Daredevil Volume 3 by Mark Waid

For my post about Volume 1, click here, and for Volume 2, click here.

Daredevil Volume 3 contains material originally published in comic book form as Daredevil #22-36 and Indestructible Hulk #9-10.

We pick up with Spider-Man confronting Daredevil about his erratic behavior, but regular comics readers at the time knew that this wasn't the Peter Parker that Murdock had dealt with before. At that time, Doctor Octopus was inhabiting the mind of Parker and trying to be a "Superior Spider-Man".

The most dramatic part of this volume is that Foggy Nelson is diagnosed with cancer, and Matt continually visits his friend in the hospital while continuing to fight crime as Daredevil and just barely keeping the law office afloat. Foggy asks former DA Kirstin McDuffie to pick up the slack, much to Matt's chagrin.

Nate Hackett, a former bully from Daredevil's childhood (in fact, the boy that sarcastically gave him his nickname) shows up at the law office, and explains he's been accused of a crime associated with the Sons of the Serpent, a group of white supremacists. Nate did not know about the organization's racist agenda and says he was framed; Matt reluctantly takes the case when he can tell Nate is telling the truth due to his steady heartbeat.

In trial, it turns out the judge is a member of the Sons of the Serpent, who have managed to infiltrate many positions of power in New York City. When encountering this plot twist, I couldn't help but be reminded of how the members of Hydra had hidden among S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Sons had been making a villain called The Jester manipulate the media, with the goal causing race wars among citizens. Ultimately, Kirstin and Matt manage to send out a broadcast to reveal the evil scheme, but in the process Matt has to confirm to the city that he is Daredevil, and the authorities have no choice but to disbar him.

The last two issues of this volume are from the Indestructible Hulk series. At this point, Bruce Banner had made a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. that they could use the Hulk on dangerous missions for as long as they provide Banner with all the scientific equipment he needs. Matt Murdock enters the story because he is one person that Banner trusts enough that Murdock can talk down the Hulk if need be. They find a sound wave weapon that is especially damaging to Daredevil's enhanced sense of hearing. This tangential plot must take place before Matt left New York City.

This volume was the last arc before Daredevil moved to San Francisco, which rumor has it he will eventually do in the Netflix series. Mark Waid has had the longest continual run as a writer for Daredevil comics, and his reign is set to end soon.  I enjoyed Waid's take on the character, which moved away from the dark and gritty aspects and had more fantastic elements to the stories, but stayed true to Matt Murdock's personality, and of course the conceit that Daredevil never gets an even break.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison

Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny (a mouthful, am I right?) is the memoir of former #1 Hugh Hefner girlfriend and one of the three stars of The Girls Next Door, Holly Madison. You may have heard of it because Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, Cooper Hefner, and Hugh Hefner have all publicly refuted the claims in it. I was interested in this memoir because I watched The Girls Next Door in 2006-8 and I remember liking Holly.

About 40% of the way into the book, you start to see why Kendra spoke out against the memoir. Holly says Kendra's "memory is just super rusty" where in Sliding into Home she says Hefner offered her a room key before sleeping with him; Holly claims that never happens. The tone of Kendra's memoir is more playful and appreciative of what she was able to get out of being a girlfriend; Holly describes her experience like she was serving a prison sentence. Toward the end of Down the Rabbit Hole, after anecdotes that are pretty one-sided, Holly claims she does not understand why Kendra ended their friendship. Toward the end of Sliding into Home, Kendra is proud of the friendship that she maintained with both Holly and Bridget. I predict Kendra will release a third memoir that will address, in her opinion, Holly's "super rusty" memory.

I expected Holly to be tough on Hefner and she does not pull any punches; the standard sex scene described in both Holly and Kendra's books is the least of the negativity. I was surprised when I got to her ex-boyfriend, Criss Angel, whom she says used her for her Playboy fame to distract from the abysmal ratings his show was receiving and that he was abusive toward her. I don't remember that making headlines, but I admit I stopped following after The Girls Next Door wrapped. She does not mention dating Jack Barakat and barely mentions Pasquale Rotella, instead focusing on their daughter, Rainbow.

Holly is also critical of Crystal Harris (Hefner's third wife). Holly says Crystal acted jealous (translation: like a bitch) towards her because she was afraid that Holly was trying to get her place back as #1 girlfriend. Holly says these feelings were unfounded. Her description of Crystal's behavior reminded me of The Girls Next Door episode where Barbi Benton comes to visit and Holly seems to experience feelings of being threatened.

Holly and her collaborator, Leslie Bruce, did a good job crafting a compelling narrative. The "Hefner is trying to destroy me" and "Playboy is screwing me out of what I deserve" and "I let this happen because of what Hefner did to me" gets a little old but it is still an interesting read. If you are a fan of The Girls Next Door or Holly's World or just Playboy in general, you will likely enjoy what amounts to a gossip rag about life at the Playboy mansion and after.

Visit Holly Madison's Amazon page for more information about the author and how to purchase her books. And a bonus: check out what Izabella St. James, author of Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion (2006), had to say in response to Holly's claims: Daily Mail exclusive.

Daredevil Volume 2 by Mark Waid

For my rundown of Volume 1, click here.

