A Hanging for a Hero by Marv Wolfman and John Buscema
One Sentence Overview: Using his manipulation of the airwaves, the Jester creates anarchy and panic on the streets of New York when he has the President voice no confidence in the local polic force.
John Buscema is guest artist in this month's issue and that's caused a slight panic within me. It's mid 1976 and I've learned that Bob Brown dies of leukemia at the age of 62 in 1977. In fact, on the letters page, the editor remarks that Bob has recovered from a serious illness and will return for issue 140. But I'm worried. Has Bob drafted his last pencils on the book? I know. Very morbid thoughts but it's kind of strange rifling through old comic books knowing that the fate of the artist is set and just around the corner. I can't help but wonder what was happening to Bob as these issues went to press. Very disconcerting.
Buscema for his part is a well known member of the Marvel family though I've never been overly keen on his artwork. He's perhaps best known for an early Silver Surfer cover which shows the herald, at high speed, coming in to assault Thor (Silver Surfer 4). His artwork can certainly be dynamic but he draws the most idiosyncratic wide-jawed looks that have ever appeared in comic books that I've always found a little unnerving. He does an okay job here particularly with an energetic, barmy looking Jester and some terrific later scenes when Daredevil takes on some gangsters.
The present storyline is, briefly, strangely prescient of the current Dark Avengers book in the Marvel canon - that is, we have an obvious villain who has been identified as a hero (the Jester, for capturing the 'murderer', Daredevil). Daredevil remains behind bars for the murder of the Jester... Hey, wait a second. The Jester's alive and well and everyone knows it. Heck, even the writer acknowledges this blatant faux pas. "The police now know Daredevil is innocent," the Jester explains. "Everyone else is positive he's guilty." 
So perhaps DD's behind bars for his own safety then? Anyway, in a quick piece of backtracking DA Blake Tower soon releases the blatantly innocent hero.
This issue finally gives explanation to the Jester's ability to have so many supposed actors in place for the schemes that he televised as real news events. A few issues back, the Jester ruthlessly bumped off an unnamed scientific type who we now learn had created a machine that could duplicate famous people from the past. The sentimental scientist wanted to recreate famous movie scenes from the past, bless him. 
The Jester of course used it to create faux versions of the dead Kennedy brothers and, in this issue, President Gerald Ford. It's convoluted science that would make even Stan Lee blush, one suspects.
The Jester uses Ford in a wonderful move this issue - to go on the newscast and declare that the NYPD and all costumed heroes have gone rogue and urges New Yorkers in response to "take to the streets with any and all weapons you can muster!" This leads to some pleasantly bonkers scenes with ordinary citizens going gun crazy. Wahay, Anarchy in the USA!
The chaos on the city streets allows the Jester to gather up the underworld and persuade them to do some looting. And what if they refuse? Well, you end up, like dear Jeffrey Jefferson, in the Jester's Murder Maze (the kind of thing that may have later inspired the great Marvel bad guy, Arcade). 
But that's besides the point. The chaos is brilliantly realised by Marv and John Buscema and leads to some classic DD action with the hero taking on thug after thug on the streets of New York, leading to a great crush of a mob finally subduing the man without fear. This leads to a startling final image that I won't reproduce here for fear of spoiling things.
It's been rather complicated in its build up but, by the end, Marv Wolfman has actually created a fairly thriling piece of drama and a fantastic cliffhanger.
Cast
Daredevil/Matt Murdock
Foggy Nelson
Heather Glenn
Blake Tower
The Jester/Jonathan Powers
Maxwell Glenn
Mr Stone
Fletcher
Jeffrey Jefferson
The Mayor
President Gerald Ford
John F Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy
Rating: 6 out of 10
Like many of y'all at this time of year, I'm on a break with family so chances are there won't be another review til 2010. So a moment to reflect on the fun we've had thus far. It's been great to get to know the interweb DD community... especially how international they are - with Christine from Sweden, Franscesco from Italy, Merzah from Prague, Kuljit from Canada, Gloria from Spain and many others, I'm sure (forgive me if I neglected to mention you). Oh, and I'm from Ireland. It's great to know our favourite lawyer translates so well around the globe!Have a restful week and I'll see you all in the new year! Peace and love.
What's Happening? by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown and Jim Mooney
One Sentence Overview: Daredevil finally figures out that the Jester is behind the strange media reports but when the villain's supposed dead body is discovered, Lt Bert Rose believes the man without fear is the murderer.
