Daredevil: Lone Stranger [Paperback] Ann Nocenti (Author), John Romita (Illustrator)

The Man Without Fear becomes the Man Without Hope as Manhattan falls beneath the fangs and claws of Inferno! Losing everything in more than one kind of fire, DD leaves Hell's Kitchen to walk to and fro upon the Earth - but no matter where he goes, Mephisto's waiting for him! Inhumane experimentation and Inhuman secrets abound! Guest-starring Spider-Man and Freedom Force! Collects Daredevil (1964) #265-273.

Daredevil: Lone Stranger collects Daredevil issues 265-275, a memorable run by writer Ann Nocenti and artists John Romita Jr. and Al Williamson. I'm happy (and more than a little surprised) that these issues were collected like this. These were the first Daredevil issues I read when I started getting into comics, so they have a special place in my heart. The story takes place during X-Men: Inferno, the X-Men crossover event that spilled over into most Marvel titles at the time.

Daredevil was just coming off the events of the Typhoid Mary storyline, so he's in pretty bad shape. Of course, the best Daredevil stories are inevitably the ones where he's at his lowest point, and this is no exception. We get to see a silent, brooding Daredevil whip the bejeezus out of a host of demons, drown his sorrows at a local bar, and then leave town completely, wandering from town to town, Kung Fu: The Complete Series Collection style. The highlight of this run is issue 269, where Daredevil faces down Blob and Pyro in a small town. It's probably one of the best single-issue Daredevil stories I've ever read. Nocenti is one of the more underrated Daredevil scribes. Her run is never going to be ranked up there with Miller or Bendis, but I think she did a terrific job and brought a lot to the title and the character. It was unusual in an 80's era comic to focus so much on "background" characters, but it is precisely that attention to everyday citizens that makes this run so memorable.

I'm a little mystified at this collection. I'm definitely happy to have it, as I've been a Daredevil fan for many years and have not seen these issues in other collections. Ann Nocenti writes these tales, mostly single issue stories of Daredevil wandering around the USA in an emotional cocoon after the misery he suffered in the Born Again and Typhoid Mary stories. John Romita, Jr., provides the art, which is not my favorite style, but I know most readers love his work, and these examples are really good by JRJR standards.

The unusual thing about the collection, though, is that the stories don't really have anything in common other than Daredevil being emotionally reserved, and there's no clear start or end point. The first issue in the collection is even the last part of an Inferno crossover (which, by the way, is one of my favorite Ann Nocenti stories ever - no one writes nauseatingly surreal but purposeful horror like she does - and is a must-read for anyone familiar with Inferno). Most of the issues are decent but not great - there's a three-issue civics lesson about why overcrowding on farms is bad, and a one-issue fight with Freedom Force that paints the Blob as a sexual predator, and the introduction of Blackheart (who would eventually become a major character but who doesn't make much of an impression in this appearance, although Nocenti gets to indulge her horror strengths in writing his origin).

Next to Miller's run this might be my favorite period of Daredevil. Nocenti and Romita Jr. together are a match made in heaven, and this is when Jr's art started to really come into its own. It's too bad this run is so often overlooked and that Marvel itself seems to ignore it. Nocenti is often not the most nuanced when it comes to character dialogue and yet... even when the writing is a bit clunky or heavy-handed the overall themes and characters manage to brightly shine through. The plotting is pretty fascinating as well in such a way that characters' inner feelings become (in at least one case) literally manifested by their enemies. There's a lot of daring here in a way that even Bendis' and Brubaker's runs don't quite touch. Highly recommend to those who aren't afraid of a Surrealist take on Matt Murdock.

This book is in near mint condition and is a first printing!

‘Daredevil’ Disney+ Series in the Works With Matt Corman, Chris Ord Set to Write

A new “Daredevil” series is moving forward at Disney+, with Variety having exclusively learned from sources that Matt Corman and Chris Ord are attached to write and executive produce.

Rumors have persisted for some time that a Disney+ series about the Man Without Fear was in the works, especially considering that two of the stars of the Netflix “Daredevil” series — Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio — have appeared in recent Marvel projects. Cox once again played Matt Murdock, the secret identity of Daredevil, in the film “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” while D’Onofrio reprised the role of Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, in the Disney+ series “Hawkeye.”

It now appears that the project is picking up steam with the hiring of Corman and Ord, although Marvel has yet to announce anything regarding the show formally.

Reps for Corman and Ord declined to comment. Marvel Studios reps do not comment on projects in development.

Corman and Ord most famously co-created the USA Network series “Covert Affairs” starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. The show aired for five seasons on the basic cabler between 2010 and 2014.  They most recently worked as executive producers and co-showrunners on the NBC drama shows “The Enemy Within” and “The Brave” as well as The CW series “Containment.”

Fans have been clamoring for more Daredevil ever since the Netflix series was canceled in 2018 after three seasons. They were in for a long wait, however, as Variety reported in 2018 that the deal with Netflix included a clause that prevented any characters from the Marvel-Netflix shows from appearing in any non-Netflix projects for two years after cancellation.

The move came as Disney looked to bring its Marvel heroes under one umbrella, with multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe shows having since debuted on Disney+. “Moon Knight” starring Oscar Isaac was the last such show to premiere, with a trailer for the “She-Hulk” series starring Tatiana Maslany dropping earlier this week.

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