Daredevil 206

Every Good and Perfect Gift by Denny O'Neill and David Mazzucchelli

One Sentence Overview: The Kinjorge tribe cause havoc when they're treated to an extravagant Christmas dinner but Micah Synn is more focussed on pursuing Debbie Nelson to the exclusion of all else

David Mazzuchelli's first issue of an acclaimed run on the book. His work is somewhat more muted and considerably more sophisticated than William Johnston's and suits the DD tone well. He's particularly good in a sequence of panels that demonstrates very well Debbie Nelson's ravaged ambivalence about the Kinjorge Chief. A couple of pages later, Debbie wants to flee the scene, yet by the end of the story Foggy is bemused at Debbie's platant concern with the injured Micah. This sense of ambivalence, often the case in those considering a betrayal - not wanting to do it on the one hand but feeling compelled on the other - is brought out really well by Denny and David in this story.

Elsewhere, Micah's underlings show themselves to be as obnoxious as their leader. At a dinner held in their honour, their manners are not just poor but positively put the fear of God into the beleagured staff who try to serve them. More disturbing is their later interruption at Matt's Christmas party, where they giggle at Matt's visual impairment and cruelly taunt Becky for being in a wheelchair. Poor Becky is really picked upon this issue - earlier on she's the victim of a mugging. Alas there's little sense of Ms Blake's resilience, being an educated woman living alone in New York, instead constantly being presented as a victim in this story.

Micah has come to the attention of the Kingpin who is intrigued by the new arrival to the city. At first there's a sense that a team up is on the cards. However, Micah's tunnel vision attitude to squiring Debbie Nelson is a big 'no-no' in Mr Fisk's books. Thou shalt not pursue another man's wife appears to be one moral commandment that Wilson likes to uphold. As such, we find him, before story's end, backing DD in his battle with the Chief (yet another case of Kingpin helping DD out, a story twist that is rapidly becoming a cliche - careful now).

Unusually for Denny, the story contains quite a lot of action at its business end. I'm wondering if some readers were tired of Denny's (rather good, in my opinion) anti-climaxes and wanted a bang, not a whimper, at the end of their book. If so, they get it in spades here.

Weirdly, I've managed to time this review just in time for Christmas (the title's a Biblical reference, for those interested in such matters) in an issue with Matt throwing a yuletide party, helped by his 'lodger', Glorianna. So happy holidays to you all!

Cast

Daredevil/Matt Murdock

Foggy Nelson

Becky Blake

Kingpin/Wilson Fisk

Glorianna O'Breen

Debbie Harris/Nelson

Micah Synn

Professor Horatio Piper

Rating: 7 out of 10

Daredevil 205

The Gael by Denny O'Neill and William Johnson



One Sentence Overview: In fear for her life because her father has been wrongly accused as a traitor to the IRA, Glorianna O'Breen flees from Ireland to New York unaware that the real rogue element is on her tail



A few years ago when I worked in a youth and community work post in Northern Ireland, I was fortunate enough to avail of an opportunity to go on a 'fact finding' visit with other Irish youth work professionals to Buffalo in New York state to visit innovative American projects focusing on different areas of youth work. During downtime, one of our hosts decided to take us to a local Irish club, where the beer flowed and a band played Irish rebel songs. I took the opportunity to peruse the club's newsletter and it soon occurred to me that the Americans having a good night out there were considerably more 'Irish' than I was. In fact, one could say the whole evening misjudged the nature of the visitors - there was a certain one-sidedness in the point of view of those gathered that made some of our number feel very uncomfortable.


Reading this story by an American writer with an Irish heritage calls to mind the peculiar attitude that 'Irish Americans' have (or had) to the 'cause' back in the north of Ireland. In one way it's very romanticised, accompanied by a view that those living in Northern Ireland are being mercilessly oppressed by a British occupying force. My Buffalo experience makes me feel that Denny may have been of a similar mind to those in the club that night.


In terms of full disclosure, I should add that I was brought up within a family and community who tended to take a dim view of the IRA's shenanigans. When I first read a story featuring the Gael back in the early 80s and read a viewpoint very different to that which I encountered daily, I was genuinely shocked by what I was reading. I had heard rumours that Irish Americans had a rose tinted view of the IRA and what they were doing in Ireland. But to read it in a superhero comic book seemed astonishing. As a teenage reader, I think I was probably a little offended at the time.


