Comics Review: SHADOWLAND hard cover collection

 

SHADOWLAND by Andy Diggle and Billy Tan (Marvel Comics, 2011) Hardcover, 144 pages. ISBN  #0785147624 / 9780785147626 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . 

The battle for the soul of a hero! Pushed beyond his limits, Daredevil faces off for a final time against his deadliestfoe - Bullseye - in their most brutal battle ever with more than just Hell's Kitchen is at stake. Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Punisher and more join forces to stop a war that is breaking out throughout New York, with Daredevil at the center. This event will change the streets of New York City-and the heroes that protect it-forever. COLLECTING: Shadowland #1-5.

 

My Three-Star review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

    

There are some spoilers here, so don't go further if you are planning to read this. I'm assuming only Daredevil fans are going to look into this, and it's a pretty safe bet they are aware of what happened here now that it's going on nine years later. 

     Considering the one and two-star reviews on Goodreads, my three-star rating is pretty generous. I enjoyed the story, especially the Daredevil vs. Bullseye battle and the other fight scenes. It's too bad Andy Diggle had to follow in the footsteps of Ed Brubaker and Brian Michael Bendis when he took over this series -- those runs were incredibly good and would be hard to top regardless of which writer was making the effort next. 

     Daredevil as a bad guy (as portrayed here) is autocratic, cruel and kind of one-dimensional. Diggle never gets into his inner thoughts while all this mayhem is going on, perhaps because he's been possessed by the "beast". And, if you think that a sharp attorney like Matt Murdock would think that he could transplant an ancient order of ninjas and assassins from Japan to New York City and turn them into a force for "justice" - - that just doesn't make sense so don't think about it too hard. Just go for the ride and the fun. 

     The Shadowland saga expanded across several Marvel titles and this covers the key elements of the plot, including the resolution, but there are gaps that would benefit from reading further. 

     At a minimum, SHADOWLAND:DAREDEVIL should be read along with this volume. I made the mistake of reading that one first and was disappointed by some critical omissions. There is actually more human drama and better dialogue in SHADOWLAND: DAREDEVIL than you will find here. 

     I have no issues at all with Andy Tan's art. It's great.