Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Mainstream superhero comics have produced plenty of enjoyable, even important, comics lately. Seldom, however, do you find one that steps out of Watchmen's impossibly long shadow to recapture the transcendent fun, adventure, and invention of the early Lee-Kirby collaborations. If anyone could do it, though, a consummate pro like Waid is a top candidate. As Matt Murdock recommits himself to his law practice and goes up against both Captain America and a shady corporation, Waid reclaims the titular hero from the shadowiest reaches of dramatic darkness that the last 14 years and 4 accomplished writers have put him through. There's a balancing act here worthy of Daredevil himself: complex characterizations matched with swashbuckling action; a satisfyingly self-contained arc that sets up several far-reaching elements; and an outlook that plays off the character's established mythology but devises something completely fresh. Rivera and Martin handle tag-team art chores with a perfectly cohesive flow and offer the gorgeous figures, graceful action, and immaculately sharp design of classic John Romita. It would be too easy to say that if you only read one superhero comic this year, it must be this one. This is the best ongoing superhero title of the last decade.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist