Well, this is it.  This is what we've all been waiting for.  So . . . how is it ?  Short answer-Good.  Long answer- Read on . . .  

Six months since Karen Page broke up with him, Daredevil struggles to get his life back in gear, while a teenage mother leaves DD with a child who may or may not be the second coming of Christ and a group of evil mystery men track the child.  

Smith's writing is many things, but it isn't bad, by any means.  It isn't as irreverent or witty as his film writing is, but, then again, that isn't his take on DAREDEVIL.  That was Karl Kesel and Joe Kelly's.  Smith's writing owes more to Frank Miller's writing than it does to anything else.  However, even if the dialogue isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as his film dialogue, it is still very good.  It gets the point across, it isn't filled with cliches, and it isn't juevenille.  In fact, nothing about Smith's writing on DAREDEVIL is juvenille.  It's quite sophisticated writing.  It's for people with brains and some cognitive abilities.  In simpler, comic book terms- this isn't for fans of THE DARKNESS.  

The plot isn't much to speak of, yet.  It's mostly set-up for the rest of Smith's five remaining issues, but it's fairly good set-up.  The teenage mother and her child are interesting characters, and I look forward to discovering the child's secrets.  Smith also nails the characters of Murdock (Daredevil) and his best friend, Foggy.  Neither character is mischaracterized by any means (in fact, Smith makes a nice nod toward Kelly and Kesel's runs on DD by acknowledging Foggy's relationship with Liz Osborne).  

The only flaws with the writing are the bad guys, who don't seem overly threatening, nor overly interesting, yet.  Perhaps that will change.  Also, Smith seems to be a tad verbose, but it's nothing too annoying, like it is in SPAWN.  

On the art side, Quesada and Palmiotti (along with some absolutely gorgeous colors by Dan Kemp) do a fantastic job.  Daredevil hasn't looked this good in ages.  Neither has his supporting cast, who also look fabulous.  I particularly liked Quesada's heavily detailed backgrounds and the action scenes, which contained a remarkable fluidity and grace in their execution.  

Finally, this whole issue is a spectacular package.  I really liked the higher paper quality, since it made the art look even *more* gorgeous, if that's possible.  Why can't Marvel get these kind of production qualities (and paper quality) on all of their comics?  

A very promising start to both the Smith-Quesada run on DAREDEVIL and the entire MARVEL KNIGHTS line. 
 

Score:  A- 
 
  

*** Special "Second Opinions" Review *** 
By Wil (Wmoss14@aol.com) 
 

        So here we have it, the big debut. Some might be happy to see Daredevil get first rate treatment, some might be excited to see Quesada and Palmiotti draw familiar characters again, but c'mon, everyone really got Daredevil to see if Kevin Smith could write a good superhero story. Did he? Yeah, sure, DD was quite good. It didn't live up to the hype (though what does?), but Smith showed he can definitely tell a good superhero story. 

        In a nutshell, this issue is about Faith. Daredevil's girlfriend has left him, so in her absence, Matt goes to church for comfort. Meanwhile, a teenager with a baby is fleeing desperately from thugs who want her child. The girl finds Matt and puts the baby in his care - a baby with apparent religious importance.  

        I was pleasantly surprised at how different the writing style was from Smith's previous work, both in film and comics. I like that style, but the crude, dialogue-filled writing wouldn't have worked here. The story starts off 6 months after the last DD story. Karen Page has left Matt and Smith does a very nice job of showing the reasons she left him in a letter to Matt that opens the book. The action scenes and dialogue are just fine, but Smith really shines through with his narration. There are a lot of captions in here, but none of them are wasted. The descriptions Smith gives could take pages to show for some writers. He's set up the hero, a mysterious villain, and a very interesting plot all in his first issue.  

        It's been a while since I read a book with Quesada and Palmiotti, or a book with this type of art style period. Y'know, the flashy, sleek, Image type art.  They do a fine job, complementing Smith's script with the style it needs for this street story with a twist of the strange. The page where angels visit the teenage girl in particular is especially nice. My only complaints about the art are that Foggy looks a little too goofy and the girl looks way too old to be sixteen. It's odd, the art reminds me of Neil Vokes in some places. Hmm.  

        Anyway, this wasn't anything just amazing, but it was a really good setup to what I'm sure will be a very entertaining story arc.  Here's hoping the rest of the Marvel Knights books are this good. 
  

Score:  B+   
 

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