Daredevil Epic Collection, Vol. 14: Heart of Darkness

Daredevil Epic Collection

by Greg Wright, Gerry Conway, Ann Nocenti

All hell breaks loose! Things really get heated as Daredevil is caught between the diabolical Mephisto and his monstrous son Blackheart! The Man Without Fear and his friends will be forced to face their demons like never before! Are they fated to burn for eternity in the fiery underworld, or can they find their way back home? And what role will the Silver Surfer play? As Atlantis Attacks, Daredevil must face...Spider-Man! And DD, the Surfer, Punisher and the Hulk will be stalked by Lifeform! Meanwhile, Acts of Vengeance puts Daredevil well out of his weight class in a battle against Ultron! Good thing Karnak and Gorgon of the Inhumans are around to lend a hand (and cloven hoof)!
VOL. 14: DAREDEVIL (1964) 271-282, ANNUAL 5-6; MATERIAL FROM PUNISHER ANNUAL 3, INCREDIBLE HULK ANNUAL 16, SILVER SURFER ANNUAL 3

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Collections, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

485 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2017

About the author

Greg Wright has written several books: TABLOID!: Once Upon a Deadline, Claim, Monstrous, Wild Bullets, and the Holliston graphic novels.

Greg earned a Ph.D. in American Literature and Film from Michigan State, and his award-winning fiction has appeared in a variety of journals. He has taught screenwriting, media studies, creative writing, and composition.

If he had a castle with a secret passage, he’d probably tell everybody and make it just a regular passage.

Reviews

[Frédéric · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually had read the core issues (minus the shitty annuals that start and close the volume) at the time of release and had totally forgotten them, for a reason.

They're written by Ann Nocenti.

Years later I still can't understand the craze about her way back when. Sure she was (heavily) engaged. Sure she dealt with interesting themes like environment, feminism, etc at a time these issues weren't what they are now. Sure she fought the right battles.
Only without an ounce of talent to translate it into comic book form.

So again we deal with improbable characters (the sociopathic father, the raging feminist daughter and the bimbo with a soul, yeah!) spitting the lousiest dialogues/monologues ever, all crammed all over the place, in confused plots without rhyme nor reason (what the holy fuck are Gorgon, Karnak and the Silver Surfer doing here?)
Exhausting, I'm telling you.

Even Romita Jr, an artist I often give credit seems put off by what he has to draw. He oscillates between very decent action scenes and postures and ridiculous character designs, Number 9 winning the cake with her Medusa-like mane of hair and her atrocious star-spangled costume (to which a leg misses for no other reason than to show some ass!).
Luckily JR jr is paired with the great Al Williamson. With him or Klaus Janson you know the inks are gonna be great.

The second part with Mephisto being a tad better than the first I was in for a 2,5* but the book concludes with 4 different annuals (Punisher, DD, Hulk, Surfer) forming one long miserable story called Lifeform, so lousy that I finally skimmed it through. The plot was bad enough but, to add insult to injury, all issues are pencilled by C-list hacks and that did it for me.

Only DD completists should buy this volume. Or think twice.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Can’t believe it took me forever to find the time to finally read the last two issues. 🤦🏾‍♂️ Not quite as good as the last volume but still decent. First main arc has this woman, Brandy, trying to stop her father for his illegal activities at his pig farm. In doing so, we discover her father also created this woman from growing her in a test tube so to speak. Called “number 9”, she’s supposed to be the prefect woman. With the help of DD, Brandy raids the farm and number 9 is woken up and escapes with the pigs. Number 9 ends up with DD and Brandy and that leads all the way to a confrontation with a version of Ultron. Later we get the return of Mephsito’s son, Blackheart. He is out to corrupt humans to get them to his dads domain. Some interesting things there. Book closes with a story called Lifeform which is told over DD, Punisher, Hulk and Silver annuals. A guy gets infected with a virus and becomes the Lifeform and all the people from the different annuals get a shot at taking him on. The Punisher and Silver Surfer parts we’re probably my favorite.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this collection of stories. It felt so disconnected to who we KNOW is Daredevil.

