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[GLX]

Finally managed to snag use of the household desktop, so without further ado....

Daredevil: End of Days #1

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS & DAVID MACK (W)
KLAUS JANSON & BILL SIENKIEWICZ (A)
Cover BY ALEX MALEEV
variant cover BY DAVID MACK
Collage Variant by PASCAL GARIN
Variant Cover by TBA
• Revealed at last…how it ends for the Man without Fear!
• In the near future, investigative reporter Ben Urich has one last story to write – what was Matt Murdock’s the final secret?
• A story years in the making brought to you by some of the greatest creators in Daredevil history!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

If you can't make it to your local comic shop, a digital copy can be found here.
Ze rules:

Review as often or as little as you like. Once you've posted 5 reviews, you will be awarded 1 pick. You can post 5 reviews, right? That's a totally achievable goal and with day and date digital releases becoming the standard, it shouldn't matter if your shop ordered enough copies of this weeks comic or not.

When multiple Review Groupers have posted 5 (or more) qualifying reviews, they will be awarded their pick in the order that they qualified. What constitutes a qualifying review? Any review posted (with a score on a scale from 0-10, that's right 0!) within 1 calendar month of the thread going live. Reviews are to be at least 5 sentences long. It shows that a) you have at least read this week's pick and b) you have some unique insight into the comic.

Reviews posted while waiting in line for your pick will be applied to your next pick.

I'll be keeping track of everyone's progress with the newly christened Spreadsheet of Fantastic (RIP, Spreadsheet of Doom) and reporting the results in the Current Members list in the weekly OP. When it's your turn to make a pick, I will PM you. If you do not respond to me by Midnight EST the following Sunday, you will lose your pick and I will start a poll to determine that week's selection.

Any week in which we do not have a Review Grouper with 5 qualifying picks, we will determine the week's comic via poll.

If it's your week to pick, remember to keep it under $3.99.

Naturally, this new system is new and it may be necessary to make changes as we go.

Since no one else has 5 reviews under their belt, a poll will be put up to determine next week's pick. Next week's releases are listed here. It'll be up by week's end and ideas for what should be included into the poll will be considered.

Suggestions welcome.

5 Reviews Posted
N/A

4 Reviews Posted
@dace1314
Amoebas
Eli Katz
guitarsmashley
Jude Terror
Punchy


3 Reviews Posted
bkthompson
BlueStreak
Ntikrst
Stephen Day
Victorian Squid

2 Reviews Posted
doombug

1 Review Posted
Amlah
ElijahSnowFan
GLX
john lewis hawk
Midas
Sakie
SilverPhoenix

[GLX]

