4 out of 5

Two issues that are an example of Waid at his absolute Waidy best… and one issue that’s still Waid hitting his marks, but faking the logic a little bit just to get a fun story out of things.

Issues 28 and 29 are a perfect encapsulation of what’s worked so well during this run – a sense of fun, a good balance of antics with a dash of reality, and smoothly worked in moments that build on the current DD world.  A client from Murdock’s past – Nate, a kid who used to bully him, actually – requests help dismissing charges that were brought about due to his past association with the Sons of the Serpent, a group with which he has severed ties.  Waid really writes this character richly, not making him into just a grown-up bully, but flavoring his story and words such that you get a full sense of history even though we’re just given the overview.  You totally buy the story.  And Murdock does as well, and agrees to defend him (or to help him defend himself, as this era of DD goes).  The trial is incredibly amusing, and ends with an awesome cliffhanger of the judge pulling a gun on Nate and things going BLAM.  That the trial is a cover for the Serpents to discover if Nate absconded with any info from their club is a bit much to swallow, but the tale is paced so effectively that you’re only breath to question it is by when things are wrapping up, and at that point, you’ve had enough fun to justify it.  And Javier Rodriguez on art and color – so awesome.  We all love Samnee, but Rodriguez takes so many more exciting chances with his layouts, his issues are just such a joy to look at.  His colors have certainly enhanced any given issue of the book, but the little subtleties he can reap from his panels with control over all the elements is awesome.

Issue 30 is equally fun – a brief catch-the-cosmic-baddie with Silver Surfer, but Waid has to work backwards this time, giving us the explanation up front, and so it doesn’t work quite as smoothly as the previous issues, undermining the resultant chase with a bit of silliness.  I mean, yes, the majority of this run has had a pleasantly lighthearted vibe to it, but it’s all about maintaining just the right level of comic bullshit, and this issue reeks just a bit of Waid wanting to see DD on Silver Surfer’s board, and so coming up with a reason to make it so.  Still, doesn’t make it not fun to read or look at (Samnee back on art), it’s just not the first issue I would hand to someone new to comics, even though it’s a standalone.