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Creative Team – Erica Schultz(writer). Valentina Pinti(artist). José Luis(penciler). Jonas Trindade(inker). Dee Cunniffe(color artist). VC’s Cory Petit(letterer). Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg(cover artists).
Published by Marvel Entertainment
“MURDER IS AN ART! The violence and the occult swirling across the Marvel Universe find their way to Hell’s Kitchen! As grisly crime scenes start manifesting across the city, all signs point to an impossible perpetrator: MUSE! Estranged from Matt Murdock, it’s up to Elektra to get to the grisly truth as only DAREDEVIL can… if she can stomach the seemingly-resurrected killer’s most violent works!”
Woman without fear
Elektra Natchios has worn so many hats, some of which includes ninja, assassin, a partner. Now she wears the hero hat, or should I say mask? Elektra is the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and she’s doing her best to keep the streets safe. In Daredevil: Hell Unleashed- Red Band #1, she starts with taking out criminals who are busy cooking up drugs to flood the streets with. She takes each of the cooks out one by one, demonstrating her fighting skills that comes from her ninja training. Of course, it’s never as simple as just stopping the villains as it ends with an explosion in the drug lab. But the crooks were stopped and that’s what matters.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Elektra, another villain was making his way into the mind of a young artist named Morgan. Morgan had been hearing voices talking to her, and never imagined it was Muse who was coercing her. Muse, who resides in Hell, has a big chip on his shoulder and plans to do something about it.
The Writing
I knew when I saw Erica Schultz would be writing Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band #1, it was going to be something great, and I’m glad to say I wasn’t wrong. The grittiness, the darkness, the rawness of the comic is pitch perfect. The overall tone is dark and fits the story and the characters very well, especially the villain. Muse is pretty underrated as a character, so I’m glad to see that’s who Schultz went with for this run.
The Art
With a red brand comic, you have a pretty good idea of what will be involved. Violence, blood, graphic fight scenes, all of these factors are in the comic. But it’s used really well and doesn’t feel overdone, which I’ve noticed can happen more often than not. The artists did a really great job with making this a dark and gritty comic that matched the tone of the story perfectly.
I’d say the part I found most exciting were the scenes of Hell, with Muse and Morgan. The bright reds and oranges of Hell, juxtaposing the more monotoned look of Muse and Morgan really was stunning.
Final Thoughts
I can’t wait to see where this goes as Muse is one of my favorite villains. With Schultz behind the writing and the stellar artists on the creative team, it’s sure to be a hit.
Overall Grade: 9.3/10
This review was written by Megan from the Vigilante Vibes Podcast. If you liked my review, be sure to check out my other reviews! Let me know what you think of Daredevil: Unleash Hell – Red Band #1, or tell me what comics you’d recommend me trying out! Find me on my socials, and check out my Marvel podcast, Vigilante Vibes, by clicking here!