[Reveal] Spoiler: Click to Expand

001. Daredevil #82 - 8.13
002. Exiles #77 - 6.29
003. Jonah Hex #5 - 6.26
004. American Virgin #1 - 7.7
005. Birds of Prey #92 - 6.41
006. Squadron Supreme #1 - 7.66
007. Blue Beetle #1 - 5.95
008. Aquaman: SoA #41 - 6.67
009. DMZ #6 - 7.65
010. Captain America #17 - 7.43
011. Thing #6 - 7.03
012. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #8 - 7.68
013. Cable & Deadpool #28 - 7.45
014. Fell #5 - 8.81
015. X-Factor #7 - 7.84
016. My Inner Bimbo #1 - 6.38
017. Wonder Woman #1 - 7.3
018. Green Lantern Corps #1 - 5.65
019. Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 - 5.38
020. New Avengers #21 - 6.12
021. Detective Comics #821 - 8.05
022. Ultimate Spider-Man #97 - 7.86
023. Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #1 - 4.17
024. Batman #655 - 7.69
025. Usagi Yojimbo #95 - 6.41
026. Sonic the Hedgehog #165 - 6.5
027. The Boys #1 - 7.3
028. Heroes for Hire #1 - 6.25
029. Ultimate Fantastic Four #33 - 5.75
030. Local #6 - 9.1
031. Thunderbolts #106 - 6.14
032. Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #8 - 8.34
033. True Story, Swear to God #1 - 7.69
034. Criminal #1 - 7.63
035. Fables #1/#54 - 8.83
036. WildCats #1 - 6.51
037. Action Comics #844 - 7.22
038. Incredible Hulk #100 - 7.5
039. Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius: Happy Franksgiving - 4.32
040. Texas Chainsaw Massacre #1 - 4.34
041. Punisher War Journal #1 - 6.54
042. Immortal Iron Fist #1 - 7.35
043. Spider-Man: Reign #1 - 4.79
044. The Spirit #1 - 7.67
045. New Avengers: Illuminati #1 - 7.33
046. Winter Soldier: Winter Kills - 8.27
047. Amazing Spider-Man #537 - 6.94
048. Thunderbolts #110 - 6.75
049. Red Menace #3 - 7.43
050. Moon Knight #7 - 5.86
051. Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham Crisis #1 - 6.21
052. Action Comics Annual #10 - 7.87
052. All New Atom #8 - 6.98
052. Dark Tower #1 - 8.61
052. Fantastic Four: The End #5 - 8.55
052. Fell #7 - 9.03
052. newuniversal #3 - 8.13
052. Pirates of Coney Island #4 - 7.93
052. Ultimate Spider-Man #105 - 7.7
052. Uncanny X-Men #483 - 6.47
053. Batman #663 - 3.83
054. Civil War #7 - 7.2
055. Runaways #24 - 9.01
056. Punisher MAX #45 - 7.47
057. Blade #7 - 6.08
058. Army@Love #1 - 6.38
059. Blue Beetle #13 - 6.4
060. Avengers: The Initiative #1 - 7.27
061. Nova #1 - 6.92
062. Cable & Deadpool #39 - 5.92
063. Catwoman #66 - 7.06
064. 52 Week Fifty-Two - 7.15
065. Countdown #51 - 6.8
066. Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #12 - 6.31
067. Captain America #26 - 8.28
068. Witchblade #106 - 5.81
069. Invincible #42 - 8.35
070. Sub-Mariner #1 - 5.54
071. Highwaymen #1 - 7.87
072. Superman/Batman #37 - 4.6
073. Dynamo 5 #5 - 6.28
074. Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith #1 - 6.63
075. Lone Ranger #7 - 7.54
076. X-Men #201 - 4.76
077. Metal Men #1 - 6.18
078. Green Lantern #22 - 7.85
079. Pilot Season: Ripclaw - 5.89
080. X-Men: First Class #3 - 7.53
081. Teen Titans #50 - 8.02
082. Buffy the Vampire Slayer #6 - 6.96
083. Punisher War Journal #11 - 5.22
084. World War Hulk #4 - 6.96
085. All-Star Batman & Robin #7 - 6.43
086. Vinyl Underground #1 - 5.73
087. Green Arrow & Black Canary #1 - 8.27
088. The Sword #1 - 6.89
089. She-Hulk #22 - 7.38
090. Tales of the Fear Agent: Twelve Steps in One - 6.18
091. Annihilation: Conquest #1 - 6.93
092. Batman and the Outsiders #1 - 6.87
093. Flash #234 - 5.72
094. Gotham Underground #2 - 5.52
095. Ultimates 3 #1 - 4.8
096. Amazing Spider-Girl #15 - 6
097. Birds of Prey #113 - 7.16
098. Pax Romana #1 - 8.59
099. Hack/Slash #7 - 6.97
100. HULK #1 - 7.19
101. Booster Gold #6 - 7.68
102. Order #7 - 6.97
103. Narcopolis #1 - 5.37
104. Reviewer's Choice -
105. Tiny Titans #1 - 6.81
106. Loaded Bible 3: Communion - 8.68
107. Project Superpowers #1 - 5.93
108. Echo #1 - 8.34
109. Mighty Avengers #10 - 7.12
110. Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #27 - 7.73
111. Proof #6 - 8.48
112. Secret Invasion #1 - 7.95
113. Titans #1 - 6
114. Noble Causes #32 - 7.26
115. Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide - 7.39
116. DC Universe 0 - 4.94