In my opinion, taking him out of New York was a mistake.

I don’t think having to cram a ‘crossover’ event into an already established story did this collection any favours.

It also could be said I didn't really give these stories a real chance but there's too many comics on my list and I can't get stuck on ones I'm not very interested in.

[Robert]

DNF after 3 issues.

Yikes. The lead-in Annual was bad enough but the following issues about factory farming and misogyny had about all the subtlety of a double-barreled shotgun blast to the face. Not what I was looking for in my pleasure reading, sorry.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't terrible but I didn't exactly like it either. Daredevil and Brandy go on the run with a genetically engineered woman called Number Nine and eventually get entangled with Karnak and Gorgon of the Inhumans, on earth looking for Medusa and Blackbolt's son. There's also a trip to hell for some reason.

JRJR's art is great and Nocenti's story is well written even though I didn't particularly care for it. I think the story would work better with a hero other than Daredevil in the lead. There's nothing about this that makes it feel like a Daredevil story apart from Daredevil being in it. No Hell's Kitchen, no legal matters, none of the Daredevil supporting cast or villains.

Daredevil going walkabout in upstate New York sounds fine in theory. In practice, it takes away a lot of what makes Daredevil special and shows how super heroes are a lot harder to make work outside of a city setting.

Two stars. I'm ready for Daredevil to get back to Hell's Kitchen so the next writer can put the toys back into start position.

[Edward Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great volume - Ann Nocenti is one of Marvel's most under-rated writers of the 80s, along with Louise Simonson. The primary issues have some very strange concepts which some people who want to see Daredevil in more familiar surroundings might dislike, but I enjoyed it, and even the annuals were okay, though not as strong as the main series.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Michael Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection has the last of Nocenti/Romita JR's run on Daredevil (Ann would continue writing a little longer but John bows out) and (unfortunately) 4 annuals (Punisher, Daredevil, Hulk, Silver Surfer) about a lame Lifeform tie-in that is best forgotten.

Let me concentrate on the Nocent/JR JR issues first. The art (IMO) is worth the price of admission. Al Williamson inking JR JR is a thing of beauty and JR JR was coming into his own and it was the happy medium between his early style and his later style which became a bit too "blocky". The only nitpick I have is - JR JR did NOT know how to draw women's noses from the side. They are sky slopes. Maybe a weird thing to gripe about but since everything else is so wonderful it really (and literally) stuck out. Weird - given how great his dad was at drawing women.

The writing by Ann? It divides people and I can see why. These are not stories you would be interested in reading again but they are still interesting on first reading. The pros - she had some political things to say and gave the story depth beyond "hero fights bad guy". She created some interesting side characters even if none were memorable (number 9 and Brandy). The cons - most of these stories felt like they could have been ANY hero - you could switch out Black Panther for Daredevil and they would read almost exactly the same way. Daredevil does play an active role BUT you could substitute him for any hero and the stories would barely change. His special powers rarely come into play and since we don't get ANY of his villains and since this is a time when he wasn't a lawyer and he was wandering around the country away from his usual supporting cast they don't feel like Daredevil stories. Contrast that with the Miller or Brubaker runs where you get villains, supporting casts and using his alter ego of Matt Murdock. And the resolutions to the conflicts seem very easy. Also - the end of Brandy's tale was so abrupt and weird. Too be honest that is how I felt for most of these takes "the end was unsatisfying". The Inhumans make an appearance and you were left wondering "why were they included in this tale"?

So yeah - without the fantastic art I would not have enjoyed these stories as much.

The 4 annuals and the antagonist Lifeform (Why was this included?). The one good thing I can say about this VERY lame 4 annual tie-in is that you can see Peter David is an amazing writer. The first two annuals (Punisher and Daredevil) are painful to read in how boring they are but then you get Peter David actually making an interesting Hulk story out of this horrible premise (a man got infected with a virus and he now kills people - it's as deep as that). You also get a Jim Starlin Silver Surfer story that is not horrible but reminds me why I didn't like his Silver Surfer run (but loved his Warlock and Dreadstar runs).

