Writer Seth Peck steps up to the plate; Brian Wood’s glorious stint on X-Men couldn't be a tougher act to follow. He plays it smart by distancing his first issue from the team drama and focusing on just Domino as she takes a vacation -- a term that for her means infiltrating a super villain casino -- and crosses paths with Daredevil. Peck has clearly been influenced by Mark Waid’s upbeat take on Hornhead, so much so that I had to double check that Waid wasn’t a co-writer. He goes so far as to have the pair flirt as they beat up baddies, immediately bringing Daredevil #8 to mind, where Daredevil had a steamy team-up with Black Cat. Even though the writing flirts with imitation at times, Peck does enough to make this an enjoyable new direction for the title.

Artist Paul Azaceta stands out as the top reason to buy this book. His style looks loose and fluid while retaining a street-level realism. With the color palette from Rico Renzi full of loud pinks, heavy purples, and a twilight turquoise, the book will leave a lasting impression on your eyeballs. Azaceta not only nails the hard-hitting casino brawl, but the smaller moments of Domino’s subtle luck powers.

The plot steadily builds an interesting mystery before jumping into a fun action scene, but the witty banter that was enjoyable at the beginning wears thin by the end due to repetition. A sense that Peck could have gone further with the material can be felt. Despite my misgivings, this was a good book that has entertains with both lead characters, all emphasized by impressive art.

Joshua writes for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl or on IGN, where he will air-bend, Force-push, and optically blast his opinion into your brain.

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