The volume following the conclusion of a multi-volume arc is usually always a bit crap mostly for the absence of, and comparison to, a strong overarching narrative. But, while Daredevil Volume 6 is made up of one/two issue standalone stories, it’s a pretty decent collection.
Matt encounters his childhood bully who’s gotten himself mixed up with the Sons of the Serpent, your usual bad guy organisation with plans for world domination. He’s escaped them but been wrongfully arrested and needs Matt’s help in court. Except the Sons of the Serpent have infiltrated every layer of society and soon Matt and his defendant find themselves in a courthouse filled with people who may or may not be working for the Sons.
This was an exciting two-part story that had the paranoid “who to trust?” air of the last book while also being poignant in the childhood bully angle. Daredevil’s already a street-level character but that aspect made him even more relatable. Some people would laugh at the bully’s misfortune, think hey, that’s karma for ya!, and move on, but Matt helps him even if he wants to do the opposite – that’s why he’s the hero he is.
There’s a fun one-shot with Silver Surfer as the two search for a manipulative alien criminal in NYC. Matt “drives” the Surfer’s board in one of the best splash-pages of Chris Samnee’s Daredevil run – the look of glee on Matt’s face as he flies through the streets like a maniac is utterly delightful!
The book ends with a crossover with Hulk. If you’ve read Indestructible Hulk, Volume 2, you’ve already read this two-part story, as it’s collected in that book too, which is kind of a cheat. It’s still a pretty good story though as some bad guys steal Asgardian-level tech and Daredevil and Hulk have to stop them from giving it to Baron Zemo, with Daredevil tracking the high-pitched whine the tech gives off while Hulk barrels through anything in their way. People really seem to like Matteo Scalera’s art but I’ve always found it very average and he can’t draw mouths properly either – they’re always bizarrely huge black holes and look really awkward.
If I had to choose between a book-length, or multi-volume length, story and a collection of shorts, I’ll always pick the sustained singular narrative, but Daredevil Volume 6 has enough quality in its stories to make it worth reading.
3.5 stars
Daredevil Volume 6
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