New This Week 10/10/12

-Theories & Thought Bubbles-

Never Was There a Tale of More Woe…

To be a hero means to never take a life, to search outside the box for a better way, a way to preserve life instead of ending it. Several heroes in the Marvel Universe are known for their non-lethal stance on crime. Chief among those was Daredevil, the protector of Hell’s Kitchen. Blind lawyer by day, blind justice by night, Matt Murdock represented the hopes and dreams of a neighborhood left to rot. Enter the Kingpin, Daredevil’s opposite, his antithesis. Rationalizing his actions through some cosmic sense of yin and yang, Wilson Fisk did all he could to plague Murdock’s every move. After years of tit for tat, Daredevil stopped looking for ways around his Kingpin problem. Murdock beat the Kingpin to death in front of the citizens of Hell’s Kitchen.

Daredevil: End of Days begins with Bullseye’s retaliation against Daredevil. The story is told through the eyes of Ben Urich, a well-known journalist from the dying Daily Bugle, who takes it upon himself to tell Matt Murdock’s final story. The writing credits on this story go to Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack, with pencils done by Klaus Janson and finished art by Bill Sienkiewicz.

Bendis and Mack use Daredevil: End of Days to explain the grit and intensity behind Matt Murdock, a level of macabre that hasn’t been experienced since Frank Miller took over the character in the late 80s and early 90s. Using the platform of Ben Urich and his quest to tell Daredevil’s final story, Bendis and Mack force the reader into the shoes of a nonreciprocating friendship. Urich desperately wanted Daredevil’s attention and confidence, instead he has been forced to hunt down the facts about Matt Murdock and the choices he made leading up to the Kingpin’s murder. Urich even says that it would have been easier just to ask, but that’s not how Murdock operated. The other thing that strikes the reader is that as Urich is writing the story, Bendis and Mack add a second narrative voice, showing Urich editing his own work as he’s writing.

Beyond the basic storytelling, the art of this comic is refreshingly gritty, indicative of Scott Kolins with hints of John Romita Jr and Michael Avon Oeming. First thing to notice is the use of the two-page splash as well as panels crossing over the page break. The latter of these has been used quite frequently in Bendis’ creator-owned comic – Powers. Klaus Janson takes something else from Powers, there is a two-page spread where Urich interviews potential witnesses and sources for his story, and the art for this takes up 32 panels, each with a cynical or dismissive response from the interviewee. This technique is used in almost every volume of Powers, and since Daredevil: End of Days is a Bendis creation, it seems fitting. The intrinsic cartooning within the story don’t spare the reader any of the violence, on the contrary. The less realistic the characterization is, the more effective and outstanding the violence seems.

Daredevil: End of Days is an example of where Marvel excels over other comic companies. The emotional attraction and the reader’s ability to relate to their characters has always been the draw for Marvel, and this story is no different. However, this is not a children’s comic, and it shouldn’t be read by anyone under 14. For those of us familiar with the Front Line and Embedded series from past Marvel events will immediately recognize this story. For those of us who haven’t experienced these stories, Daredevil: End of Days is an excellent place to begin. The first in an eight part limited series, Daredevil: End of Days will probably wrench out your heart and make you look at it as it slowly stops beating.

– Josh Nelson

Air Nomad and Great Harmonizer

j_nelson@fantasiumcomics.com

-A Word from Paula-

Holy cow! We’ve got so many great things coming in this week! First of all, I’m super stoked that we are getting the Saga trade paperback in this week. It’s been an amazing series. Brian K. Vaughan has made a great comeback and Fiona’s art is stellar! I’ve been following her on Instagram to see her sketches. If you know any other artists on Instagram, shoot me an email with their user name so I can follow them. Anyway, back to the book. Read it! It’s a great mix of fantasy and sci-fi with some romance and action/adventure thrown in. So, if you like comics, you’ll like this book.

Secondly, we will be celebrating the new Uncanny Avengers #1 this Wednesday! Everyone that picks up a copy will get a print, poster, AND a button! (While supplies last). Rick Remender is writing with John Cassaday doing the art. Both great guys! This is also the debut book of Marvel’s NOW line. All of their books are doing a slow rollover into new series with creators switching books. Remender doing Avengers and Captain America; Bendis doing X-Men, Hickman doing Avengers; Fraction doing Fantastic Four; and Aaron doing Thor.

-Events This Week-

Monday – 230pm – 6pm – Pathfinder
Wednesday – 5pm & 6pm – D&D Encounters
Thursday – 530pm – 8pm -  Magic the Gathering – Casual
Friday – 530pm – 9pm – Friday Night Magic – Standard Constructed – $5
Saturday – Noon – 3pm – D&D Lair Assault
Saturday – 4pm – 7pm – Draw Club
Sunday – Noon – 3pm – Heroclix
Sunday 330pm – 7pm – Open Board Game Play
Sunday – 4pm – 7pm – Kaijudo League