Overall - get this collection if you want to see Nocenti's controversial Daredevil run and JR JR and Williamson's amazing art - but be forewarned - half of it is 4 annuals that have little to nothing to do with Daredevil.

[Cal Brunsdon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Marvel Epic line - they’re a great deal if you’re wanting solid chunks of classic runs - but this was less to my tastes. Matt Murdock works best on a gritty street-level, brawling with thugs and drug dealers and generally getting his ass kicked. Here, though, the results are far less appealing. This period of Daredevil involved a run of crossovers in which he is forced to tangle with Mesphisto, Ultron, the Silver Surfer, and John Romita Jr’s less-than-ideal blocky linework, and.. look, it’s fine. If you’re looking for bombastic Marvel action, then this is the book for you. I wish there was a bit more character development, though, and a lot more lawyering.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one is honestly kind of a long slog. While it bears the creation and first appearance of Mephisto’s son Blackheart, and features a few other random tie ins to other larger Marvel stuff, this is where Nocenti’s run loses me for quite a while. I felt taking DD out of New York hurts the character, and the character of Number Nine, was quite annoying. I think it was meant to serve as a redemption arc for Matt after his life is ruined by the first major arc. But man is that not serviced well during these issues.

[Illusion Breaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Before I start my review, it is important for me to clarify that these reviews are centred around Nocenti’s work. This book does include annuals and things not written by Nocenti, but I will not be rating those or covering those here.

Heart of Darkness is a good Daredevil story. Now, the main reason why I have not rated this book as highly as the Nocenti Omnibus volume 1 is due to how the social/societal issues are tackled here. In Nocenti’s previous stories (including the 4 issues that I had to read on Marvel Unlimited that connects the Nocenti omnibus to this volume of the epic collection) there was a great level of balance between Daredevil’s personal drama, theology, and societal/social issues. Nocenti still includes these features, but the social issues raised are not as impactful as the previous volume and are not given as much time and attention as the personal drama and theology.

This hurts the book, especially in comparison to its preceding stories. The personal drama angle is very engaging, and ties very well into the theological aspects with Daredevil going on a kind of pilgrimage which eventually leads him to hell. Despite the fact that I enjoyed the theology here and it was written reasonably well, there was a noticeable drop off in the quality of the theology. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood something, but it felt very off to have Lucifer being a wise nerd and not being the ruler of hell. I think that by virtue of Marvel having all kinds of faiths and Gods, covering monotheistic religions like Catholicism is inherently limited and cannot be covered to its full potential. If Daredevil was not connected to the Marvel universe, the Catholic theology could truly thine.

Nocenti does not have control over this though. It is not fair to place the full burden on her over these issues as these are Marvel wide issues. As a Catholic myself, it is still disappointing to see how aspects of the faith a tackled (especially considering the higher quality coverage from previous stories).

Now, onto the good stuff. In the first part of the book, the social issues are very well done, with the animal rights activist (Brandy) advocating not for no animal killing, but instead for good conditions so they do not needlessly suffer before death. This is a refreshing angle, with most writers typically aiming for extremes. Nocenti takes the more skilled path of threading the needle between extremes, painting a picture of a logical stance without extremism (at least in this angle). This is far harder to pull off and greatly improves the story. Brandy (despite not being on the logical extreme of animal rights in theory) exists to show the extremes of feminism while her father exists on the extreme of masculinity, both to toxic degrees.

The genius of this parallel comes from not merely saying ‘feminism bad’ or ‘masculinity bad’, but by showing the problems existing in both ends of the logical extremes. Number 9 exists in contrast to Brandy, with her being programmed to be the ‘perfect wife’, by her father. She is very feminine, very traditional, wishing to cook, clean and look pretty. Brandy cannot stand her, and though she is right to want to free 9 from her programming and borderline mind control, she attempts to do this by forcing her form of feminism onto 9. The irony here is that she’s trying to have 9 conform to her idea of what a woman should be, which is exactly what her father did when he brainwashed and manipulated her.

