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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Tick the box "Notify me" to receive notification of replies.