Miscellaneous Comments:    23 January 1999

    EXCELLENT STUFF.

    This is the story of Matt Murdock, an seemingly blind lawyer, who secretly has heightened senses, and fights crime as Daredevil. At this stage in the run, Matt has lost his licence and now fights crime from a downtown Free Legal Clinic. Which is itself illegal, and about to be closed down.

    An irony not lost on writer Ann Nocenti, who revels in making her central character suffer. He has a passion for the law that borders on the naďve, and now he's in a position of having to break the law to practice the law.

    Sweet.

    But that's just one plot thread.

    Among many.

    The main thrust of the plot concerns a group of environmentalists taking on a big nasty corporation. A big nasty corporation that's protected by the government and the mob.

    The mob squeezes a general, who sends a shady government agent, Bullet, to shepherd a bomber in his destruction of the Environmentalists HQ. And, after that, in framing the group for murder.

    Clues from the murder scenes lead DD to the bad-guy and after a fight, he is subdued and arrested.

    Only to be released as soon as he arrives at Police HQ.

    The end.

    And then, to make matters even more gloomy, even more downbeat and depressing, the whole story is told through the eyes of Bullet's young son. Who is bullied by his father, and horrified by stories he's heard about the dropping of The Bomb, and the resulting nuclear fallout, so much so that he is totally obsessed with preparing for the End Of The World.

    Whoa!

    Grim. And effective.

    This is great stuff. Riveting reading. There is so much happening that one might be tempted to call it disjointed. But, while there is no obvious connection between much of what is happening, the overall effect created is somewhat masterful. A chaotic and oppressive world. An unfair world. An unjust one.

    This was one of my first encounters with Daredevil. Following on from his Secret Wars II appearance, a run-in with Spidey and #249 featuring Wolverine. I really liked the character at this stage. And I still do. He's at his best here: as a lawyer he faces hopeless odds, as a super-hero he does his duty only to see the bad-guy get away anyway.

    Naďve or not, you still have to feel for the guy.

    Plus he's very cool. His first fight with Bullet has him in civvies. Caught on the hop, while Karen washes his costume, he fights while dressed as Matt Murdock. I love stuff like that. Later, while tracking the murderer, he goes to a downtown bar and the artwork (particularly the top of page 14) depicts him as an imposing and threatening figure.

    All in all, "Boom" / "Save The Planet" is a enjoyable and thoughtful two-parter. It captures the flavour of the Ann Nocenti issues and reading to tonight brought back a lot of good memories.

    Type of Series: Superhero.

    Similar Comics: Spider-Man.

    Also Reminds Me Of: The first season of Hill Street Blues, when everything was happening all at once, and you felt that Capt. Furillo was never going to get on top of that mess. Well, these issues create a world just like that. The Free Clinic, in particular, is a mess. Too many problems, all at once, no easy answers. Mostly, it's just a horde of homeless people and drop-outs looking for a place to crash. And Nocenti conveys the fact superbly.

    Strengths: The strength here is the extraordinary writing.

    Weaknesses: Slight repetition over the two issues. Matt's ex-partner appears twice - once in each issue. Each time with the same character, Glori, and each time for the exact same conversation. Foggy is now defending the corporate big-wigs against the little guy, and he feels guilty, and Glori confronts him by asking how Matt would feel. And he feels awkward and even more guilty.

    This happens in Part One.

    And again in Part Two.

    Thus diluting the effect of the whole idea.

    Aside from that gripe, I had a problem with the plot mechanics of the crime-story. I couldn't really understand why Bullit was brought into it in the first place. He was supposed to capture the bomber, who would then be set free.

    Excuse me?!!

    Why capture the bomber at all?

    What's the point of that exercise?

    Nah, don't buy it.

    Also, while I'm griping about the plot-mechanics, I was somewhat stunned that Bullit left his fingerprints (!!!!) at the murder scene.

    Sure, he knew he could get off scot free, so he didn't have to worry about prints, but still…

    Impressive Characters: The most impressive character here is the chief baddie. The Kingpin of Crime. He's the one orchestrating everything. From behind the scenes. And all just to prove a point to, and ultimately break, Matt Murdock. It's a personal vendetta. Hence the overkill. He appears just once. In a darkened room, over the city.

    Matt is probably too naďve to be "impressive". At the end, when he throuws his legal papers away in despair, you are more inclined to feel that he's finally grown up, rather than feel any great sympathy for the chap.

    Impressive Writers: Ann Nocenti. Amazing.

    Impressive Artists: The John Romita / Al Williamson issues of Daredevil have their own unique "look." Millions of parallel squiggly lines. Which I love. It probably takes hours and hours to draw things that way, but it looks fantastic. And kinda oppressive. Ideal for this phase in this series.

    Less-Than-Impressive Characters:

    Less-Than-Impressive Writers:

    Less-Than-Impressive Artists:

    Continuity: Strong. Very strong. These issues function as a two-parter (Daredevil Vs. Bullet, but the threads continue to future issues).

    Guide:

    Reviews:

    Other Info:

GRADE: A-

(good, but those plot-mechanics bug me. Earning it a "-" beside the "A".)

Comments are welcome: dec@iol.ie

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