Wednesday is Comic Day!

Writer: Joe Quesada Penciler: Joe Quesada Inker: Danny Miki Colorist: Richard Isanove Publisher: Marvel Comics Price: $19.99

Follow up:

I didn't pick this story up when it was first released as a six issue mini-series. My reason was the art. Not the art as a whole, because I quite like Quesada's work, but specifically how Quesada drew Daredevil, for this story. Quesada has done some great Daredevil work, but here, he chose to depict Daredevil very differently, in fact, quite grotesquely, with an enormously wide upper torso. I had no idea why he did that - I just found it ugly and unnecessary.

Now that I have read the trade paperback release of the story, I think I know why he did it. I think Daredevil: Father is Quesada's homage to Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Not only is the art reminiscent of that book, but Quesada also utilizes some of the narrative methods Miller used, including a repeated use of a pair of vapid news anchors.

Quesada also appears to borrow heavily from the films about the Son of Sam murders, with this being the story of a a serial killer during a record breaking heatwave.

He also frames the story around a "sins of the father" motif. So, Quesada doesn't get a lot of points for originality.

One thing Quesada does introduce is a group of super powered vigilates known as the Santerians. They bring some welcome ethnic diversity to the mostly black and white Marvel universe. I hope they are seen again.

The Daredevil art turned out to be less of a problem than I'd anticipated, because Daredevil only makes a few appearances. This is more a story of Matt Murdock than of Daredevil.

Artistically, Quesada does a good job of story-telling. His story has a few twists and turns that are well delivered. Richard Isanove's colors are a big help and add critical layers to the story.

If you can find this book at a good price, I recommend it.