Richard Gratton's Fantastic Reads 4 U

Daredevil #10
Release Date: 08/10/2016

There is something missing in Charles Soule's Daredevil. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something isn't quite the way it should be. The stories have been decent, not fantastic, but not bad either, just lacking in some way. The art has been good, not suitable for all titles, but appropriate to this title. Garney's work has a sort of film noir look to it – rough, dark, gritty, and lacking in color. I think something the title lacks is a hook, we need something to grab ahold of us and make us want to know more. As readers we have to care what happens to the characters in the story. In order to care, we must identify with the people in the story in some way, which in turn allows us to feel as though we are a part of the story, and have a vested interest in the outcome of events the characters struggle through. For me, this is an area where Charles Soule fails as the writer of this title.

Daredevil #10 is no exception. Is the story good? It's decent. Is the art good? It's dark, gritty, and film noir-esc, so yes, artistically the issue is good. But where is the hook to draw us in and make us care what happens to Daredevil, Matt Murdock, Blindspot, and Sam Chung? Daredevil is overconfident with a group of street thugs. It's business as usual on the street for Daredevil, no big deal. Matt is oppressed at work by jealous co-workers, and yet he seems somewhat apathetic about the situation, more than willing to work his way up from the bottom and just ignore the harassment of his coworkers. Sam worries that he will have to go back to his janitor job but is thrilled when Matt offers him a permanent position. Blindspot is being set up by some as yet unrevealed villain and naturally calls his mentor, Daredevil when he discovers a murder. Why should we care about any of this? Where is the seemingly impossible situation any one of them is being put in, a situation so shocking that we just can't put the comic down because we have to know how they could possibly get out of this one?

It's not there. It's missing.

Why do I keep coming back for more? It's not the writing. I come back issue after issue because I grew up with Daredevil and I love the character. I grew up at the time of Frank Miller's run on Daredevil and loved what he did with both Matt Murdock and his alter ego. Is it fair to compare Soule's work to Miller's? Of course not, every writer is free to go in their own direction with the characters they write about. But if a writer wants to hold the attention of the fan base, he must make the effort to capture the full attention of his audience; he must dig his literary claws into the audience and not let them go until the story is finished. Until Charles Soule does this with Daredevil, it will be nothing more than an average title.

Scale of Awesomeness: 5 out of 10