"Daredevil: End of Days" #2 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz continues to develop the future of the Man Without Fear and explores more of the inhabitants connected to him. As the second instalment of an eight issue series, don't expect much more of the mystery to be revealed here. This issue follows Ben Urich as he delves into the most important aspects of the world Murdock left behind: his lost loves.
The opening double page splash is important -- not necessarily in the story it presents, but rather how it delivers it. This gigantic vista of the future of Times Square shows technology hasn't elevated humans as beings or a society, it has rather simplified them to more triviality than the present. Superhero iconography adorns everything from fast food chains to entertainment options. Helicarriers fill the sky while yellow cabs still whiz by. However, Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich hasn't changed. He wanders through a world that isn't sure if it has become something else or not. Stark Tower is an Avengers Museum and Josie's Bar looks the same, but it's all a nostalgic sham. Nothing changes, but it certainly doesn't stay the same.
With Urich asking around about Murdock, his final words and anyone connected to him, there are multiple opportunities for old friends to come into play. Urich has a long conversation with Nick Fury that mostly leads nowhere, though it seems like some of this will come into play later. Urich knocks on the door of Milla Donovan and the back and forth is intriguing as much as it is enlightening. Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack play the series as a visual eulogy for the character. Thus, his entire life -- or at least the best parts -- must be captured and summarized. It's sad to discover everything moved on without Murdock. The shocking knowledge from the Milla scene shows how truly alone Murdock must have been toward the end.
The final scene involves something that's been spoiled in lead up press: Elektra, the soccer mom. The scene is relatively thin as it's actually just a lead in for a conversation that will take place next issue, though this intro is six pages long -- a touch stretched out, all things considered. The blood red lips of Elektra and the menace she still holds in her face after all these years is impressive. As a hook for the next issue, this is a great sell.
Klaus Janson with Bill Sienkiewicz coming over the top sets a great vibe for this book. It might be set in the future, but this issue is steeped in the past. Lines squiggle and straggle across faces and every beat is played for emotion. There is no smooth bombast here -- only creased introspective anguish. Matt Hollingsworth gives each scene its own color scheme and the emotion bleeds through there. The fact all the characters have aged is also handled very well.
"Daredevil: End of Days" #2 is a decent continuation of the miniseries. There are really only two scenes in this issue, and one of them feels like a dead end, so it does feel thin. This chapter will read very well in context of the whole series, but taken in the month of November on its own, I certainly wanted a little more. The page time with Milla is the highlight and the rest drops hints and teases for the rest of the story, but there's certainly more to come in this series to excite.