Daredevil Volume 2 is a collection of Daredevil #11-21 and Avenging Spider-Man #6, and Punisher #10.

We start with Daredevil teaming up with Spider-Man and the Punisher in a scheme to get back the Omegadrive, and then take down all the megacrime organizations who were after the information. The Punisher has a new female sidekick with a similar loss-of-family origin, and she betrays the group by shooting Daredevil and stealing the drive herself. But they turn out to be rubber bullets and she is convinced to rejoin the cause for the greater good. It was interesting to see Daredevil's reluctant interactions with the Punisher, since it was announced that Jon Bernthal will play Frank Castle in the second season of Marvel's Daredevil.

Later, Daredevil finds himself kidnapped and put in a cramped glass cell in Doctor Doom's headquarters in Latveria as revenge for depriving the villain of the Omegadrive. Doom doses him with a nano-bot-infused gas that takes away all of Daredevil's senses one by one, and it takes Hank Pym shrinking down for some up close brain surgery to rid Murdock of the machinery.

Matt's friends and colleagues Foggy Nelson and Kirsten McDuffie begin to distrust his sanity and soon enough Daredevil is doubting himself as well. Foggy finds the remains of Jack Murdock in Matt's desk drawer, and Matt denies any involvement, leading to a split between the law partners. This turns out to be part of a supervillian plot, but even after Foggy starts to believe in his friend, Kirsten decides to have Spider-Man keep an eye on him, which is where readers are left hanging.

Stay tuned to this blog for my description of Volume 3, true believers!

Clariel by Garth Nix

I have read all the Old Kingdom books: Sabriel, Lirael (which I still like best of the four), Abhorsen, and now Clariel, the latest installment in the series. The eponymous 16-year-old is related both to the Abhorsen and to the King and has just been moved to the city of Belisaere despite preferring the quiet life in the forests of Estwael. Upon arriving she is immediately thrust into the politics between the existing kingdom and new ruling guilds. And she does not seem interested in any relationships, friendly or otherwise.

It has already been said, and I am going to agree, that Clariel is the weakest of the Old Kingdom books. I think that has to do with just how great Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen are as novels. What held my interest was the promise of the origin story of Chlorr of the Mask, a minor antagonist from Lirael and Abhorsen, but it did not deliver a complete origin story so I am more disappointed with it than I think I would have been going into the series cold.

Clariel is not particularly likable as a textbook adolescent. We meet her as she is moved from the forest of Estwael that she loves to the capital city of Belisaere where she is expected to attend classes to increase her marriageability. When taught Charter magic, she has no interest and so we miss something that was fun about Sabriel and Lirael in the other books. Nix replaces it with Clariel's education in berserk, an affliction that causes her to go into a fury (like Touchstone from the first trilogy), which was interesting but did not have as much lore attached to it.

I admit I didn't like it because it did not meet my high expectations and that doesn't mean it's not a good read anyway. But as a fan of the series, I didn't like it. That being said, I still plan to read more Old Kingdom books as they come. I think I'll wish for a book about Belatiel or Maderael/Ader after he finishes the Adventures of Nicholas Sayre and Lirael (what I'm calling it until the title is released). I think it is unlikely we'll get a book about Mogget/Yrael given that part of the fun is his mystery.

Visit Garth Nix's website for more information about the author and how to purchase his books.

Daredevil Vol. 1 by Mark Waid

Like a lot of people, I was pleased with the quality of Marvel's Daredevil series on Netflix. It was a gritty and violent entry into the usually bright and sunny Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you still haven't gotten around to it, don't worry, I won't be spoiling the show here. Instead I'm taking a look at some recent comics featuring everyone's favorite blind lawyer/vigilante.

This Volume 1 of Daredevil, written by Mark Waid, contains Daredevil issues  #1-10 and #10.1, and in the middle there's Amazing Spider-Man #677 because Matt Murdock teamed up with Spidey for a bit, which I'll come back to. Jumping right in, this run has almost nothing in common with the Netflix series. It was Waid's intention to move away from the dark and gritty tone started by Frank Miller, and this Murdock is so cheerful that it gets on the nerves of his longtime friend Foggy Nelson.

Here Daredevil battles less realistic foes than he had in decades, like one who can create portals for himself, one made out of sound waves, and Mole Man (the first enemy the Fantastic Four ever faced). Though despite the supernatural turn that the world has taken, there remains a dark underbelly to the adventure; The Spot breaks someone's neck after appearing from his chest, and the Mole Man's self-imposed mission is to steal caskets until he finds his deceased lover.

The main story arc involves an "Omegadrive" that is coveted by five different crime organizations, including AIM, Hydra, and Black Spectre. Murdock gets his hands on it and has all the leverage as the criminals fight amongst themselves. Black Spectre hires Black Cat to steal the Omegadrive from Murdock which is how Spider-Man gets involved. I appreciated that there was a continuing story element throughout this volume, except a harrowing sidestory in which Daredevil has to save schoolchildren after a bus crash.

This was not what I expected from Daredevil comics after experiencing some of Frank Miller's 80s run, but I enjoyed it and I look forward to checking out Volume 2.