117. House of Mystery #1 - 7.77
118. Captain Britain and MI:13 #1 - 7.36
119. Checkmate #26 - 4.09
120. Final Crisis #1 - 6.91
121. The Boys #19 - 8.3
122. Skaar: Son of Hulk #1 - 5.53
123. Transformers Spotlight: Cyclonus - 5.92
124. Trinity #4 - 5.15
125. Jonah Hex #33 - 8.7
126. I Kill Giants #1 - 7.55
127. Batgirl #1 - 5.23
128. Uncanny X-Men #500 - 6.22
129. Wildcats #1 - 7.33
130. Venom: Dark Origin #1 - 7.16
131. Astonishing X-Men #26 - 5.12
132. Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1 - 7.67
133. Runaways #1 - 7.34
134. Marvel Apes #1 - 6.15
135. Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1 - 6.22
136. Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #33 - 7.25
137. Back to Brooklyn #1 - 5.58
138. Four Eyes #1 - 9.26
139. Green Lantern Corps #29 - 6.16
140. Ghost Rider #28 - 7.44
141. Unknown Soldier #1 - 8.66
142. Amazing Spider-Man #575 - 6.98
143. Final Crisis: Resist - 6.44
144. Batman: Cacophony #1 - 7.37
145. Deadpool #4 - 6.57
146. Ms. Marvel #33 - 5.97
147. Secret Invasion #8 - 7.15
148. Punisher: War Zone #1 - 7.17
149. Ex Machina #40 - 8.11
150. Immortal Iron Fist #21 - 8.21
151. Incognito #1 - 8.65
152. Punisher #1 - 6.25
153. G.I. Joe #1 - 6.68
154. Hellblazer #251 - 6.94
155. Justice Society of America #23 - 6.53
156. Watchmen - 9.88
157. Batman #686 - 8.84
158. Amber Atoms #1 - 4.25
159. Runaways #7 - 5.25
160. Superman: World of New Krypton #1 - 6.68
161. Guardians of the Galaxy #11 - 6.41
162. Invincible #60 - 7.08
163. Muppet Show #1 - 6.66
164. Flash: Rebirth #1 - 6.93
165. Wolverine: Weapon X #1 - 6.52
166. The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft #1 - 7.82
167. Ghost Rider #34 - 8.82
168. Phonogram: The Singles Club #2 - 6.33
169. Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #1 - 7
170. Unwritten #1 - 8.53
171. The Boys: Herogasm #1 - 7.09
172. Last Days of Animal Man #1 - 6.23
173. Batman and Robin #1 - 8.01
174. Amazing Spider-Man #597 - 7.19
175. Transformers Spotlight: Cliffjumper - 7
176. Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia - 6.62
177. Justice League: Cry for Justice #1 - 6.71
178. Wednesday Comics #1 - 7.84
179. Blackest Night #1 - 8.87
180. Immortal Weapons #1 - 7.17
181. Mice Templar: Destiny #1 - 7.81
182. Doom Patrol #1 - 5.12
183. Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 - 7.14
184. Daredevil #500 - 8.62
185. Fantastic Four #570 - 6.9
186. Sweet Tooth #1 - 8.1
187. Dark Reign: The List - Avengers - 5.95
188. Beasts of Burden #1 - 8.73
189. Wolverine: Giant Size Old Man Logan - 7.95
190. Teen Titans #75 - 4.67
191. Haunt #1 - 6.6
192. Unwritten #6 - 7.41
193. Azrael #1 - 4.11
194. Dark Avengers: Ares #1 - 6.79
195. Deadpool Team-Up #899 - 5.24
196. Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows #1 - 6.96
197. Punisher #11 - 7.39
198. Image United #1 - 3.53
199. Jonah Hex #50 - 9.23
200. Invincible Iron Man #21 - 7.45
201. Walt Disney Comics & Stories #701 - 5.85
202. Hellboy: The Bride of Hell - 7.32
203. Webcomics Week -
204. Siege #1 - 7.84
205. Amazing Spider-Man #617 - 8.39
206. Joe the Barbarian #1 - 7.97
207. Robocop #1 - 3.59
208. FREE4ALL -
209. Choker #1 - 6.17
209. Tails of the Pet Avengers - 7.04
210. Supergirl #50 - 5.34
211. X-Men Forever #18 - 5.35
212. First Wave #1 - 6.98
213. Daytripper #4 - 7.19
214. Irredeemable #12 - 6.28
215. Amazing Spider-Man #626 - 5.18
216. Blackest Night #8 - 6.41
217. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 - 9.23
218. Kill Shakespeare #1 - 5.36
219. X-Men Forever Annual #1 - 6.41
220. Siege: Secret Warriors - 6.53
221. I, Zombie #1 - 8.22
222. Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1 - 7.25
223. Avengers #1 - 7.51
224. Gotham City Sirens #12 - 4.39
225. Red Hood: The Lost Days #1 - 6.71
226. S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 - 7.57
227. New Avengers #1 - 6.15
228. Bullet to the Head #1 - 4.5
229. Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War #2 - 4.2
230. Batman & Robin #13 - 6.24
231. Gorilla-Man #1 - 4.81
232. Time Masters: Vanishing Point #1 - 4.79
233. Justice League: Generation Lost #6 - 7.39