All the mass media confusion of the last few issues is directly addressed straightaway in this issue as we are treated to the reaction of the Daily Bugle, one news-source that the Jester just couldn't get his hands on (probably too scared of the editor). It's not unusual for a comic book to lead off with a newspaper cover. However, what is more peculiar is that Marv et al use too full pages to bring the readers not only the cover but an inside news-sheet full of reports from sources such as President Gerald Ford, network news anchors, good old Foggy. Oh, and a girl in a bikini. I'm very much used to that in the British press but it's strange to see the estimable Bugle sink to such depths!
I was curious as to how Matt, Foggy and Heather were making ends meet seeing as the Storefront gives legal advice away for free. It's rather dispiriting to learn that they're actually funded through some trust fund overseen by Glenn Industries. A company not only run by Heather's dad but that Foggy is currently investigating. 
Oh, talk about conflict of interests. I'm not sure exactly how this runs in the States but it seems peculiar that an private body would be allowed to fund legal entities for the very reason outlined above. But perhaps they do. Or did in the 70s. Who knows?
In other supporting cast news, we've had Lt Bert Rose snooping around in the background as a latterday Ironguts O'Hara. Rose isn't a fan of the man without fear and, in this issue, he proves his chops as one of New York's finest. Finding the supposed dead body of the Jester, Rose accuses Daredevil of his murder. As is usually the case, the costumed hero isn't too interested in hanging around and so makes to swing away. Unusually, Rose whips out his gun and wings our hero, bringing him down. Suddenly Rose attains a stature not only as moral window to the action of costumed vigilantes but a positive threat to one as well. Rose is developing well. Wonder what's to become of him...
Arrested Daredevil has to run the gamut of the press, including one Mr Parker who's sticking his nose in... Hey, wait a minute, isn't this guy meant to be a photographer?
All this leads to DD being led off to jail before the Jester finally arrives to, er, break our hero out and then take him down, thus appearing to be the good guy himself. There appears to be ruse within ruse here. Daredevil and DA Blake Tower seem to have one convoluted plan on the go, the Jester another. How will it all end? It's nice to see Marv finally moving a significant storyline to conclusion and there are some nice moments. Overall though not terribly compellling.
Innuendo Corner Whilst Matt's all sullen and moody about the Jester's plans, Heather makes a suggestion to chase away those blues. "I know a great game that two can play that has smiles built right into the rules!" 
Oo-er! Whatever can she mean! After Matt's night in a Swiss chalet with Tasha some 50 issues back, is this the second oblique reference in Daredevil to getting it on? Or am I reading too much into it...
Cast
Daredevil/Matt Murdock
Foggy Nelson
Heather Glenn
Blake Tower
Lt Bert Rose
Peter Parker/Spider-man
The Jester/Jonathan Powers
Fletcher
Killer Croesus
O'Malley
Rating: 5 out of 10
There's Trouble in New York City by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown and Jim Mooney
One Sentence Overview: Whilst robbing a jewellery store, the Chameleon makes such a fuss that nearby Brock Jones shoots into action as the Torpedo, unaware that Daredevil has also become aware of the robbery.
The last few issues have covered a conceit that is frankly unimaginable in the 21st century world but is perhaps - just about - tenable in the mid 70s. It's that the Jester (as revealed last issue) is behind a bizarre media blitzkreig which has resulted in the villain somehow being able to alter the news that is being reported on TV so that it covers outlandish items such as the Kennedy brothers being alive and well and the US invading Saudi Arabia (which probably remains a Republican Oil Barron's wet dream).
Due to such media as the internet and blogs (such as this venerable institution) it is impossible to imagine this happening today, but back in the 70s where many people used only a few sources - like network TV - for their information gathering, it's slightly more plausible. But only slightly. To enable a fraud of this sophistication would require an astonishing amount of technical know how, contacts in high places and lots of well paid actors - though this issue does give a glimpse into the Jester's methodology. 
And also that no-one bothered to read newspapers. So it's a really far fetched notion. But also a big, bold idea from Marv Wolfman that has unnerved the characters and built up considerable intrigue. So let's give the guy a bye ball, huh?
