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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey    Writer- Frank Miller Artist- David Mazzucchelli Colours- Christie Scheele Letters- Joe Rosen Editor- Ralph Macchio Editor In Chief- Jim Shooter Publisher- Marvel Comics synopsisAfter Wilson Fisk's unsuccessful attempt to kill him, Matt Murdock finds himself sleeping rough, gets hit by a car and then stabbed in the gut by Turk. Foggy Nelson becomes the unlikeliest of heroes as he thwarts a mugging attempt on Glori, Ben Urich, somewhat unwisely, continues to dig for dirt on the Kingpin of crime and Karen Page attempts to make her way back to Matt. Things get worse for everyone. Dave Part 3 of 'Born Again;' the aftermath of Matt's humiliation, physically, mentally and spiritually. What're your initial thoughts on the cover of 'Pariah?' Kev The cover is good enough. Maybe more of a functional, than an iconic image for this one. It conveys what’s going on underneath it, so it certainly does its job. What do you make of it? Dave Yeah I'd say it’s not anything standout, but shows the way that this issue will progress. Matt just cannot keep out of trouble no matter how messed-up he gets. However I do like the little, Santa Claus pulling a knife touch. The festive spirit in Hell's Kitchen comes through. Kev Ha, ha, definitely. There are not going to be any Christmas miracles in Hell's Kitchen. This is outstanding use of the page, layout-wise, by MIller and Mazzucchelli in these first five pages. Talk about putting us right in Matt’s mind. The darkness. The sounds. The smells. The tastes. The touch. I also love that the “camera” is pulling back from Matt’s face over the first panel on each of those five pages, giving us a wider perspective of Matt’s current situation. The use of lettering by Joe Rosen is excellent too. The big, bold nature of it really sells the reader on just how loudly Matt perceives the words that are spoken to him. We also have his mother, Maggie, coming to visit him. I wonder why she makes him promise to keep his newly heightened senses as their secret?  "...., she said, have I got a little story for you. What you thought was your daddy, was nothing but a....."
Dave It is some great narrative. It's very wordy. Matt's thoughts are naturally disjointed and I love the full page panel of him lying tucked up in an alleyway much like, the way in the previous issues, he was in the hotel room, hunched up hiding away from the world. It's like his trademark for this story, similar to "I am Wolverine" at the start of each issue on the 'Wolverine' series we covered. I'm not really sure if she did make him promise, or if he make this promise to himself. The wording can cause some confusion. Kev Good catch, man. It's not her colour for the word balloon at all. It's his. It IS him saying it to himself. That's what I get for just assuming it was her talking. Good spot on Matt being hunched-up on these title pages too. Even when we first see him in the first part of this story; he's lying in bed. This is also a nice little potted history of Daredevil on the 'Pariah' splash page here. Dave Yeah. The first panel on the next page is bright and eye-catching and Glori is certainly quick to tackle that mugger.  "Mary's boy child Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas Day." Kev She certainly does, although her “ye” instead of you is getting a bit annoying now. Dave Haha, it is a bit. Good save by Foggy at the end though. Kev Definitely. He's good with a bowling ball is old Mr. Nelson. Strike! There's a plethora of religious references here. 'Pariah' as a title, of course and the Christmas carols reflect Matt and Wilson Fisk, the "saviour" "To save us all from Satan's power." Dave I like the comment about the lack of empathy from the citizens of New York, in a situation when a mugging occurs, nobody bothers to help. Well, the people with money. Kev Yeh, man. “Horribe city-- Horrible--” Glori really nails Miller’s New York/Hell’s Kitchen. It really is a precursor to his Sin City. A noir-ish nightmare with no hope or redemption. Well, except for Matt. And perhaps Karen too, now that I' m thinking about it. I like that Foggy is essentially wearing Charlie Brown’s shirt. He is a bit Charlie Brown-esque is old Foggy. Dave He is a bit actually, yeah. Ben Urich, when he enters the hospital room, really does look like your typical noirish reporter, he's looking slightly like Commissioner Gordon, minus the tasche. Kev Urich does look a bit James Gordon-esque, you're right. And similarly the way Gordon is to Batman, Urich has always been an ally to Matt. He’s the only one on his side. On the case. “Quite a frame he was put in. Quite a frame.” I love how he’s just about to smoke in a hospital, over a child’s sick bed, before the nurse tells him to quit it. And then he just casually puts it out on the sole of his shoe. Cool as…. He's tough as well though. No nonsense. And he’s not above leveraging Manolis’s sick kid over him either. Dave No, he is not. I see Matron from 'Dragon's Claws' managed to find some extra work, moonlighting for Wilson Fisk, in her spare time as a N.U.R.S.E. Kev Ha, ha! I thought that myself, about the nurse. There are definite threads running through our reviews. Dave I do like that panel, of a street view, of Matt in shadows, leaning against the wall. It looks very picturesque.  "It was Christmas Eve, Babe, in the drunk tank, an old man said to me, "Won't see another one."" Kev It's a cracking panel, isn't it? Mazzucchelli's fantastic. Dave There is some excellent use of colours throughout this issue too. Even though it's very dark and harrowing, the story it's not, visually, done in this way. The variety in colours used throughout make it more interesting. Kev Yep. Christie Scheele's work is outstanding as well. She uses colour in a way that it seems to almost stab through the darkness of this world we're in. This noir-ish nightmare version of New York in the mid 80s. Dave Again, great visuals as the story swiftly jumps to Karen Page in Mexico. The beggar looks witch-like, as we are given an insight into Karen's suffering and torment. Kev Yeh, and Scheele switches-up her colour palette as well, to accentuate the change of scenery and the inherent change of temperature between the two settings. I don’t understand why Miller felt the need to use the “thinks Karen Page” in her narration caption box though. It was pretty obvious we were reading from her perspective. It’s just a bit jarring.  Karen, literally robbing someone blind. Dave I'm not sure why he's done that either, I see what you mean. She really has screwed things up for herself and Matt big time though. Kev Yeh, she really has. As I've said before, I find it difficult to feel for Karen and her predicament. here. I know she's an addict and all, but she's done this to herself. And now to Matt too. Although, the fact that she sold Matt out for a single fix, is an indictment on addiction, I suppose. And her robbing multiple blind men can't be a coincidence either. Dave I don’t think so, no. Jesus, poor Matt is just going from bad to worse. First being hit by a car, then trying to tackle Turk. Kev And getting stabbed in the gut for his troubles. Ha, ha! Yeh, star of the Marvel/Netflix universe and connective tissue of all those shows himself, Turk. Dave I like Turk. I'm glad he's in this issue. Robbing a Santa Claus too. Haha. Kev Yeh man, Turk's a great character. The passenger in the car that hits Matt's response of, “Just keep driving, man-- who needs the grief--” is just more of Miller’s dystopian nightmare. The last panel on page 63 and the first two panels on page 64 are yet more superb examples of the visual storytelling in this run. They really ramp up the tension of how Karen’s pursuers are not far behind her at all. And the use of the shadow pointing in the direction she fled in? Excellent stuff.  The Killers are a shite band, Karen. Here's hoping they're as far behind you as is 'Human'(ly) possible.  'A Dustland Fairytale.'  'Mr. Brightside?' Dave Matt, at this stage, is lucky to still be standing. How did he expect to tackle Turk? I love how he's holding a knife in his right hand and a Christmas bell in his left. Kev Ha, ha! Right enough. You could have just hit him with the bell, Turk. You didn't need to try and kill him by stabbing him. All joking aside, you're right though. Matt's in no condition at all to be fighting anyone by this point. And even less so after this point. Foggy’s a good egg though, he won’t even go home to his mum for Christmas, just in case he misses a phone call from Matt. And that job offer to him IS too good to be true. The Kingpin’s tentacles are everywhere. This really is “nightmare fuel” (as the kids are saying these days) stuff from Miller and Mazzucchelli. (Are the kids still saying "nightmare fuel" in 2020?) It’s claustrophobic, it's oppressive and you can feel the grime on you just from reading it. (Are the kids still listening to the grimey these days as well?) Actually, that's another fantastic last panel on page 65, with just Matt’s face. He certainly looks like he is not to be messed with. It's just a pity he's so weak at this stage. Dave I love the page of the 3 jumps in narrative; Ben leaving the hospital, a close up of Matt bent over in agony and Karen. Ben is about to be on the receiving end of some rather bad news by this week's unofficial guest star, Matron. Kev Ha, ha! Definitely. Matt being stabbed by Turk and left for dead, Manolis’s kid dying, this is just misery compounded upon misery here. It’s starting to put me in mind of ‘The Crow.’ Certainly the movie. I wonder if O’Barr was influenced by this in any way? And the nurse, the threat to Urich, what she does to Manolis, it’s all ramping-up the pace towards the end of the issue once again and it’s all pretty grim. Dave And Karen looks like she's getting out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. It’s certainly not short on explosive action this issue. Kev Definitely, not. The entire issue is like a volcano, just waiting to explode, and when it does, it's with bursts of extreme violence. You're right about Karen's situation, her profession is coming back to haunt her here. It’s seen as a currency. Her body is just seen as currency. She, herself, is just seen as currency. Her pursuers as silhouettes in the doorway, at the back of the first panel on page 68 is really effective. The storytelling in this is just so good. Outstanding first panel on page 69 too. Second one too, actually. And the second one on page 70 as well. How good is Mazzucchelli, man?  