234. Baltimore: The Plague Ships #1 - 6.46
235. Thor: The Mighty Avenger #3 - 6.21
236. Tiny Titans #31 - 5.17
236. New Avengers #3 - 4.88
237. Garrison #5 - 4.71
238. 1 Month 2 Live #1 - 6.02
239. Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities and the Ghastly Fiend of London #1 - 7.82
240. Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #3 - 7.73
241. Nemesis #3 - 5.17
242. Franken-Castle #21 - 6.14
243. Ultimate Comics Thor #1 - 5.88
244. Victorian Undead Special - 6.25
245. Kick Ass 2 #1 - 6.58
246. Incognito: Bad Influences #1 - 8.05
247. Superboy #1 - 6.81
248. American Vampire #8 - 8.17
249. Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil - 8.5
250. Batwoman #0 - 8.04
251. Daredevil #512 - 5.87
252. Booster Gold #32 - 7
253. Suicide Forest #1 - 8.16
254. Larfleeze Christmas Special - 4.89
255. Action Comics #896 - 6.92
256. Weird Worlds #1 - 2.02
257. Casanova: Gula #1 - 8.53
258. The Spirit #10 - 6.72
259. Fantastic Four #587 - 5.1
260. Week 260 -
261. Heroes for Hire #3 - 7.24
262. Hellblazer #276 - 5.28
263. Avengers #10 - 4.16
264. Secret Warriors #25 - 6.61
265. Ultimate Spider-Man #155 - 6.68
266. Morning Glories #8 - 7.5
267. Lorna: Relic Wrangler #1 - 3.46
268. Butcher Baker: The Righteous Maker #1 - 7.09
269. Brightest Day #23 - 4.38
270. Uncanny X-Men #535 - 7.5
271. Thunderbolts #156 - 5.92
272. Walking Dead #84 - 7.3
273. Avengers Academy #13 - 6.42
274. Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt #1 - 5.4
275. Hawkeye: Blindspot #4 - 5.5
276. Iron Man 2.0 #5 - 5.57
276. Secret Avengers #13 - 4.49
277. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 - 5.67
278. Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #1 - 5.48
279. Northlanders #41 - 6.83
280. All Nighter #1 - 6.36
281. THUNDER Agents #8 - 7.95
282. Jonah Hex #69 - 8.84
283. Red Wing #1 - 6.1
284. Daredevil #1 - 7.92
285. Amazing Spider-Man #666 - 6.15
286. Severed #1 - 8.26
287. Detective Comics #881 - 8.81
288. Damaged #1 - 7.31
289. Ultimate Comics Ultimates #1 - 5.41
290. Uncanny X-Force #14 - 8.11
291. Static Shock #1 - 6
292. Criminal: The Last of the Innocent #4 - 6.5
293. Batman #1 - 6.98
294. Aquaman #1 - 5.87
295. Animal Man #2 - 8.04
296. Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #3 - 5.1
297. HP Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror #1 - 3.67
298. Wolverine and the X-Men #1 - 8.09
299. Six Guns #1 - 7.6
300. Unwritten #31 - 7.8
301. Avengers #19 - 5.5
302. Infinite #4 - 3.5
303. Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #1 - 5.58
304. Defenders #1 - 8.55
305. Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #526 - 4.19
306. Amazing Spider-Man #676 - 4.19
307. American Vampire #22 - 9
308. Fatale #1 - 7.8
309. Severed #6 - 8.5
310. Hellblazer #287 - 9
311. Secret Avengers #21.1 - 6.06
312. Winter Soldier #1 - 8.88
313. Batwoman #6 - 3.88
314. Daredevil #9 - 7.33
315. The Sixth Gun #19 - 8
316. Moon Knight #10 - 6.75
317. Hulk #49 - 7.5
318. The Shade #6 - 7.13
319. Amazing Spider-Man #682 - 7.13
320. Avengers vs. X-Men #0 - 5
321. Swamp Thing #8 - 7.88
322. America's Got Powers #1 - 5.5
323. Reset #1 - 8
324. The Goon #39 - 7
325. Dial H #1 - 4.45
326. Dan the Unharmable #1 - 7.5
327. Dancer #1 - 6.58
328. Batman Incorportated #1 - 7.14
328. Youngblood #71 - 4.17
329. Star Trek The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation #1 - 6.21
330. Insufferable Weeks 1-6 - 7.71
331. The Massive #1 - 6.92
332. Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar's Remedy #1 - 8.6
333. Hit Girl #1 - 6 (Only one review was in.....seriously)
334. Infernal Man-Thing #1 - 7.25
335. Punk Rock Jesus #1 - 6.38
336. Captain Marvel #1 - 4 (Only one review in)
336. Avengers vs. X-Men #8 - 7 (Only one review in)
337. Debris #1 - 5.5
338. X-Men #33 - 4.4
339. Gambit #1 - 7 (Only one review in)
340. Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1 - 7.5
341. Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom #1 - 7.5
342. Uncanny X-Force #30 - 8.8
343. Action Comics #0 - 3.8
344. Batman #0 - 7.3
345. The Unwritten #41 - 8
346. Happy #1 - 7
346. Talon #0 - 7.5