Daredevil laments about his inability to say no to those who need help, a concept that was heavily emphasised in the 4 issue gap between the 2 collections. A big part of these volumes is Daredevil’s personal journey to feel at peace with who he is, which, in part, requires him to allow himself to not expect perfection from himself. The theme of perfection runs strong here, with Brandy, 9, Ultron and Daredevil all being a part of this complex puzzles created by Nocenti.

9 is made to be perfect in Brandy’s father’s view, but she feels far from perfect. Ultron returns, having multiple different iterations of himself speaking in his mind, grappling with questions of perfection. 9 finds him in the woods, and they gain a kind of understanding, with Ultron viewing her as perfect and 9 seeing that he (and she) isn’t.

Ultron says to Daredevil during their confrontation that he is so fearless and courageous that perhaps he is the perfect man. Daredevil merely responds:

“No. Far from it. The perfect man would have found a better way—than this!”

He acknowledges his own imperfections (very good theologically considering his earlier decision to flee from confession before having his sins absolved).

In hell, Daredevil accepts that he must not fight to beat hell, for the devil wants him to fight. Fighting and destruction is his works. He ultimately decides that he will turn the other cheek, and offer the devil forgiveness.

[José Ignacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know if this is a hot take or not, but I’ll say it anyway: This is easily the best of Nocenti's run. Not saying the Typhoid Mary stuff before this is bad, just that this is by far my favorite setup and payoff with her writing style.

So the book kicks off with Annual #5, which is just a chapter from the larger Atlantis Attacks crossover event. It’s fine, funnily enough I find the backup stories to be more entertaining than the main part of the crossover, and at least it has Mark Bagley on art duty, so it’s a fine enough way to kick off the book.

The real meat and potatoes come in when you hop into the main ongoing issues collected here: #271-282 and MY GOD it’s so good. I definitely will say the pacing is a bit brake-neck at first, but even then you still get some of that Nocenti goodness.

Issue #274 is so freaking great imo cause it doesn’t really have that much action (not in the traditional bombastic superhero way anyways) and it’s just kind of a nice stopgap in between bigger stuff.

And bigger stuff is right cause Issues #275 and #276 are both crossover tie-ins to the event Acts of Vengeance, which was happening in Avengers books at the time, and it features Ultron getting defeated in a pretty unconventional way, while also carrying Nocenti's central thesis of identity and sense of self that her whole run has had so far.

And then we get to Issues #278-282, the five part titular story arc of the book, this massive, insane story that analyzes the relationship between good and evil and the nature of the human spirit. It’s just an all around absolute banger that I adore, especially because of Romita Jr.'s depiction of Hell and ESPECIALLY Mephisto; who he draws as this ever shapeshifting horror, it’s so cool.

Overall, this is peak Daredevil to me. While it is unconventional and doesn’t feature most of the features/settings you’d expect from a DD story, I think it’s great BECAUSE of that. Just taking a character into a setting he’s not familiar with and doing all kinds of cool things with him and pulling it off so well. I love it.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 3 out of 5]

