Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Echo: Part 5
Written by: David Mack
Art by: David Mack
Lettered by: Virtual Calligraphy’s Cory Petit
Editor: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Marvel Comics
â€He’s got me hooked.â€
Hooked like a mindless fish perhaps. The quote above was at the close of my review for issue #52 of Daredevil. I stand by what I said then, but it’s unfortunate just how wrong I was. That statement was almost as big a misstep as when the mistakenly regarded as a hero and utterly moronic George Armstrong Custer said, “Charge,†at the Little Big Horn. Talk about five issues that went nowhere with a character that had no business taking over this book for so long. I actually dreaded having to pick this comic up, and even more having to write this review.
At the close of issue #50, Daredevil had beaten the Kingpin within an inch of his life and then declared himself the new Kingpin of Hell’s Kitchen. The follow-up to that stunning saga is the beautifully drawn five-part “Echo†storyline. Echo made her debut just after Kevin Smith’s highly regarded run on this book and quickly disappeared. Having this exploration of a minor and forgotten character follow the monumental events of issue #50 would have been like having an extended storyline featuring Vicki Vale in the pages of Batman following “HUSH.â€
Do people really like Wolverine?
Now is when I’m going to get myself into trouble.
The early part of this storyline was quite interesting. David Mack wove together a storyline that highlighted the countless injustices faced by the American Indian. While the further detail on Maya’s life was out of place as the lead in the book, it was made better by Mack’s tremendous grasp of American history. The wheels completely fell off when Wolverine had to show up. I’m not the biggest fan in the world of “Mr. Berserker rage,†but when the book devolved into story-time with Wolvie I had my fill.
Since I’m not much of a Marvel-Mutant-fan the majority of the stories I’ve read with Wolverine in the last ten years have been blatant wastes of time inserting the character into books where he doesn’t belong. I’m sure Wolverine isn’t the boring waste of time that I view him as, but I certainly won’t be seeking out stories with the character mainly because the utter waste of time he usually seems to be.
Is that one of the adults from Charlie Brown talking?
It’s rare for me to have to fight tuning out what I’m reading, but that was certainly a major problem with this book. I found myself simply thinking about other things and constantly having to go back and reread the previous lines.
David Mack’s stunning artwork was just not enough to keep my interest. I found myself enjoying each part of this storyline less and less. It’s been said before, but this should not have been done as a part of the regular series. The five parts should have been released in a prestige format style. Mack’s wonderful paintings would have looked even better in that format, plus it would have been easier to make a decision on whether to keep buying the book.
This wasn’t a bad story by any stretch of the imagination; it was just a story that ran far too long and at an inopportune time. The characterization of Maya was excellent, and David Mack’s artwork is utterly entrancing. It’s just that I don’t see Daredevil enough in his own book, that’s my only real complaint of Brian Bendis’ work on the title, and to see even less of him for five months really wore thin in the end.
