Daredevil #230

Frank Miller // Dave Mazzucchelli
May 1986
*****

Tho’ the title character spends the whole ish in bed w/ a fever, the arc’s several subplots begin to boil. The most harrowing, in art & emo, has reporter Ben Urich cowed by Kingpin’s threats. Incidentally, it looks like Miller pencilled some pages—but his style blends seamlessly w/ Mazzucchelli’s.

last issue: Daredevil #229
next issue: Daredevil #231

also indexed for May ’86
Balder the Brave #4 of 4
The Fantastic Four #290
The Mighty Thor #367
The Punisher #5 of 5

Daredevil #229

Frank Miller // Dave Mazzucchelli
April 1986
*****

FM & DM set up an artful network of parallel actions & Christian iconography in a sepulchral tone. They’re telling a death/rebirth tale (shouldn’t they set #229 over Easter, not X-Mas?), but redemption is hard. Murdock, deranged & homeless, ends up in Hell’s Kitchen as subplots twist thrillingly.

last issue: Daredevil #228
next issue: Daredevil #230

also indexed for Apr. ’86
The Fantastic Four #289
The Mighty Thor #366
The Punisher #4 of 5

Daredevil #227

Frank Miller // Dave Mazzucchelli
February 1986
*****

“Someone is out to get Matt Murdock”—the Kingpin, natch, having bought the hero’s secret ID. The seller is Karen Page, long MIA from the mag & now a Tijuana junkie. A classic arc, w/ tough-guy narration & almost no superheroics. Miller urges already expert Mazz into hard-lined, career-defining work.

last issue: Daredevil #226
next issue: Daredevil #228

also indexed for Feb. ’86
The Fantastic Four #287
The Mighty Thor #364
The Punisher #2 of 5
Secret Wars II #8 of 9

Daredevil #186

Frank Miller // Klaus Janson
September 1982
*****

Check out FM & KJ’s use of words as art elements! A fun A-plot has Turk (a regular goon) swipe Stilt Man’s armor. The longer arc has more substance, incl. an A+ bit of subtext: Matt’s built a case against a firm run by his innocent CEO g’friend—but is he wrecking her life just so she’ll marry him?

last issue: Daredevil #185
next issue: Daredevil #187

also indexed for Sept. ’82
The Fantastic Four #246

Daredevil #173

Frank Miller
August 1981
****

A breather—okay, a deflation—after the Kingpin arc, but this one-off is still smart & tight. Murdock’s taken an old foe, Gladiator, on pro bono after #166, & learns the bruiser has an evil twin in a gimp mask. Plus a morality drama: MM’s asst. finds the courage to press charges against the double.

last issue: Daredevil #172
next issue: Daredevil #174

also indexed for Aug. ’81
The Fantastic Four #233

Daredevil #170

Frank Miller
May 1981
*****

#170 suffers a bit from being a prologue but it promises much. The arc rehabs the Kingpin, a minor Spidey baddie that Miller turns into a diabolical powerhouse. Fisk, retired in Japan, cuts a deal to betray NY’s organized crime. Murdock gets sucked into the feud when Fisk’s wife retains him as counsel.

last issue: Daredevil #169
next issue: Daredevil #171

Daredevil #169

Frank Miller
March 1981
*****

Frank’s on fire! This tale starts out surreal, w/ escapee Bullseye murdering Times Square X-mas shoppers that (thanks to a tumor) he sees as DD. It’s topped by a hat-tip to Miller’s influences, w/ a 42nd St. kino playing The Maltese Falcon, DD’s hammy speech on the Law, & a teaser for more Elektra.

last issue: Daredevil #168
next issue: Daredevil #170

also indexed for Mar. ’81
Captain America #255