Anyway, this issue's big story is that Daredevil is happily gunning down policemen. Well, he may have sent politcians into a spin with the two big stories he's already let loose but now he's getting personal with our dear Mr Murdock. Hey, the Pentagon's obviously not that bothered about the faux news items hitting the streets. But our man without fear is a sterner proposition. Be worried, Mr Jester!
Never mind that the national news isn't making a button of sense, why let that get in the way of a hot date with (the, let's face it, rather disturbed) Heather Glenn. Here, Heather neatly distills the anal nature of Matt's character by expressing shock and surprise at Matt doing something impulsive (a ride in a horse and cart, since you ask). "You're as predictable as snow in Alaska," quips Ms Glenn. Matt obviously takes offence and is determined to show Heather he can be spontaneous. Hence, in a slightly cringey sequence, a little bit of tongue tussling!
Later, Matt needs to get rid of Heather sharpish to do a bit of red costumed action hero-ing. So we are introduced to the (Spock baiting) Daredevil nerve pinch! I'd never heard of this and I'm not sure if it ever reappears. Considering it's unethical usage here, it wouldn't surprise me if this little power was retired without much fuss.
Marv Wolfman must have been testing the patience of his readership back in the day. We now know that the Jester is up to no good behind the scenes. But does he bother to seek closure on that storyline (that's been going for, like, ages)? Does he heck. Instead, here's the Chameleon. The Chameleon was, of course, Spider-man's first real foe - and he's made a pretty good comeback in a fine storyline in Amazing Spider-man this year. Back in the mid 70s though he was not exacly A-list. In order to beef up his credentials, the Marvel hierarchy have decided to give the Chameleon a costume. Let me say that again. The Chameleon - who is a master of disguise - has a costume - an instantly recognisable appearance for all the good guys of the day to take note of. I'm perhaps being unkind - the Chameleon explains late in the book that his new costume can instantly duplicate other types of clothing. 
Which is fine but how come he has so many different masks to hand that can be used in an instance? What the Chameleon doesn't rely on in this escapade is Daredevil's ability to hear his distinct heartbeat and thus, given the Chameleon's abilities, the unseeing DD proves to be a particularly unwise foe to come up against.
As the cover indicates, we also have the return of Brock Jones, the Torpedo. I've a feeling that Marv was really gunning for big things for this character. Even the name Brock Jones screams alpha male macho-ness, dont' you think. A year from now, he'd been given his own adventures briefly in Marvel Premiere but he never really took off (oops, pun!). Instead he became a supporting character in the saga of the spaceknight, Rom. Here, though he's still being established and Daredevil's not exactly keen on him as yet, still smarting perhaps from their initial encounter. This leads to a decent little three way battle between these two and a constantly morphing Chameleon at the book's business end.
Cast
Daredevil/Matt Murdock
Foggy Nelson
Heather Glenn
Blake Tower
Lt Bert Rose
Maxwell Glenn
The Jester/Jonathan Powers
The Torpedo/Brock Jones
The Chameleon
Mr Stone
Thaddeus Smythe
Dooley
Rating: 6 out of 10
Mind-Wave and his Fiercesome Think Tank by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown and Jim Mooney
One Sentence Overview: Uri Geller arrives in New York to catch up with the deadly telepath Mind-Wave, who he's previously faced in Europe.
You'd think things couldn't get more exciting after the debut of Bullseye in the last two issues. However, this issue's special guest star has me salivating. We've had appearances of 'real' people before - most notably perhaps the late Walter Cronkite and the big daddy himself, Stan Lee. But here we have Uri Geller! 
Uri's perhaps better known today (in the UK at least) as a former friend and ally of Michael Jackson and supporter of Exeter Football Club. But back in the early 70s he was the David Blaine of his day thanks to his propensity for spoonbending.
So what's he doing in Daredevil exactly? I can only assume that there was a mutual benefit thing going on here for the young mentalist and Daredevil. Uri Geller would have been at the height of his fame at this time and I guess Marvel would have hoped to pull in extra readers. Perhaps Geller thought his profile would rise too. On the letters page, Marv Wolfman reveals that Uri's a Marvel fan (and also an intriguing encounter where Uri bent a key of Marv's).
Before our mentalist turns up however, DD has some dude called Mind-Wave to deal with. I presumed that our foe's Think Tank was his army of sophisticated and intelligent henchmen. But it turns out that it's literally a tank operated by the big brained villain! Which is kind of a kooky and fun idea.
