Devil may cry

"Echo"
v2, #51-55
David Mack

the Mack is Back! with Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev taking a break from their hardcore activities, Mack the Knife steps in for a five (yes, five) issue interlude. those who are familiar with ShiKabuki and Mack's previous Daredevil work know that we are not going to get a Michael Bay vehicle here, but more along the lines of Lars Von Trier.

what's David Mack's bone to pick this time? why, Echo of course. "what, didn't he do this story already?" ahh, but you are missing the point ... if you make a sound, conditions are such that the sound may be reflected and repeated. so when Mack wrote the first Echo story back in Daredevil #9-15, we should have known that there was a chance that there would be a repeat ... yes, you're finally getting it ... an echo.

Mack's stories may be an acquired taste, but the man sure can draw some pretty pictures. this is actually a story he totally had control over - no Joe Quesada or Bendis to help him out. i'm not surprised if he actually stapled each book and hand-delivered them to Forbidden Planet or Midtown Comics.

for newbies, Echo (a.k.a. Maya Lopez) is a Kingpin/Wilson Fisk/WTF protege, a gifted pianist, dancer and boxer, who was manipulated by the Fat Man into attempting to kill our blind hero. did i mention she's deaf? suffice it to say, things didn't work out and Maya shot Fisk in both eyes and left him for dead (but apparently not enough to kill, much less blind him permanently, as he recovered enough to become a victim of a power play again).

this 5-issue run (yes, 5 issues) deals with Maya's efforts to deal with the actions of her mind and her heart - she dated Matt (Typhoid Mary-style) then tried to kill his alter ego. Matt saved himself by once again revealing his identity to her. really, Matt's secret ID thing has no value. even the Chinese deliveryguy knows he's Daredevil, fer crissakes!

(wait, Peter Parker is disputing our statement. he wants us to know that revealing his own identity on national TV was a huge mistake and he wants to kick Tony Stark's ass. yes, Peter, we get it. we're just talking about your tunnel-visioned-yet-so-blind pal Matt.)

okay, what can i say ... Mack's draws cute pictures. i wish i could.

explain to me, though, how Echo/Maya seems to have different faces at different points during the storyline. she veers from Adriana Lima to Jessica Alba to Rosario Dawson and all points in between. Maya is a multicultural melting pot, after all. but we could end up getting confused, because of the diversity of her stunning headshots.

or maybe ... David Mack wants us to be aware of ... perception. that we are seeing what our brain tells us to see. what our heart wants us to see. damn, you deep, Mack Daddy. you deep.

Echo tries to get back with Matt, but obviously he already has a new girl. best line: "you go from deaf girl to blind girl? what is your deal? do you even realize what a nutcase you are?" feminists all over went into orgasmic glory with that one.

jilted, Echo tries to find herself, and she decides to go on a vision quest (did i mention that she's multicultural, and has an Indian grampa?). she encounters, and is aided by, this Grade A stiff. and i mean STIFF. look at him - the guy never moves. probably his adamantium skeleton froze over.

Mack's penchant for mysticism and unorthodox layouts can be taxing at times, and i don't blame readers if they dropped the book and waddled off to find a donut. too bad, because Mack had a nice lesson to tell, about 'two dogs fighting'. these two dogs represent the good and bad in us, and the dog who usually wins is the one we feed the most. you can guess what the reader who left for a donut usually feeds the most.

by the way, Maya mentions that during her vision quest, she saw a wolf urinating. that was probably Wolverine. that was why he popped his claws. man or animal, you gotta have some privacy when you gotta go.