About Heroes

Authors: Zeb Wells and Carmine Di Giandomenico
Art: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Cover: Carmine Di Giandomenico and Richard Isanove

There are only a couple of things that I know about Jack Murdock. He's Dardevil's father and the most important thing he did was refused to throw a fight for the fixer (an enforcer) which led to him dying in the arms of his son. It wasn't until Frank Miller's run that we really got to see the relationship between Jack and Matt, but even then that was a rocky look at the relationship. But you know what? That's all I really needed to know. If I'm going to read a story about something in the past I want something new. Of all the characters to be given a miniseries, why Jack Murdock who was not even a strong character and ultimately was plot device? I mean who in their right mind would make a book about Batman's mom and dad or Uncle Ben and Aunt May and call it Trouble? Needless to say, I'm glad I ended up reading the issue anyway.

This particular issue is entitled Round 1. The entire series seems to be structured around the final boxing match that Murdock will eventually throw. This allows us to look at the psyche of Jack with his inner monologue and his flashbacks. We listen to Jack talk about how he has to do this for his son. Even though he knows he can beat this guy, he has to keep his son out of harms way by throwing the fight. The flashbacks consist of many key moments in Jack's past. There are several things that are answered or beginning to be answered in this first issue. How did Jack get involved with these people in the first place? Why did Jack tell Matt his mom had died and when did she leave? There are even subtle hints as to the future relationship between father and son.

Wells does a fantastic job with the script, hell I don't even mind the repetitive weak for my boy speeches. The story is also pretty solid and fans of Daredevil will enjoy the cameos like Josie from Josie's bar, Turk who will eventually go that dark road that is foreshadowed in this issue, and Maggie who is seen as a young confused woman, not the woman of wisdom during Born Again. It's kind of like watching the Star Wars prequels (handled a little better), we all know where it's going to end, but we want to know more about the tragic figure of Battlin' Jack Murdock before we get there.

The best part of the book is Di Giandomenico's wonderful art. Not only does he help with the plot, but his fantastic facial expressions and rage outburst are captured perfect. The only problem I had with his art are the lighting issues, it seems everything has that foggy bright look to it even at night. I wish they had let Isanove color the inside as well, that is one fantastic gory cover, very Raging Bull. It is written intelligently and exquisitely and is showing us something new in the life of Jack Murdock. I felt really emotionally connected to the him, even though he is really to blame for all his troubles. It's a great read and I recommend it not only to the Daredevil fans, but comic readers in general. A-