This week on 'First Dates,' it's young Karen Page. Dave Yeah, that panel of Matt hanging onto a lamp post, with the light of the other lamp post shining on him is genius. Almost like the light shining on an angel. However, Matt is no angel. The run-down looking street is great and the Christmas snow adds that extra touch. It's another excellent panel.  The light of God from the heavens up above. Or a lamppost. Kev I absolutely love that panel too. Good spot on the light from the lamppost being almost like a halo, or God-light as well. There's just so much Catholicism in this, it's unreal. “...I keep walking…...just because it’s hard to…” That says so much about Matt’s Catholicism, right there, the self-flagellation. Not to mention the guilt and the martyr complex. Dave Notice there’s a quick shift to Foggy and Glori? And the inevitable kiss finally occurs between them. Kev Yeh. This subplot between Foggy and Glori has been the one little beacon of hope in this otherwise depressing tale. It's very skilfully woven in throughout by Miller. Dave That’s a cracking punch by the Nurse. Even the previous panel where she goes storming up to the car just shows that nothing good is about to occur for Ben. Kev Oh, definitely. You're right, that panel makes it abundantly clear that things are about to go bad for Urich. And even worse for Manolis. That panel before it as well, the one with Matt standing in the wreckage of his childhood home, that has been torn down on the order of The Kingpin, is just spectacular. This is a vendetta unlike any other. Dave Also, the panel of him in the gym, in front of the punch bag, with the lighting is directly shining down on him, is very cleverly drawn from that aerial view.  Nice Wonder Woman jacket you're sporting there, Matt. Kev Yeh, definitely. That's an awesome panel as well. Matt’s relationship with his father is predicated on so many unsaid things. “The only joy I had. I could never share it." Dave Yeah. Finally he collapses and we see his mum entering, plus a quick shift to Karen in another fine mess. The large panel of him crashed on the ground with his mum looking over him looks like it has been painted. Kev Definitely. It is very much like the classic religious paintings that depict Mary Magdalene holding Jesus once he has been taken down from the cross at Calvary. Notice how there is light, God-light again, streaming in and landing on Matt's unconscious body? Y’know, how three days after his death, Jesus rises from the tomb and is “Born Again?” “Now every other part of me is dead. Only the fighter lives.” But first, we’re back to the real devil. Back to Fisk. Back to “There is no corpse.”  Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym, Wilson. Dave The last page shows how obsessively disciplined the Kingpin is. He is truly obsessing over Matt Murdock /Daredevil, talking about how he always knew he was more. The Kingpin has a God complex going on. Do you think he is unconsciously glad Matt is not dead? He’s talking about how he has shown him the path. The Kingpin is very narcissistic, me thinks. Or if it was Glori "Ye thinks.” Kev Ha, ha! Ooooh! That's a good point. Does he actually enjoy playing with his prey more than killing it? That would certainly fit his character profile in a lot of ways. I am really not a fan of the way Miller changes from first to third person narration within the same panel at times though. "--and perhaps, one day, to be turned to the Kingpin's way--...And I--I have shown him..." That really takes me out of the comic, that does. Although, I do love the repetition of “I” in “And I--I have shown him…” to convey the strain Fisk is under because of the weight he is lifting. Dave Yeah, it's also like he is searching for the words to convey what's going on internally with the pause between "I" and "I.” But it's a good way to round up the third part of the story. Matt is still a long way from being reborn though. Kev Oh, definitely. Fisk is coming to the realisation that ultimately, he may be the orchestrator of his own undoing here, because all he’s really done is show Matt Murdock “...that a man without hope…...is a man without fear.” Dave That's probably why he is so obsessively training. Kev True. He knows this fight is far from over. Dave No. It's certainly not. What're your thoughts on this story so far? Kev I think it's been excellent. Stunningly good, actually. It's certainly considered a classic for a reason, I think. What about yourself? Dave I really like it also. There’s so much characterisation all throughout it. I can see why Netflix snapped it up, and I think they did it justice. It’s an internal struggle story and Matt really is a warrior, never giving up the fight even when he is nearly dead. Kev Totally. Matt is shark-like. He just has to keep moving to survive. Moving forward. He's like a force of nature. (D) & (K) Next: 'Born Again.' 
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