Battlin’ Jack Murdock #1 (of 4)

Marvel Comics

Story: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Zeb Wells

Script: Zeb Wells

Art: Carmine Di Giandomenico

Letters: Art Monkey’s Dave Lanphear

Cover: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Richard Isanove

            Not every gap needs to be filled. There are some things that are better left unsaid, either for propriety’s sake, or merely to avoid boring your audience. When most people tell a story, they leave out the parts that are unnecessary, superfluous, or just plain dull. That’s why we never find out why Iago wants to destroy Othello, or why the New Testament doesn’t focus on Jesus’ first day in kindergarten. In comics, that’s why questions about how Rhino goes to the washroom when his suit is bonded to his skin are left to Internet message boards. However, sometimes there’s a story to be told in a space that’s been abandoned by other writers, and though it may not be entirely necessary to fill the gap, sometimes the exposition is welcome nonetheless.

            Such is the case with Daredevil: Battlin’ Jack Murdock. Daredevil has gotten along quite well for the last 47 years without an in-depth, four-issue examination of what his father was thinking the night he refused to throw a fight and was killed by the local mob. However, while there’s nothing in the first issue of this series that throws any new light on the events, it certainly hints at a depth and complexity of character in Daredevil’s father that cannot help but captivate the reader. Battlin’ Jack Murdock, a former boxer turned mob-enforcer and alcoholic, has been given a second shot at a boxing career, courtesy of local mobster the Fixer. But he’s expected to throw his title bout in the fourth round. The first issue takes place during the first round, bookending the fight and its interior monologue with scenes from the elder Murdock’s early life. While the series doesn’t seem to be providing any new information, there’s a great complexity to Battlin’ Jack’s character that writer Zeb Wells delves into. Early Marvel comics, while certainly featuring great characters and villains, are not known for their moral complexity, but Wells paints a picture of Murdock in colours other than the traditional black and white of old superhero comics. Battlin’ Jack is deeply flawed, even after his renewed success and commitment to his son. His pride is so great, it threatens to put his son’s life in danger, and his view of Matt as weak due to his physical limitations is somewhat disparaging and simplistic. But by making the story in Battlin’ Jack more complex than simply adding radioactive sludge to On The Waterfront, Wells has made what could have been a simple fill-in-the-blanks exercise into something that’s actually worth reading.

            Which is not to say that there’s only the writing to recommend the series. Carmine Di Giandomenico’s artwork also manages to liven things up. One would imagine that two men pummelling each other would be an inherently interesting subject to illustrate. But anyone who’s seen a boxing match in the last 20 years knows that the sweet science has pretty much become a rote exercise in filling sports bars and Don King’s pockets. It doesn’t really seem to matter that the fights last 48 seconds and consist of Mike Tyson or Oscar De La Hoya punching the brains out of some 18 year old from the South Bronx who’s never really fought anyone outside of a basketball court brawl, so long as there’s plenty of hype, so boxing has become quite boring. Di Giandomenico, however, makes you feel each punch, and his bloody covers are certainly graphic enough to draw the attention of anyone browsing a comic shop’s shelves. His characters are cartoonish and exaggerated, a mix of American comic style and Japanese Manga, but the faces are so expressive they seem realistic nonetheless. Coupled with the believability and complexity of Wells’ characters, the spaces that Battlin’ Jack Murdock fills seem larger than they ever were.

Rating: 7 on 10

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