Back in the early 80s, the IRA and their political representatives, Sinn Fein, stood somewhat outside the political process as promoted by the British government (to some extent, they still do). Some viewed their bombing campaigns and shootings of police and civilians as terrorism, rather than self determination. Instead ordinary folks were caught up in tit for tat killings by paramilitary groups representing both republican (the IRA and their ilk) and loyalist viewpoints. It is, I think, fair to say that the majority of the population did not support the violence of either side, no matter what their political ideology was.


Early on in this story, Denny presents his own interpretation of events by introducing the readers to two IRA volunteers and holding them up to be heroic. He introduces them in a very interesting way by showing them seemingly kidnap Debbie Nelson's Irish niece, Glorianna O'Breen. Daredevil gets into a fight with them for said act but then realises that they were merely trying to protect her from the Gael, a man who previously hounded her father, an IRA veteran. By showing the IRA volunteers being misunderstood, I feel that Denny may have presented the characters in this way deliberately as a comment upon how he may have felt i.e. that the IRA had been misrepresented by the media at that time. It's certainly a bold assertion.


There's one particularly odd piece of dialogue that seems to reveal Denny's view of the organisation but would certainly have been offensive to many British readers of the comic back in the day. As IRA volunteer, Fergus, tells Daredevil about trying to protect Glorianna from the Gael, he delivers this gem, "[The Gael] worked for the IRA... an' then went bad".The implication, of course, being that he hadn't been doing anything wrong beforehand.


However, Denny does not appear to be totally uncritical about the armed struggle in Ireland. Later in the story, Denny comments upon a significant criticism of the IRA and organisations like them. The Gael tells Glorianna why he's gone 'bad'. He speaks of how the enjoyment of killing of a British corporal gave him a taste for blood that then overwhelmed any political ideology and became his life. This is a good counter to all the positive propaganda for the IRA delivered earlier on in the book.

Having been brought up in Northern Ireland, can I really view this story objectively? Perhaps not. However, by the time I had began working in the job I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I had become more attuned to those on the other side of the political fence from the one I had been brought up with. I was much more sympathetic; I met people from very different backgrounds than my own and could see how they had been ostracized, especially regarding civil rights. Some had felt compelled to join what Denny calls here, in the words of Glorianna O'Breen, 'anti-government rebels' as a matter of last resort. I think it only fair to also say that many others never became involved in the violent struggle, despite personal loss and hardship.


I also find it interesting that Denny hooks the whole story on the fact that Glorianna isn't fleeing from the Gael per se but because her father has been wrongly exposed as a 'traitor'. In other words, she fears the repercussions of the organisation her father was involved with - the IRA. Perhaps this is a tacit acknowledgement by Denny that their modus operandi was not always ethical. I still struggle with the violent nature of what had occurred in my place of birth over 30 odd years. And I still feel that distant American cousins who helped fund such organisations didn't always quite grasp what they were buying into.


Okay that was all a bit heavy. How are the more mundane matters of the comic delivered. Very well, actually. Despite his lack of super powers, the Gael comes across as a genuine threatening presence. His kidnapping of Glorianna in the business end of the book is really well done and he exudes menace.


I also quite like the way Denny captures Irish phraseology, without quite descending into parody (though the Gael's twiddling with a shamrock is a little cringe-y). Glorianna has some nice lines of dialogue in particular. I enjoyed "Fine words, coming from behind a mask" and "An' how is it you know I'm staying at Matthew Murdock's".


There are some nice light comic touches with Debbie Nelson, who's very quick to give Glorianna a spare key to Matt's brownstone. Incidentally this leads to a weird bit of extraordinary trust on Matt's part. Having found out that Glorianna is a photographer, he decides there's probably no issue with her staying with him on the basis that she won't snoop around. Huh? Has this guy never heard of papparazzi?


I may appear quite critical about this issue but, even at this distance, it's kind of remarkable for such a topic to get an airing in a comic book. I admire Denny for daring to do it, even if I suspect he and I have different points of view on the protoganists involved.


Gratuitous Panel(s) of the Month
In amidst all this very serious commentary on 'the Irish problem' is a very funny moment where Matt hears hearts beating fast in an apartment, breaks down a door and finds... a newly engaged couple about to get it on. And just what exactly is that girl doing with her right hand in the first frame...?


