Daredevil: Devil at Bay vol.1 by Mark Waid

Vol .1 Devil at Bay : ★★★ 1/2 ☆

            Once again, I don’t own the trade paperback since I prefer collecting the comics issues. But for those of you who prefer reading it at once, I recommend you to go for the volume 1, which collects #0.5, #1, #1.5, #2, #3, #4 and #5.

            First, this series of Daredevil started in 2014, a title from the new campaign Marvel NOW! For those of you who don’t know, Marvel NOW is a project to reboot all ”the biggest names and greatest characters in comics”, you can find more information about it here. In short, Marvel NOW is to Marvel’s what the New 52 is to DC comics.

            In this volume, Devil At Bay begins with Matt Murdock in a completely new storyline and especially, a new home. After publicly revealing to the world who he was, Daredevil moves to San Francisco to start a new life. You can imagine that it is hard enough for a blind person to fight but now he has to adapt in a new city, with new streets and new landmarks. However, even in a different city, old enemies will surface and new faces, friends and allies will appear too.

           In general : so far, so good! It’s a fun read and it’s really enjoyable.The artwork is pretty but it wasn’t that impressive due to the digitized effect. But don’t get me wrong, Samnee delivers exactly what this storyline needs: full of life and action panels but also capable of quieter moments when the story focuses on a deeper matter. Waid and Samnee surely make an awesome pair !

            Overall, the series didn’t have as many surprising elements or mindblowing events in volume 1 for me to give it a 5 stars. The characters didn’t make much of an impact on me for it to have a 4 stars either. But, I really love the narration and the storyline for now that’s why it’s a little bit over a basic 3 stars. That aside, if I can rate the issues individually, I have to say #1.5 and #5 are my favourite because they deal with more serious matters and themes which deserve at least a 4 stars.

Finally, a little fun fact:  this is my first Daredevil read! Yup yup. The new TV Show on Netflix got me hooked and convinced me to start reading about this Marvel superhero.

If you want to buy your own copy of this trade paperback click here, it’s worth it !