Broken Frontier

Subterranean thieves strike at the core of Matt Murdock.

Mark Waid’s Daredevil continues to thrill as the “Man Without Fear” takes on a bizarre and possibly crazed incarnation of the Mole Man.  Daredevil #9 is another fantastic offering in Waid’s run, one that contains enough character work and action to keep every fan thrilled. 

Picking up on the strange grave-robbing cliffhanger from Daredevil #8, issue #9 follows both Daredevil and his alter-ego Matt Murdock as the hero tries to come to terms with the theft of his father’s casket.  This strange and heart-wrenching turn of events is captured incredibly well by Waid, as Daredevil’s inner monologue and reckless behavior amongst the lethal thieves reflects his torn mindset. 

As top notch as Waid’s character work is, however, the issue is definitely not limited to the emotions and thoughts of New York’s blind superhero.  Daredevil’s heroics in the underground lair of the Mole Man offer artist Paolo Rivera numerous opportunities to pencil some fantastic spelunking scenes, while other frames of Daredevil’s sonar-in-action vision make the massive cavernous halls all the more perilous.  Rivera once again proves that he is the perfect companion for Waid.

Month in and month out, Daredevil consistently lands at the top of the releases in terms of story quality and art.  Issue #9 finds Daredevil in a foreign world hunting down the thieves of his father’s and countless other graves.  As his reckless heroics come to show, however, Daredevil is far from out of danger.