2-in-1 Review of Shadowland #2 and Shadowland: Bullseye #1

Marvel's Daredevil-centric Shadowland event has rolled into its second month. Aside from the two main books, Shadowland and Daredevil, August will also see the publication of a whole host of tie-in mini-series and one-shots. The first one to hit the stands is Shadowland: Bullseye, a one-shot chronicling the aftermath of said character's encounter with Daredevil in Shadowland #1. Also out today was Shadowland #2, where Daredevil continues his journey into crazy land while his friends and former allies try to intervene.

For the sake of efficiency, I will take a look at both of these titles in this post. There will be some spoilers, particularly for the Bullseye tie-in so proceed with whatever amount of caution you're comfortable with. Feeling sufficiently warned? Good, then hit the jump to find out which of these titles gets a Buy It verdict and which one doesn't.

Shadowland #2

Written by Andy Diggle

Pencils by Billy Tan

Inks by VIctor Olazaba

Shadowland #2 is in many ways a better issue than last month's first issue. The plot is meatier, there are more characters involved and there is more attention paid to the interactions between them. There is also some notable improvements to the artwork. Billy Tan's work last issue came off as slightly uneven, particularly when it came to the characters' faces, and he puts in a much better effort here.

In this issue, we see Diggle bring additional characters into the mix, notably Moon Knight (who is put to very clever use) , the Kingpin, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Shang-Chi and a certain other slightly more fiery character who makes an interesting entrance. Without giving too much away, I must say that the fact that Andy Diggle actually manages to pull off this character's inclusion in a way that feels relatively organic says a lot. It could have been silly, and maybe it still is, but it feels like a bit of fun-filled action and it does add some fun to what is otherwise mostly doom and gloom.

Diggle is generally good at writing actions scenes, but I also happen to be a fan of his ability to handle a large cast of different characters. He writes excellent dialogue and has a good grasp of each character's respective personality. However, the biggest problem with this event is the main character himself. When Shadowland began, there was a noticeable jump from where we left off at the end of Daredevil #507. It even reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode The Yada Yada, in which George Costanza meets a woman who's in the habit of conveniently glossing over crucial information. I feel that there is a lot of backstory that would explain Matt Murdock's mindset right now, that is simply not being addressed.

As a result, even though Diggle is pretty good at portraying Daredevil as a man for whom these actions actually make sense, it is hard to reconcile the Daredevil we see here with the well-known character. Something tells me that this isn't a clear-cut case of "demonic possession" - at least not in the sense that there would be an easy get out of jail free card for Matt (I prefer to look at it more as something akin to chemical intoxication) - but there needs to be a more satisfying explanation to just what is going on with Matt's head. Right now, a crucial piece of the puzzle is missing

Verdict – Buy It. There are still a lot of questions that need answers for this event to work as well as it could, but Diggle succeeds in making very good use of the characters around Daredevil, and this book is most definitely an enjoyable read.

Shadowland: Bullseye #1

Written by John Layman

Pencils by Sean Chen

Inks by Sandu Florea

I'm generally a glass-half-full kind of person who tries to to see the positive sides of life and the comics in it. However, when it comes to this issue, I'm scrambling to find something nice to say. Well, Sean Chen's art is okay, aside from the fact that Ben Urich - the de facto main character of this book - looks about two decades too young. It's the premise of the the story that keeps this book from going anywhere interesting.

This issue isn't at all what I expected from a look back at the life of one of the most popular villains in the Marvel Universe. And yes, he most certainly is dead - at least for now. I can't really say what my expectations were, but I was very surprised to see this story so similar to something one might expect from a Frontline tie-in. We have Ben Urich reporting throughout the issue and filling the role of narrator as he's kidnapped and forced to play along with a funeral staged by a motorcycle gang. That's right, some random goons, whom we've never seen before, take offense to the fact that Bullseye - their own personal hero - won't be getting a nice funeral paid for by the city.

At his side, Ben has another new character who sees dead people, which is how Bullseye himself is inserted into the plot. This feels more weird than inspired and gets even weirder towards the end of the issue.

Where this story really goes south for me, however, is when Daredevil arrives on the scene. Apparently, Ben had the feeling that Daredevil and his gang might be snooping around the morgue (where the motorcycle gang make a stop to steal Bullseye's body...) and drops a notebook full of clues for Daredevil to find so that the Ben and the other innocents at the staged funeral can be rescued.

Not only does this feel very far-fetched (there is no real reason for Daredevil to snoop around the morgue) but where the heck is the funeral supposed to take place? A violent motorcycle gang would be facing a swarm of ninjas within minutes so it can't be set inside Shadowland. But if it isn't, then how can Daredevil leave Hell's Kitchen undetected by the authorities? And where is the morgue exactly?

To make matters worse, Daredevil and White Tiger don't quite feel like the same characters as in the main book, and the dialogue feels forced throughout. This is a silly, silly book and it wasn't worth the price of admission.

Verdict – Avoid It. This issue adds nothing to the larger Shadowland plot, and sadly tells us very little about Bullseye. To add insult to injury, the plot feels nonsensical and contains some glaring holes that makes it feel disconnected from the main event.

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