Cast
Daredevil/Matt Murdock
Foggy Nelson
Becky Blake
Glorianna O'Breen
Debbie Harris/Nelson

The Gael/Paddy O'Hanlon
Fergus
Hannigan

Rating: 8 out of 10

Daredevil 204

Vengeance of the Victim by Denny O'Neil and Luke McDonnell

One Sentence Overview: In order to promote her husband's social standing, Debbie Nelson throws a party for Chief Micah of the KinJorge, unaware that an assassin is lurking

After the entertaining diversions of Steven Grant's tale of Matt's past contemporaries, Denny's brought the strange African/British savage, Micah Synn back to centre stage this issue. However, pencilling duties falls to Luke O'Donnell, who does a decent enough job here. I like the amount of detail he puts into the background, as well demonstrated by the splash page that opens this story. It's a good summary of the fashions of the time. And check out the pickpockets surreptitiously passing a wallet back and forth in the bottom right hand corner.

Micah was originally presented two issues back as something of an ethical quandry. Backed by the illustrious Professor Horatio Piper, Daredevil was keen to forgive some quite poor behaviour by the Chief of the KinJorge on the basis of cultural misunderstanding. By the end of this issue, however, his patience is wearing thin.

Previously, Becky Blake had astutely recognised that the KinJorge viewed those weaker than themselves with scorn. Here, Micah demonstrates his social ineptitude in this regard when his remaining wife Sra ends up traumatised after falling on a train track. Noticing her distress, Micah's compassion stretches to... laughter.

Later, invited to a party put on by Debbie Nelson (it's the event of the season! Look, there's boozy Tony Stark losing it in the corner! Seriously, that really is Tony Stark sloshing his way through martinis in a gratuitous cameo...), Micah puts repels and attracts Debbie in equal measure when he tears his way through the dainty vol au vents laid out of the buffet table.

Unusually Debbie takes centre stage this issue. I've commented before about how inconsistent she's written but Denny does a pretty good job here. Denny's already established in earlier stories that Debbie's pushing her husband for greater prominence and I guess this society do is part of that (though this is all pretty ironic given Debbie's previous criminal record). Like the two female bystanders in issue 202, Debbie is drawn to the alpha male African chief and it doesn't take much compulsion on Micah's part for the two of them to get frisky pretty quickly in the master bedroom. Ah, poor oblivious Foggy...

We learned previously that Micah's ancestors are part of a British expeditionary force to an obscure part of Africa. This issue we're introduced to one of Micah's relatives - the uber plummy Lord Barrington Synn (even the name reeks of upper class twittery). Denny enjoys giving his Lordship all the manners and effeteness one associates with British aristocracy (given his opinion on the Irish issue, it's perhaps not surprising that Denny twists the knife a little here). Lord Synn is also a bit of a wimp as demonstrated by his blubbering in front of Daredevil when our hero confronts him about how a certain bowsman is trying to assassinate Micah.

Which brings us to the main plot thrust of the issue. Basically, Barrington is appalled that the vulgar Micah is a distant relation and so employs Crossbow to take him out. When I first saw Crossbow on the cover, perhaps distracted by Micah's beard in the foreground, I couldn't help thinking that DC must have been up in arms about this 'Green Arrow' rip off (nice cover by the excellent Bill Scienkiewicz, by the way). Despite this, Crossbow's an interesting figure. With his insistence in calling everyone 'laddy' I'm guessing he may be a Scot (in league with a posh Englishman? Really, Denny? Really????). Actually, a quick look at Kuljit Mithra's excellent 'Man Without Fear' website seems to hint that he may be Irish... (in league with a posh Englishman? Really, Den... er, you get the point)

However, what I'm really impressed by is Crossbow's technophobic fear of all things modern. In a nice little passage of dialogue with DD, he reveals that he uses his bow and arrow because, like Lord Barrington, he likes the past order of things - there's almost a hankering for the old British Empire. I don't know if we see Crossbow again but I like how he's been presented here - it's an interesting modus operandi.

A pretty fine issue by Denny - another one which ends with more of a whimper than a bang, which appears to be something of an O'Neil trademark. I don't mind that, though - it's quite daring and shows a bit of wit.

Gratuitous Panel of the Month:

Er, does this mean the same thing in America as in the UK? Because that's actually pretty saucy...

Cast

Daredevil/Matt Murdock

Foggy Nelson

Becky Blake

Debbie Harris/Nelson

Micah Synn

Iron Man/Tony Stark

Crossbow

Professor Horatio Piper

Lord Barrington Synn

Sra

Rating: 7 out of 10