Book Review: "Daredevil: End of Days" Hardcover - An Intense Coda for A Superhero

When she arrived at the page in "Daredevil: End of Days" (HC) where the titled superhero met his violent demise, Red Dot Diva's naturally morbid thoughts could not help but ponder what her last word(s) will be.

Would it be something uttered in a sinister fashion, odd and multi-syllabic like "Amortization". Or perhaps, it might be something whispered in reverence: "..coffeeeeee..".

In Daredevil's case, his last utterance was a cryptic word with no obvious meaning. Mapone.

But it was one that unravelled different reactions from the people surrounding Matt Murdock's battle-scarred life. Or death, as it may well be in this case.

(Quick Diva Interruption: Yes there will be spoilers in this review!)

In "Daredevil: End of Days" (HC) , its award-winning writers Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack have chosen to play out an intense and emotive coda following the very dramatic end of the superhero at the hands of Bullseye in a street in Hells Kitchen.

Ben Ulrich, Murdock's long time ally and journalist from the Daily Bugle, was tasked to find out what had happened to Daredevil during his many years of absence from the public eye, and to investigate what Mapone truly means.

While Ulrich speaks to the usual suspects from Murdock's life, each had their own say and perspective of the segment of Daredevil's as he faced tough sacrifices fighting against his personal dark enemies - from without and within. As each name was strike off Ulrich's list without a further clue as to what Mapone means, the investigation unfolded like an intense gritty version of a Hercule Poirot whodunit.

In the midst of Ulrich's trail, the Punisher escaped from prison and began to eliminate some very bad folks. And a younger new Daredevil was revealed.  Coincidentally, this version of Daredevil was placed in the same circumstances by which Murdoch began his superhero life, which dovetails neatly into the exposition on reincarnation.

Even then, Red Dot Diva thought there was something peculiar in one segment - the sudden death of Bullseye by his own hand. Apparently due to the terrifying effect of hearing the word Mapone. But hey, stranger things have happened in this world.

Another thing (probably not of the creators' fault) was that Red Dot Diva could have read way too many murder-mystery books since she was a child, so she had a good guess who the new Daredevil was and a near spot-on inkling of what Mapone meant by the last fifth of the book. That was a bit of a disappointment because it didn't turn out to be as much of a surprise as she thought it would be.

All the little nitpicks are soon forgiven due to the gorgeous artwork throughout the book, which was varied but very effective. There were the noir and action scenes by Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz that drove the story-telling along, and additional artwork by Alex Maleev (who was a guest at a STGCC 2010!) as well as sequences painted by David Mack. Red Dot Diva also enjoyed the double-page spread on some of the panels, which helped give a few of the scenes a widescreen cinematic feel.

In summary, Red Dot Diva thought "Daredevil: End of Days" (HC) was a solid page turner. The pacing was heartfelt, like a melancholic orchestral piece, and even the silent pauses (especially those pages of Daredevil and Echo painted by David Mack) were oh-so-sad-beautiful.


Going on a tangent here, Red Dot Diva has yet to meet the popular writer-creator Brian Michael Bendis, but she has met David Mack twice.

She had fallen in love with his eclectic, Asian-infused drawings and mixed-medium collages and decided to hunt him down at NYCC's Artist Alley back in 2011. When she arrived at his booth, David immediately remembered her from a Facebook message, and signed a Kabuki "Dreams" book for her. While she was getting more acquainted with the items on his booth, she recalled how David piled her up with not just one, but about five free books at one go! *overwhelmed*

Since then, it had been interesting social networking with David because he loves to interact with this fans. It is also a good way for Red Dot Diva to admire his brushwork, live drawings and other creations as well as slowly go green with envy with the knowledge that he hangs out with folks like Thomas Jane. But then, this diva fangirl has also help him touch base with Reed Exhibitions so that he could be this year's STGCC special guest.YAYYY!

Red Dot Diva managed to meet David (And his dimples. And his biceps.) again at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. David was exhibiting his artworks as part of Century Guild's booth, and she had grabbed her copy of "Daredevil: End of Days" (HC) and the lovely art print of Neil Gaiman's "The Goldfish Pool" there.

signed Neil Gaiman "The Goldfish Pool" art print

Here's a video recorded message from David to his fans in Singapore!



So, do come say hello to David during his autograph sessions at the Walk of Fame this weekend. He is an absolutely delight to meet, Red Dot Diva guarantees.

Or you could also drop by David's booth at the exhibition hall this weekend to nab his goodies that he's brought along like "Daredevil: End of Days" (HC). "Kabuki" books, the limited edition art print of Neil Gaiman's "The Goldfish Pool", original pages from "Daredevil", art prints and MORE!

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David's schedule at STGCC:

Sat, 31 August
1.30 - 2.15 pm - as one of the panelists of "Marvel Artists Spotlight"
3-4 pm - signing at Walk of Fame

Sun, 1 September
1 - 2 pm - as one of the panelists of "Marvel Artists Spotlight"
3-4 pm - signing at Walk of Fame