Anyway, a certain Mr Geller turns up in DA Tower's office to alert the authorities (and Daredevil naturally) that he's tackled the Mind-Wave before in Europe. (Hmmm, was there consideration of letting Uri have his own series, one wonders?) Naturally he effortlessly bends a metal pipe as he explains his concerns...
This all leads to Uri's 'origin' - a story about how, as a boy, he was caught up and empowered by a glowing light in the sky. 
I'm not sure if this is an actual story that Uri tells about his youth though it would be odd for Marvel to make up something about a real person, wouldn't it? Marv also reveals on the letters page that he has read Uri's autobiography so it seems likely this comes from there.
All this leads to Uri uses his senses to track down Mind Wave and assist DD. And it leads to a brilliant little line from Mr Geller, as Daredevil bounds away from him onto a nearby rooftop. "I'm a mentalist, not an acrobat!" Uri points out. "Never mind. You hurry, I'll take a cab." Priceless.
This all leads to an entertaining battle with Uri getting stuck in and communicating with his nemesis through the medium of thought. Professor X, watch that day job! It's all quite odd and very, very flattering to the young Mr Geller. But good fun, all the same.
I mentioned last time that Marv has a lot of balls in the air storywise. Here he begins to pull strands together to help the poor beleagured reader who was surely rapidly beginning to lose patience back in the day. Killing two birds with one stone, we learn that the villain behind both Foggy's fall from grace and the weird Kennedy resurrection thingy is the Jester! 
The Jester's a good bad guy but I'm glad he's never been right to the forefront of the world of DD due to the inevitable comparisons with Batman and the Joker. I wonder if Marvel were also conscious of this and downplayed him as an ultimate nemesis for our hero?
Cast
Daredevil/Matt Murdock
Blake Tower
Lt Bert Rose
The Jester/Jonathan Powers
Mind-Wave
Uri Geller
Rating: 7 out of 10
Bullseye Rules Supreme by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown and Klaus Janson
One Sentence Overview: Bullseye holds Daredevil to ransom in a circus but his main aim is to entice fear into the hearts of New York's elite.Last issue ended with the promise of a no-holds barred battle between DD and Bullseye - Bullseye having cornered our hero in a circus and blackmailing him to fight or else he'll order a bunch of (never seen) gunmen to let rip at the audience. However, the sight of Bullseye hurling skittles at DD doesn't exactly set the pulse rating. So it's nice to see he soon moves on to an elephant (yes, an elephant. And, no, he isn't throwing it at DD) and then tops this with a great use of a human cannonball.
The battle does not end with Bullseye looking to skewer Daredevil, as one might expect. Instead, he's only interested in creating hype in the media outside so that he can be considered a deadly threat when he next appears on the scene. So the chaotic scenes that end the circus encounter are all about building fear and I think that's a nice insight into the twisted rationale of the villain (after all, this is their first meeting and Bullseye has yet to really build up antipathy to our hero).
One hallmark of Marv Wolfman's storytelling is that he appears to like to add layer upon layer of anticipation for what is happening next. Whilst Bullseye strikes fear into the heart of New York's privileged, we're still wondering who was behind the campaign slating Foggy's potential re-election as DA, whilst there's as yet no word as to why JFK and younger brother Bobby are alive and well, never mind the much hyped (and much discussed here) Sky-Walker. Another little iron in the fire is added when Foggy mentions that Debbie Harris has gone missing. Presumably we'll get onto that little subplot by issue 350...
Meanwhile, Heather... Well, she's hard work to date. She's been portrayed as a rather leech-like figure, yet Matt's (inexplicably) fallen for her. Out for dinner, Heather's rather egocentric personality raises its ugly head once more. One moment, she's asking Matt to open up as she's a great listener. So Matt pipes up, "Heather, I...". And that's as far as he gets. Next panel Heather's telling him that he doesn't need to say anything. She knows she's crowding him and being "a nagging wife" (ouch, that's presumptive!). Heck, Heather, if you're such a great listener, give the guy a chance to talk before deciding you're invading his privacy.
