Daredevil #4, Guardians of the Galaxy #4

The order in which I expected to enjoy this week’s books (from most to least): Guardians of the Galaxy, Daredevil The order in which I actually enjoyed this week’s books: Daredevil, Guardians of the Galaxy Daredevil #4​ ​​​​​

In all likelihood I would not have added Daredevil to my pull list if I'd known the Punisher (aka Frank Castle) would play a pivotal role in the story. I've always found the character to be a boring, one-dimensional gun-toting psychopath with decent aim who believes himself to be judge, jury, and executioner over the Marvel Universe's underworld, but in reality couldn't hold a candle to any of the extraordinarily-powered beings that surround him.

After reading this issue I'm inclined to believe writer Chip Zdarsky feels the same way.

At the end of issue #3, the Punisher stopped Daredevil from being arrested and extracted him from the scene. In this issue we discover Castle's sole motivation for doing so was to find out first hand whether or not the news is true - that "The Man Without Fear" crossed the line in the war on crime. Essentially, Frank needs a friend.

Interestingly, Daredevil's response doesn't exactly match his recently-adjusted mindset, and by the final page the reader is left even more unsure of the truth.

Overall, this was another excellent issue in what continues to be one of my favorite Daredevil stories of all time. I'd rather not see the Punisher again, but I will admit that if he does I'll be intrigued enough to bump this to the top of my reading stack.

VERDICT: Surprised to be glad I bought it and can't wait for the next issue!

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Guardians of the Galaxy #4​​

I hadn't noticed until now that both of the books I purchased last week feature a version of the previously mentioned Frank Castle - in this as Cosmic Ghost Rider (long story). Not bad for a character I can't stand!

A few pages into this issue the group of Guardians who want to protect Gamora find her; shortly thereafter the group that want to destroy her arrive on the scene. A battle ensues, ending with a shocking event.

Or it would have been shocking, had the same thing not happened six months prior in another title. I'm inclined to believe that it is more significant this time around, and will lead directly into the return of Thanos. There are other twists and turns being teased in the dialogue, and if writer Donny Cates doesn't follow through with at least a few of them I will be disappointed.

Despite that, this was a fun read. It still feels like this arc will be an issue or two too long, but overall I'm enjoying it. Geoff Shaw's art is still fantastic - the human faces look better and are more consistent from panel to panel. My only remaining (very minor) gripe is that all human characters have the same square jawline.

VERDICT: Glad I bought it and can't wait for the next issue!