DAREDEVIL #236 (1986): Ann Nocenti run begins

Daredevil: He’s blind, but you won’t have to help him cross the street.

Barry Windsor Smith Ann Nocenti

Ann Nocenti’s run is an odd one.  There’s an interesting story line that builds right out of Born Again involving Black Widow and the other super soldiers created by the man who created Nuke.

It is spy stuff, something that is pretty traditionally in the realm of Daredevil.  That’s this issue–which is done-in-one, then Ann takes a break for one issue, then her run starts.

Check out the Wonder Woman bippy top!  On the same page we see a mercenary sharing a name with the New Universe Merc–Mark Hazzard.

In the end, he kills himself…

But then later there’s also some mystical/black magic tales that go far out of his usual element.  And throughout, he has become the hero of the people: He’s not a lawyer, he’s not rich, he works in a diner, and he tries to save everyone.  Even criminals.

It’s a complex group of stories, and I suspect that the fact that they are so unusual is why Nocenti’s run hasn’t earned more praise.  I know I tried to read one trade from the run a while back and hated it–but it was from the middle of the run.  Many of these issues aren’t easy to find in reprints.  But between trades, loosies, comiXology, and the occasional web site publishing scans of most of the pages from an issue or two, I’ve found all of them.

I can’t understand why they’re not on Marvel Unlimited, though.

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