This week has been a bit of weird one for me. After the last few weeks of burning through comic after comic, this one was a bit of a lull after I struggled to find either the time of inclination to read.
To be honest, even this blog post very nearly suffered from the tiredness and exhaustion of this past week as my mental health circled the drain a bit, resulting in me not wanting to do anything.
So, it was fortunate for my need to ramble that i happened to find the desire to write right at the last minute. It was also fortunate that I found it in myself the enthusiasm to read a couple of one-shots I had, both of which contained one of the two Characters who were previously entitled 'Man Without Fear.'
My first read was Daredevil: Cage Match, a one-shot which had come out sometime around the release of the Shadowland event. While that event saw Cage vs Daredevil, this one-shot took the same approach but with different stakes as Harlem's Hero for Hire and Hell's Kitchen's Man without Fear challenged each other to a fight after the pair take down a pair of thugs, and compare their fighting style in the process.
Being a comic I've had for nearly six years, I have to confess that it annoys me that I forget how much I really like this issue. The writer, Anthony Johnston (whose DD issues during Shadowland I always liked) has created a fun one and done which builds nice relationship between the two Characters, as it attempts to show their rapport and mutual respect for each other. I thought it was interesting how the respect thing came down to Luke's view of Matt on both sides and how not the other way round, which kinda gave me a view of their respective backgrounds. Besides this, I loved Foggy's almost constant eye rolling in the issue, as he laments the lunacy that Matt is obviously putting himself through. It's also great to see his smarts on display as well as get in on the action. Foggy doesn't get enough praise.
The Art, meanwhile, had this very brave and bold look from the JMS and Jesus Saiz run, which I thought looked awesome and quite old fashioned (I'd almost say Bronze Age-like). Given the time when it was released, I suspect that this was done to show a contrast to their (at the time) current relationship. So, while the Shadowland era had this very dark gritty look (given he was coming off of the Bendis/Mack/Brubaker/Lark era, this makes sense), this issue gives it this more innocent, and rose-tinted vibe.
Thinking back, I don't recall Shadowland bring so Cage/Daredevil centric. If it had then it's a shame this wasn't tied in because I think this is a really great issue and might have made that event better. Still, whether on its own or accompanying the Shadowland series, it's still a wonderful read to showcase the dynamic of two great characters.
After that came Black Panther: the Sound and the Fury, which saw the King of Wakanda (and one-time Man Without Fear), journey to Dubai for trade negotiations regarding the uses of Vibranium. However, his trip couldn't come at worse time for some when his arch enemy Klaw reigns terror demanding a ransom to cease. Now, the King of Wakanda must protect the people of the city while defeating the master of sound.
Unfortunately, I really struggled with this one-shot as the story did nothing for me, feeling very generic and forgettable. This issue also contained a back up story which was a reprint of Black Panther and Klaw's first combined appearance in Fantastic Four and I found this to be a slightly better read. However, this too failed to impress me as it it came off as too wordy and I struggled to get into it.
For me, only the art was the one saving grave as I found it very enjoyable with its very Olivier Coipel looking style. Also, the back ups Jack Kirby pages still look terrific. Unfortunately, they couldn't help me get over how little I enjoyed the story.
Therefore, the Sound and the Fury really was not my thing which upsets me because I had expected good things from it. Still, not everything can be to my liking and better it beca one-shot than a full on series.
And there is my week! Sadly no reviews (although Longpig from last week was put up on Pipedream comics) and no progress made on my own projects. Like I said though, it's just been a bit of a downer week for me.
Hopefully, the next week will be an improvement. I'm going to try and force myself to read Black Hammer's first library volume and I have some good stuff on my review list which I need to get back to. So, all being well, normal service will resume.
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