Bully Pulpit

Daredevil #28

Matt Murdock is trying to get his life back together again. He’s putting his practice back in order. He’s helping Foggy Nelson get through his cancer treatments (despite the fact that his enhanced senses can pick up the nauseating scent of the chemotherapy drugs in Foggy’s system). And he runs into a new client — Nate Hackett, the schoolyard bully who made his life hell as a kid. Nate needs legal help — he used to be a member of the Sons of the Serpent — before they went 100% bad — and he’s been arrested and falsely accused of crimes that the Serpents actually committed. But Matt doesn’t really represent clients anymore — he trains them to represent themselves. Can Nate manage to beat the rap? Or is he in bigger trouble than he ever expected?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Excellent art and writing, as always. Nate makes a great foil for Matt, and his attempts to operate in a court of law are both funny and inspiring. The cliffhanger is pretty nice, too.

Batman: Li’l Gotham #4

Our first story is set on St. Patrick’s Day as someone — possibly a leprechaun — is framing all the villains in Gotham City for a series of robberies. Can Batman figure out the lucky crook? And when did the Batmobile get such a roomy back seat? The second story is set on Easter — the Mad Hatter has capture Batman and Robin in a Mad Tea Party, and he’s hidden a bomb at an Easter egg hunt! Can Batman stop the Hatter and his henchmen? Can Robin find the bomb before it blows up a bunch of kids?

Verdict: Thumbs up. These fantastically cute and clever stories are great fun to read. Don’t know what else I can say but that…

Today’s Cool Links:

• The 9th Art Award is a new graphic novel prize that’ll be awarded in Glasgow, and they’re doing a little crowdfunding for it. I know some of the folks putting it together, and it promises to be a pretty nifty award. Would you consider dropping a little money on it to help make it happen?
• Anyone who tells you that a Wonder Woman movie would be impossible to make just isn’t using a single iota of their imagination.
• This book by Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey, on the secret language of cartoons, looks incredibly interesting.
• Just for you — Rammstein’s brand of German industrial metal, as performed by a choir.