Marvel 1976.02 - Daredevil #130

Daredevil #130

Title: Look out, DD, here comes the Death-Man!

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artist: Bob Brown

Villain: Brother Zed

Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Heather, Candace Nelson

This splash page is unusual for two reasons. First of all, it isn't really a splash page, by the usual definition of the expression. Instead of being a single panel page to introduce the issue, it's a story page with four panels. It would be more accurate to call it the title page.

The second unusual feature is that an exact date for this story is given, November 3rd 1975. Later in the comic a new day dawns, and it's stated that it's November 4th. This isn't unique in Marvel's comics, but it's a rare occurrence. As for the date itself, it's the day before the comic went on the newsstands, i.e. yesterday for most readers. Marvel comics had a cover date that was approximately three months ahead of the real date. The issue is dated on the cover as "FEB", i.e. February 1976, but it was released on November 4th 1975. I've never understood this dating convention. It's something that someone did in the 1930's, and everyone has been copying him ever since.

The second page is more of a splash page than the first. The Man Without Fear becomes the Man Without Clothes. Now we know his secret: he wears matching underpants!

In this panel we also hear that Heather and Matt are working together. They've become a couple in record time. Most of the action has been between the issues, or should I say beneath the sheets? And yet she still doesn't know about his secret identity.

The work that he mentions is the opening of a new shop, "The Storefront Legal Services". Matt is offering legal aid to poor customers. Pro bono? He needs at least a few paying customers so he can pay his bills.

We aren't given the exact address of Matt's new shop, except that it's in Lower East Side, an area in southern Manhattan. In later years Daredevil became associated with Hell's Kitchen, an area in central Manhattan. The map above, courtesy of Google Maps, should show how far apart they are. Hell's Kitchen is in the top of the picture, Lower East Side is in the bottom right corner.

Candace Nelson, Foggy's younger sister, arrives for the opening of the shop. She flirts furiously with Matt, which makes Heather glow with jealousy. Heather calls Candace a child. Candace's age has never been stated, but judging by the way she's been drawn I've always assumed she was in her mid-20's. So how old is Heather? 30-ish?

Now to the villain of the story. A man who looks like a skeleton has summoned a woman called Jezabel Bakah into his presence. He calls himself Brother Zed. He's the leader of a voodoo cult, and he expects his followers to pay him money. If Jezabel doesn't pay what she owes he'll demand a blood sacrifice from her. By this he means her son will have to be sacrificed.

Foggy Nelson is watching the news. There's a report that John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert had both been kidnapped and replaced with body doubles, so the men who were murdered were fakes. To put this into perspective: President Kennedy was killed in 1963 and his brother in 1968, and this comic was published in 1975. That means their deaths were twelve and seven years ago, which would mean that if it were true that they're alive they'd still be relatively young and fit.

The following news report is a press conference live from Foggy's campaign headquarters. Franklin Nelson appears on television and tells the electorate that he doesn't feel worthy of being elected. How can that be happening when Foggy is sitting at home? Foggy rings up his campaign manager and tells him to stop the press conference, but it's too late; the damage has been done.

Meanwhile, Jezabel tries to leave the city, but she's stopped by other members of the voodoo cult. They carry her son to a park to be buried alive. Luckily, Daredevil is close enough to hear the child's screams. He easily fights off the cult members.

This is the first time I've heard anyone imitate the Thing's battle cry. I hope it's the last time.

Brother Zed dangles a voodoo doll of Daredevil, and Daredevil appears to choke. He falls to the ground. But he's only faking. Brother Zed doesn't have any genuine voodoo powers, he's just a skilled hypnotist. Hypnosis doesn't work on people who're blind. Daredevil knocks him out and rips off his skeleton costume. His followers recognise that he's a fake and abandon him.

Meanwhile, Foggy loses the election by a landslide. He goes to Matt and asks him for a job. Matt has already had business cards printed with Foggy's name.