Book Review: Blind Dates and Broken Hearts: The Tragic Loves of Matthew Murdock by Ryan K. Lindsay
Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.
Matthew Murdock is the Marvel Comics character known as Daredevil, a blind lawyer blessed with a “radar sense” that allows him to sense his surroundings which he uses to fight crime. Since his creation in 1964, Daredevil has gone through several love interests, most of the relationships having ended badly. In large part this is because of the Marvel formula of soap opera plotting ensuring that there must always be more drama coming, that no major character can ever stay happy.
This volume touches upon that, but is more interested in what it says about Matt Murdock and his relationships in-story. There are sections on the five most important love interests in the Daredevil comics, from overly clingy Karen Page through dangerous Elektra to sensible Milla Donovan. A couple of other girlfriends get a brief mention. Each gets a look at her personality, their plot function and what their relationship with Daredevil tells us about him.
This is more an extended essay in a double-spaced pamphlet than a book. There are a few illustrations and a couple of footnotes but no table of contents , bibliography or index. I spotted a couple of spellchecker-passed typos. On the good side, it really felt like the author had taken the time to reread the entire Daredevil series.
If you are a huge Daredevil fan or the kind of person who loves analyzing superheroes’ love lives, then Blind Dates and Broken Hearts is for you. I really cannot recommend it to the layperson, as it assumes familiarity with the material.