[GLX]

In case you missed it, the poll for next week's pick is up:

the-news-stand/review-group-poll-t88470.html

[GLX]

In a poll involving more people that participate, the winner is....

Uncanny Avengers #1

RICK REMENDER (W) • JOHN CASSADAY (A&C)
Variant Covers by ADI GRANOV, DANIEL ACUNA, SKOTTIE YOUNG & TWO MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!
Sketch Variant Cover by JOHN CASSADAY & TBA
Deadpool Call Me Maybe Variant by TBA
Uncanny & Avengers Variants also available
Blank Cover also available
ALL NEW ONGOING!
• THIS IS IT! The greatest era of the Marvel Universe starts here! From the ashes of AvX an all-new, all-different Avengers assemble!
• Captain America begins his quest to create a sanctioned Avengers unit comprised of Avengers and X-Men, humans and mutants working together – so why is Professor Xavier’s dream more at risk than ever?
• The first attack of the most loathsome villain in history will quake the Marvel Universe forever!
• The funeral of one of Marvel’s greatest heroes!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

[GLX]

Final bump. No takers?

[Stephen Day]

Final bump. No takers?

Sorry, this series just didn't interest me.

[GLX]

Sorry, this series just didn't interest me.

Fair enough, though I expect a review from you this week, Mr. "I voted for Uncanny Avengers".

[Stephen Day]

Fair enough, though I expect a review from you this week, Mr. "I voted for Uncanny Avengers".

I put it on my pull list when I saw it solicited, so there should be a copy waiting for me at my LCS this week. A review should be no problem.

[GLX]

Anyone want to leave a review?

[Zero]

Daredevil: End of Days #1

This comic had many pages. Some art was often to be found on them. Characters did things. Events came to pass in the usual fashion. I certainly assume it will be followed by more issues that will be of similar quality.

8/10

fixed

[GLX]

Daredevil: End of Days #1

This comic had many pages, on which some art was often to be found. Characters did things and events came to pass in the usual fashion. I certainly assume it will be followed by more issues that will be of similar quality.

8/10

5 sentences are the minimum for a review to count.

[ElijahSnowFan]

You know what? I'm going to write a review for this thing.

Give me until Saturday; I've got some stuff going on and I need to re-read it. But a book like this needs to be reviewed -- not necessarily by me, but by someone. It needs to be done, so I promise to put one in this thread by midday Saturday.

[GLX]

You know what? I'm going to write a review for this thing.

Give me until Saturday; I've got some stuff going on and I need to re-read it. But a book like this needs to be reviewed -- not necessarily by me, but by someone. It needs to be done, so I promise to put one in this thread by midday Saturday.

[ElijahSnowFan]

There are spoilers in this review! If you don't want to know any plot details, then don't read this review! You have been warned!

Seriously!

You have been warned!


Truthfully, I was hoping someone else would review this book.

Mainly because books like "Daredevil: End of Days" are the hardest kinds of books for me to read. I read this medium, engage in this hobby, because I honestly enjoy seeing the good guys win.

It really is that simple. When I see the word "super-villain," I smile, because I always want to believe that a superhero is coming to save the day. I want to see how they'll pull off a last-minute victory. I want to see how their bravery and training allows them to overcome the most dire of situations, the most horrible of odds. I want the villain to realize that crime doesn't pay.

I want the good guys to win.

I realize it doesn't always happen, but I like to believe that all wrongs will be righted in the course of a story. I'm a pretty simple person -- I just like it that way.

And I knew going into "End of Days" that simply might not happen, and even if it does, even if there is justice, it's going to be an ugly, brutal, and vicious road that will be taken to get there.