Our issue concludes with a moneyed couple being targetted by Bullseye. Here, Marv allows the bad guy to be playfully sadistic with a poor older couple - the old man ending up with a sword through the wrist (which is considerably better than a pen in the neck as last issue's victim I'm sure would agree). It all ends, however, rather quickly and anticlimatically with Bullseye being taken down very easily. Perhaps this is because, by the mid 70s, Marvel are allocating 17, instead of 20+, pages to their stories. Whatever the reason, it's a slightly lacklustre ending to the prologue of a very promising career.CastDaredevil/Matt MurdockFoggy NelsonHeather GlennBullseyeLt Bert RoseHenry FosterFreda FosterRating: 5 out of 10
Watch out for Bullseye - He Never Misses by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown & Klaus Janson
One Sentence Overview: Whilst Matt Murdock uncovers that Maxwell Glenn, Heather's father, appears to be an unscrupulous businessman, a ruthless killer called Bullseye stalks the city with blackmail and murder on his mind.Landmark issue! As regular readers will know, Daredevil's been struggling for a nemesis ever since the book started. A quick scan at return villains reveal that the unhinged Gladiator has most comic appearances to date, with the Owl not far behind. Future writers have good things in store for the Gladiator, whilst the Owl could be seen as something of a template for DD's ultimate foe, Wilson Fisk (though, of course, the Kingpin's too busy bothering Spidey at present to appear in these pages).However, finally, here we have one of the big players in the Daredevil pantheon. So how's Bullseye on his first appearance in Daredevil? Well, I'm glad to report, as flamin' ruthless as one is used to. In fact, his first bit of meaningful action in the comic is a jaw dropping piece of violence that must have tempted the Comic Codes Authority into censure.
Despite this stunning entrance, Bullseye's psychotic nature is perhaps still not fully formed. Here he sounds quite lucid and eloquent in his dialogue with our hero - though perhaps that's because Marv Wolfman can be naturally quite verbose. 
Later versions of the villain would be more action, less talk. Still, it's a minor quibble.In other news, Blake Tower, as expected, is the new DA, with Foggy relegated (though how can working with Matt really be a demotion, huh?) to the Storefront. Interestingly, Heather Glenn's picked up Karen Page's Girl Friday role with barely a blink of the eye. Funny how, even in the enlightened mid 70s, there still seems to be a clear delineation of role with the love interest reduced to the more menial role. 
On the other hand, it's nice to see Matt taking on a seemingly mundane piece of legalese - representing a poor old woman on behalf of a residents' association who are grumbling about their slum landlord. Hey, it ain't sexy but I'm loving that social responsiblity!This little piece of snooping though seems to be leading to an interesting future conflict of interest. The crumbling tenement block in question is owned by a certain Mr Glenn - that's right, folks, it's only Heather's dad. Our Heather has no knowledge of course. After all, she's men to seduce and that seems to have been her only and over-riding concern since turning up in the book. In contrast to her previous man-eating ways, here she suddenly comes over all reflective about the State of Things, in a "Whatever happened to this great country of ours?" preachy moment.
Marv looks to be trying to extend the supporting cast. He brings in a grumpy cop, Lt Bert Rose, who may as well be Ironguts O'Hara. More intriguing is Jake Conover - a snooping, smoking, badly dressed hotshot Daily Bugle reporter. 
Wait a minute. He sounds just like another snooping, smoking, badly dressed hotshot Daily Bugle reporter, who will go on to play a major part in DD's history. Hmmm, wonder why ol' Jake didn't attain the status of a certain Mr Urich?So the debut of Bullseye should be thrilling. However, despite the extraordinary first kill, it's a rather muted issue with Bullseye less psychotic and more interested in playing to an audience and so the issue ends a little anti-climatically. But, hey, things are brewing all over the place in this little escapade, so let's see how things develop...CastDaredevil/Matt MurdockFoggy NelsonHeather GlennBullseyeBlake TowerJake ConoverLt Bert RoseMrs GildhardtMr HunnicuttWescott (the Rocketeer)Rating: 6 out of 10
So perhaps DD's behind bars for his own safety then? Anyway, in a quick piece of backtracking DA Blake Tower soon releases the blatantly innocent hero.
The Jester of course used it to create faux versions of the dead Kennedy brothers and, in this issue, President Gerald Ford. It's convoluted science that would make even Stan Lee blush, one suspects.
But that's besides the point. The chaos is brilliantly realised by Marv and John Buscema and leads to some classic DD action with the hero taking on thug after thug on the streets of New York, leading to a great crush of a mob finally subduing the man without fear. This leads to a startling final image that I won't reproduce here for fear of spoiling things.
