This week: news and capsule reviews, including Amazing Spider-Man #574, Angel: After the Fall #13, Daredevil #112, Thunderbolts #125 and X-Factor #36.

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Inside this week’s Sunday (and not-at-all Hastily Edited On Monday) Pages, you can find a selection of capsule reviews including Captain America #42, Daredevil #111, Fantastic Four: True Story #3, Ms. Marvel #32, Superman #680, Ultimate Spider-Man #126, X-Men Legacy #216. In addition, we give a quick plugola to an interview with one of our very favourite comics talents, and there’s another big UK show coming up!

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It’s a monstrous SDCC special (and because Seb’s back to contribute again) and by christ there’s a lot to talk about. We couldn’t let a nugget of Scott Pilgrim or Phonogram news pass unmentioned. There’s also a little note about Kevin Smith’s Daredevil, IDW’s Ghostbusters, the new Watchmen posters, Mark Millar’s return to the Ultimate Universe and, er, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek…
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So, let’s check in with Daredevil, shall we? Haven’t done that in a while, though as you might learn, there’s a good reason for that…

As I’ve said in the past, Brubaker is a writer who blows my mind in one comic and then disappoints me massively in another. His Daredevil run is, somehow, one of the weaker series he’s writing. It’s hard to fathom why, he feels like a perfect fit for the title, and he’s cut from exactly the same mold as Bendis, so it should at least be as good as that, right? Wrong. I have no idea why but Daredevil is one of the few titles that I’m almost ready to drop. Perhaps it is just because Bendis’ arc was character and career-defining work, and this is just, well, Daredevil being Daredevil.

Now, don’t mistake me. I’m not saying it’s bad. Quite the opposite. It’s intricately plotted and packed with suspense. Lark’s pencilling echoes all the best aspects of Maleev’s. But dear christ, I’m bored. So very bored. Perhaps it’s the constant use of Lily Lucca, a character who does nothing for me and has a very strange gimmick of smelling like Karen Page to Matt. Or perhaps it’s the heavy focus on Milla, the wife without a personality. Whatever it is, I feel like this arc especially is as tedious as it’s ever been. Brubaker is successfully stacking the odds against Matt, but… I just don’t care if he wins or not. Milla has a lot of potential as a character (Daredevil, unlike Spider-Man, is free to marry!) but one Milla-centric issue aside (the fantastic Daredevil #94) her potential hasn’t really been realised as she’s reduced time and again to either damsel in distress or nagging obligation.

Still, if being a comics reader has taught me anything, it’s that you have to stick with a title regardless of any drop in quality, lest your numbering get ruined! In reality, I’m going to keep giving Brubaker chances, largely because Daredevil’s a great character and Brubaker’s a great writer, so if any part of the equation isn’t matching up, it’s probably me. Maybe the next arc will interest me more…