Daredevil: Hell to Pay Volume 1

Well almost...this is just the prelude to the most gut-wrenching story in Daredevil's history. Sure, his girlfriends die left and right, but when his wife's life is destroyed (without dying), i guess it just seems a lot worse. I felt physically ill with sadness after reading both the Hell to Pay volumes. This is the best in Brubaker's run after the first Devil Inside and Out volume (the 2nd was weak in comparison).

If you've been reading Daredevil for any length of time, you know Matt Murdock's life has been moving pretty fast and furious for literally years. I like this volume in particular because it gives the audience a chance to recalibrate and get a feel for where Murdock has been and where he's going. Overall, this volume works to reestablish Murdock's relationship with his wife, Milla. Milla's been in this book for some time, but with everything else going on it was easy to put her on the backburner. Writer Ed Brubaker uses the issues comprising this volume to get everyone on the same page about Matt and Milla's complex relationship as well as set up some conflict involving the two. It's not all romance, though. Brubaker also has a new enemy (sort of) for Daredevil to combat, one who is going to give the Marvel Universe as a whole some fits. Before we discover this villain, though, Daredevil must get to the bottom of the Gladiator's atypical return to mindless violence. The art by Michael Lark fits the tone of the book perfectly with a great mix of super heroics and crime noir. And the original covers by Marko Djurdjevic are literally breathtaking. In summation, this volume was largely a chance to reacquaint the readers with Daredevil's personal life as well as set up some major conflict to come, but at no time did it feel like "filler" material. Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark continue to make Daredevil a must read. ~Scott William Foley, author of Dr. Nekros: Phantasms and Chicanery (Volume I, Episode II)

After "The Devil Takes a Ride" (The Devil Inside out vol.2) took place in Europe, it was time for Daredevil to go back to Hell's Kitchen. There is a big crime spree in the Kitchen and everyone seems to have lost control, some of this seems to have some relation to the Lilly Luca's perfume, which even decieved Daredevil's senses. In this arc Melvin Potter goes crazy as well, but its different, this time he is denying his acts as the Gladiator and well hes gone CRAZIER! If you thought Matt Murdock's life was a bit too easy for his standards at the start of the arc, dont worry, Brubaker manages to make it just as bad again. The reveal of the villain who is behind the lot makes a lot of sense as well as this arc ends in a cliffhanger for the currently running "Without Fear" (Hell to Pay Vol. 2 in TPB). We know Brubaker is a capable writer and his work in Daredevil is nothing short of great, he manages to make a compelling story and keep us guessing until the end about who the villain behind it all is. Lark's art is great too, it gives the book the perfect atmosphere. The moody and gritty pencils are essential to the overall quality of the book as well. Very good story arc, just doesnt get a full five star review, because at one point or another the story just feels a bit dragged out, despite this, the book is well worth your money.

I can't believe no one has reviwed this item yet, this story is gold! Ever since taking over from Bendis/Maleev, the creative team of Ed Brubaker (writer) and Michael Lark (penciller) has pushed this book to new heights. Before going on, I just have to say that people need to be reading Daredevil. This is as good as it gets! This TPB collects the team's third story arc (Daredevil vol 2, issues #95-99) as well as the one-shot issue Blind Love (#94). #94 actually serves as a good jumping-on point for people who haven't been following the book for a while, as the last few years of Daredevil history are retold from the perspective of Matt Murdock's wife Milla. Her story makes being married to an inner-city cop look like a breeze by comparison. Being married to a superhero certainly isn't as glamorous as it sounds... In issue #95, we meet a happy Matt Murdock who is just getting used to having his old life back when disaster strikes again. Persuaded by new legal partner Becky Blake to take the case of Melvin Potter (the Gladiator) who stands accused of heinous crimes which he claims not to remember, Matt realizes over the course of the arc that something big is brewing behind the scenes. Strings are being pulled in ways that affect him and his loved ones in profound ways, and turns his life into a living nightmare once again.