When it was first promoted years ago, Brian Michael Bendis said in interviews that, no kidding, this was it: Matt Murdock's going to die, and it isn't going to be pretty, and the series was built around Murdock's death.

Even more recently, Bendis said it wasn't even going to be a mystery who killed Murdock. The story would focus on one-time staunch supporting character Ben Urich examining Murdock's life as Daredevil and unraveling one last secret, a big secret, that Murdock's death made apparent that existed.

There was no misdirection there.

Matt Murdock was dead within the first five pages of an 8-issue miniseries. Bullseye killed him, beat him to the brink of death, then stabbed him through the brain with what appeared to be Murdock's own billy club.

It was as brutal as it sounds. It was as horrific as it sounds. Klaus Janson's two-page spread of Bullseye delivering the death blow was, to be honest, the most vicious thing I've ever seen in a comic book in 30-plus years.

I was sad when I read it.

Why? Because it revealed the fundamental truth of good guys vs. bad guys in a serial medium: It truly is fiction, on the order of ridiculous, that superheroes survive these kinds of encounters, over and over and over. By definition, there are so many villains, eventually, all heroes would suffer the kind of end that Matt Murdock did.

Spider-Man wouldn't survive a full-on assault by the Sinister Six. The Red Skull and Baron Zemo and Arnim Zola would kill Captain America, once and for all. Loki and Ulik and Surtur would kill Thor.

That's what would happen.

So what about the rest of this book, then?

It's "10 years later" in the Marvel Universe, when Murdock is killed. J. Jonah Jameson's an old man, and the Daily Bugle is going out of business. It's a darker world, where Urich's had enough and is ready to move on from writing about the exploits of superheroes in the city. He's covered it all, including something that will happen in his past, but our future, that he called "the Baxter Building murders."

Urich's tired. And Jameson doesn't care. He demands that Urich do what journalists do: Tell that story of Murdock's death, even if it's the last story Urich tells, if it's the last story the Daily Bugle tells.

Through that premise, Bendis, co-writer David Mack, and artists Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz tell a bit of history, of the final encounter between Daredevil and the Kingpin, and how Murdock disappeared from the New York City in the aftermath, not seen until his death.

There are seeds of the mystery planted, with Murdock saying one word, "Mapone" before his death...and no one knows what it means. Bendis and Mack frame the rest of the series, the questions Ben Urich will try to answer, in the final pages of the issue, as well: Where did Matt Murdock go? Why did he kill the Kingpin? How did Bullseye find him after all that time, when Murdock had been largely forgotten?

And, again: What does "Mapone" mean?

And just who in the hell is that figure watching Urich from the rooftops, dressed in some type of Daredevil costume?

This was a powerful issue. The art won't be for everyone -- it's Klaus Janson at his most gritty, most grainy. There's not a lot of tight lines in the art, and Bill Sienkiewicz's painted scenes are very much the same -- gritty. Grimy.

That's what this book is meant to be -- though again, I acknowledge the art isn't for everyone. But the book, the series, is as much an examination of New York City and a street reporter and the ambivalence of people as it is a story about heroes and villains.

I didn't like reading "Daredevil: End of Days" #1.

But that doesn't mean I didn't like the book. It is a very good start to what just might be a very, very dark and sad tale, where there might not be a happy ending.

It's not the kind of book I prefer. But it is the kind of story that needs to be told, every once in a while, to remind those who are like me, who like good guys winning, that that particular style of storytelling...well, I appreciate it even more after reading this issue.

The ratings:

Plot: 9 (I give credit for having Murdock die so quickly. That's a strong entry point.)

Writing: 9 (Bendis wasn't too wordy, but there were a few segments where he could've picked up the pace just a bit, even though I acknowledge he's got seven more issues to tell this story.)

Art: 8.5 (I had a bit of trouble with how dark in tone the issue was -- the colors were so dark, it was difficult at times to follow the sequencing and understand what was actually happening in the panels. I also know some people will not like the grainy style, but as someone who is familiar with Klaus Janson's work, I knew what to expect and I did like it.)

Overall: 9

If you like Daredevil's darker themes from the last 30 years, from before what appears to be Mark Waid's usage of the character, then you need to be reading this. It's right along the lines of Frank Miller and Ed Brubaker and Bendis' take on the character, and while it's tough reading, it "plays fair." No tricks, just story.

It's just a little tougher to read, that's all...because the good guys aren't necessarily winning this one.