Ah, the obligatory event wrap up issue complete with primers for future books; this then is where we say good-bye to a one aspect of the cleverest hooks of the whole Reign storyline, the death of Matt Murdock!
The main part of the story is the aforementioned funeral along with a surprising guest list, Matt Murdock being their with Daredevils on a nearby rooftop notwithstanding! From there we get a lead into the the new Thunderbolts book and a “story so far” about the life and times of New York’s new Mayor, Luke Cage.
Chip Zdarsky has been on fire with his run on Daredevil and with the Devil’s Reign event being its pinnacle, I am left to wonder what is left? Aftermath books are there to tie-up loose ends, such as the funeral, and also lay the breadcrumbs for the next arcs. Zdarsky does both well, with confrontations and threats ramped up a notch. Throw in a realisation about how powerful Luke Cage isn’t and you have the makings of a set-up book that serves to whet the readers appetite.
The art for the main story is provided by Rafael De Latorre who has a heavy line style which gives the characters a kind of cartoony look, rather than their slimmed down versions. This means that Luke is stocky to the max, which is a nice affectation for a character that is as strong as he is. Things get a little untidy with some of the faces; I am glad someone said “Rand” which allowed me to work out who was who! Considering how dark Daredevil has been of late, the colors from Federico Blee are a tad bright; partly because most of the action is happening through the day, rather than the night, which would allow some of the darkness to seep in. VC’s Clayton Cowles supplies the ltters; you know he brings his “A” game every time, with wider font matching the tone of the book.
Of the other two stories, Rodney Barnes and Guillermo Sanna provide the writing and art respectively for “Mayor For Hire”. It’s a an ok introduction to the Thunderbolts book, though I could’ve done without one aspect of the book that ironically harks back to Ms. Marvel vol 2 #1. Sanna’s art is even more cartoony than De Latorre’s as Sanna looks to display more curves. Dijjo Lima’s colors are a tad darker than the previous story; Cowles pulls double duty on letters. The last story provides a recap of Luke Cage brought to us by Jim Zub and Luciano Vecchico as writer and artist respectively. this part is s total change of pace with Vecchico’s art giving a kind of distorted style that is a far cry from the rest of the book. Colors are provided by Carlos Lopez and Java Tartaglia matching well with the art. VC’s Joe Sabino gives Cowles a break and uses a similar style font, at least showing somes creative continuity.
I understand the need for a wrap up book. The schedule intimating the time passed since Fisk went missing. However, I think I would have liked to see more of the Daredevil part over the Luke Cage part. True Cage being Mayor is important and could play a number of different ways, especially when the weight of public opinion clashes with personal ideals, as hinted at here. Even the breakout character of the book, Lady Daredevil, seems to have taken a back seat in favour of other aspects of Daredevil’s world. Hopefully the new Daredevil #1, also by Zdarsky, will look to rectify that.
Writing (Zdarsky) – 4 Stars
Art (De Latorre) – 3.5 Stars
Colors (Blee) – 4 Stars
Overall – 3.5 Stars
Written by; Chip Zdarsky, Rodney Barnes & Jim Zub
Art by; Rafael De Latorre, Guillermo Sana & Lucciano Vecchio
Colors by; Federico Blee, Dijjo Lima, Carlos Lopez & Java Tartaglia
Letters by; VC’s Clayton Cowles & VC’s Joe Sabino
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.
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