock that Bendis revelled in piling on his protagonist, yet never tipping his hand as to how the whole situation is going to play out. Murdock himself seems more dangerous than he has in ages, as the death of Foggy Nelson has proven to be far more than an empty shock tactic: it has unleashed a much darker, much more brutal side to Matt than we’ve perhaps ever seen, and in the light of the character’s past incursions into the realm of mental instability, it makes for a thrillingly unpredictable read. It’s a credit to the way that Brubaker and Lark have handled their first arc that I find it hard to believe that this is only the pair’s third Daredevil issue so far, as their grasp of character, tone and their ease in dealing with all of the title’s supporting cast members would have you believe that they’ve been on the book for far longer.
Despite all these great elements though, there are a couple of things which bug me slightly – but only slightly - about this issue. The first is that one of the key scenes relies on Matt’s ability to get out of his cell unnoticed, which somewhat undermines the impact of his incarceration. I was also a little surprised to see Matt don a costume whilst still imprisoned, as as far as I know, he’s still publicly denying his dual identity as Daredevil, and to tie a piece of red material around his head in true Man Without Fear style is surely only going to further reinforce the connection. And whilst I’m really enjoying the visuals of Michael Lark, one of the minor nitpicks in the issue’s artwork is again Tommy Lee Edwards’ cover, which is such a bizarrely unrecognisable image of Matt that his name has had to be superimposed in plain type onto his prison duds, presumably to reassure anybody who might have thought that Ben Urich had somehow got inside the prison and was about to be molested by the Werewolf and Frankenstein’s monster. I’d much prefer to see Lark be given a shot at the covers, as his atmospheric linework – along with Frank D’Armata’s fantastically dark, dank colouring - is fitting the tone of Brubaker’s story so well that I’m convinced he could pull off some great covers which would gel with the story far better.
Brubaker’s cliffhanger introduces yet another Marvel Universe character into the mix, and it’s a move which makes perfect sense when you consider his rich history with Daredevil. The way the character purposely incriminates himself in order to gain access to Matt in prison is a great piece of writing, and the terrified reaction of the policeman who arrives to bring him in makes it clear – even to new readers who may not have encountered the character in the past – that he’s a dangerous man who is bound to make the situation in Ryker’s even more explosive. It’s interesting to see that many readers have assumed that he’ll side with Matt once he’s behind bars, because I seem to recall that the two characters didn’t exactly part on good terms the last time they met. It’s yet another reason why I’m so eager to read the next issue and see what Brubaker has planned.
Once of my concerns is that Ed Brubaker is going to have to be careful that he’s not over-burdening himself with too many characters, as by the end of the issue we’ve already got the Kingpin, Turk, Hammerhead, the Owl and Bullseye under Rykers’ roof, along with all manner of minor gangsters and villains who have been interspersed between the bigger players. He’s also got to make sure that he doesn’t neglect the many subplots which are furthered this issue, as Ben Urich and Dakota North’s search for the new Daredevil could run the risk of becoming a tiresome wild goose chase if not handled correctly, and little time is given to the ongoing thread which deals with the political machinations of the director of the FBI. The other side of the coin, however, is that Brubaker has handled all of these elements very well up to this point, and there’s no reason to imagine that he’ll slip up now. All the pieces are in place for a barnstorming second half of the arc, and I’m hoping that the writer has the skill to pull off what has the potential to be a thrilling climax to what is already shaping up to be the first classic arc of this creative team’s tenure.
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