Daredevil #109

One-sentence summary: Brubaker & Rucka continue to deliver tense Daredevil stories with their grim, realistic edge, with pencils by Lark perfectly complementing things.

I should put out there right now, I don't think I've read a Brubaker/Rucka venture I haven't really loved (GCPD was a fantastic DC title, for example). It should come as no surprise, then, that I really enjoy their run on Daredevil. The writing is tense, the consequences real (for Daredevil, at least), and the plots non-obvious. I also like that we spend as much time with Murdoch -- maybe more -- than with Daredevil. He's an attorney, it's a busy life, and it actually shows in the comics. Crazy!

That being said, it's not perfect. For one thing, even for Brubaker, this is a dark comic. It's been a very long time since Murdoch's life has had anything good happen in it. If this was the only comic I read, that might be a bit of a bummer, but as is is just a change of pace.

There, I did it, I levied a (milktoast) criticism against a Brubaker comic. And I didn't even get struck by lightning or anything. Weird.

Checkmate #16

One-sentence summary: An issue that begins a new story, it seems, while wrapping up others, all with an understandable romance -- done well!

Checkmate's an interesting book. I generally really like it, and this issue is no exception. Sometimes, above all things, it's a well-plotted book. This issue does an enormous number of things, and it does them all well. It features flashbacks to flesh out the character of Sasha Bordeaux a bit more, if for nothing else to show us just how horrible what's occurred to her is in the previous issues. At the same time, it shows the background and current developments in her relationship with Mr. Terrific, also wrapping up a storyline from Birds of Prey with the introduction of Ice, and with an end which hints at the directions this story's going next.

Checkmate can be a bit confusing for a new reader, due to the number of characters (particularly if you're unfamiliar with the characters outside of the book). But, I'd say it's worth getting into. The world of superhuman espionage and politics is, well, fantastic. Each development is interesting and has implications.

The art works well for the book; nothing fabulous, but good nevertheless.