Murder mystery extraordinaire! Redemption is a Daredevil mini series about the death of a small child in Redemption, Alabama. The boy was the victim of a very brutal murder, and the Police immediately investigate a group of friends, Joel Flood, his girlfriend, Adrienne Bowen, and her mentally challenged brother, Saul, who are known to be Satanists and hooligans. With the evidence stacked against them, it seems that their execution is inevitable, that is until Joel’s mother seeks the aid of Matt Murdock (Dare Devil) to defend her son in court. Matt, sensing that she is being completely honest, decides to take the case. Things are looking grim however. The town is united against the three children, Saul confesses to the murder, and Daredevil finds a skull along with a diary and some photos in a cache underneath the old church where the three friends lived. Also, Joel’s parents have been cast into a somewhat sinister light that gives doubts as to their involvement in the whole story.

The story of Redemption, by David Hine, is a classic style mystery, which could have been done in any setting. Thus it is very believable and easier to connect with than most comic stories. The confusion and injustice is actually palpable as you comics unfold. The Art by Michael Gaydos has a very sketchy feel to it, but is very talented and consistent. Though it sometimes suffers from being a bit too sketchy, Gaydos shows amazing ability in his characters expression, both facial and body language.

Daredevil Redemption #2 begins the morning after Daredevil finds the secret cache. As he and his intern, Constance, investigate, they find that the skull is, in fact, plastic, and the photos and journal reveals a group of tight and sincere friends who’s only crimes are loitering and dressing different. Next, Murdock tackles Saul’s confessions. Finding several contradictions and evidence of baiting in Saul’s confession, Murdock is able to convince Saul’s lawyer to change his plea to innocent. Meanwhile, Constance uncovers a startleing fact from Adrienne, which might dramatically change the outcome of the trial and that will afford some cooperation from Joel. (You can probably guess, but I won’t tell you). Eventually, Murdock discovers that the deceased boy had been regularly beaten by his father, and goes to investigate the boys parents first as Murdock, then as Daredevil.

I have no idea where this story is going, but I have some thoughts. First of all, Murdock is in Redemption to fight against the negative bias the townspeople have against the rebellious teens. However, it is obvious that he has a lot of hate and anger toward the murdered boys father because of his own problems with his abusive father. It seems that Daredevil might have to face his own prejudice before he can face the town’s. Also, Joel’s father, though rendered immobile by a stroke, seems to be attempting to communicate by tapping his finger. This may be very important, as he is the only one who can verify Joel’s alibi. Finally, I am beginning to sense that there is something off kilter about Joel’s mom. Maybe Murdock could sense she was telling the truth when she said her son didn’t kill the boy because she knows who really did… Stay tuned to find out if I’m right, or completely insane.