Então, eu tinha gostado do primeiro volume da Ann Nocenti, esse é bem mais confuso.
Começa com os Ataques Atlantis, numa história sem pé nem cabeça em que nosso audacioso demônio ajuda um Dr Estranho de tapa-olho e um Homem-Aranha desnorteado a enfrentar um culto de homens serpentes. Uma bosta.
Depois voltamos, para a peregrinação bíblica do Matt Murdock e a edição do galinheiro. Uns 30 anos atrás, quando eu li isso a primeira vez, eu fiquei impressionado, nunca tinha parado para pensar em como a comida chegava na mesa; sim, eu sabia que envolvia ir no supermercado, alguém matava o bicho e a gente comprava os pedaços, mas eu nunca havia parado para pensar em como isso era feito; além das explicações da Nocenti, falando através da menina Brandy, a arte do Romitinha com tons azulados e claustrofóbicos, realmente, me impressionaram naquela Superaventuras Marvel. Porém, hoje, aparecem histórias que eu nem lembrava mais.
Tipo, experiências genéticas do governo americano para criar a Bimbo perfeita num galinheiro de Nova Jersey? O mesmo galinheiro que fica perto da cidadezinha para onde o filho perdido da Medusa e do Raio Negro fugiu? O nome do cara é Escopeta mesmo? Caralho, é o Gorgon e o Karnak peladões? É o Mefisto peidar que o Surfista Prateado aparece? Putamerda, um anjo?
E para completar uma história horrível entre o Dmeolidor, Justiceiro, Hulk e Surfista contra um experimento genético que deu errado e quanto menos se falar, melhor.
Acho que a Nocenti perdeu a mão ao misturar tanta gente e não soube dar voz aos ideias que fazem o Matt Murdock ser o Demolidor. Podia ser bom, mas é só confuso.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume altogether I don't think many of the stories stood out as much as the issues featured in "A Touch of Typhoid". I think the main issue with this volume is that it has two crossover stories in the front and back of this volume.

Atlantis attacks really did nothing for me as a solo issue in this volume but once I got past that and into the Nocenti issues I enjoyed this volume a lot. Her issues in the last volumes had Matt in Hells kitchen for the majority of the time while this volume features Daredevil in Upstate NY so I could see how not everyone would be into this type of Daredevil story compared to his usual shenanigans. These are definitely a more surreal style of story but I actually enjoyed how modern and readable today. I had about half of the volume left this morning and finished it all in one sitting really enjoying the return of Blackheart & Mephisto again. My biggest gripe from the Nocenti issues is I wish I cared more about the Karnak and Gorgon plot more. Personally I didn't have much of a connection to their story but I know she had previously worked on their story before hand and probably wanted to tie up some loose ends. The volume ends with with the crossover story "Lifeform" and I didnt really love this one either. Much better than Atlantis attacks but still not what I came to the volume for since it wasn't really about Daredevil. Really excited to jump into the next volume, love it when we the epics have a sequential volumes!

[Katie Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daredevil Epic Collection #14 delivers a pulse-pounding journey into the heart of darkness, showcasing Daredevil at his most fearless and resilient. From facing the sinister Mephisto and his monstrous son Blackheart to clashing with iconic heroes like Spider-Man and the Silver Surfer, this collection is a masterclass in suspense, action, and heroic perseverance. The interplay of legendary writers Greg Wright, Gerry Conway, and Ann Nocenti creates a gripping narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

This volume is a must-read for both long-time Daredevil fans and newcomers, blending epic battles, character-driven storytelling, and the Marvel universe’s signature interconnected drama. The pacing, intensity, and creative collaboration make Heart of Darkness an unforgettable addition to the Daredevil saga and a shining example of classic superhero storytelling

[Miss Johnsto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mix of pretty good but mostly ok issues, nothing really terrible though. I enjoy that Nocentis run has more continuity and overarching storylines than Frank Millers. I’m not a huge fan of Mephisto as a daredevil villain, I prefer when he’s more grounded in reality, but it was actually handled fairly well and makes for an interesting storyline that I ended up really enjoying. It fits well with daredevils religious themes as well.

[Jonathan Waugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous collection, but still solid. Moving DD to upstate New York makes for interesting new additions, but the Inhuman stuff felt very out of place. Nocenti still has an excellent handle on Murdock though.

[jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nocenti run is when I really started getting into DD, and the Blackheart story always fascinated me. It still holds up! Would have given this 5 stars if the Annual stories weren't included...

[Kuba · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this volume. The main issues were boring and without purpose. All others I did not care about and skipped them.

[Gastón Ledesma · Rating 3 out of 5]

El volumen empieza de una forma muy buena, pero rápidamente decae, y sinceramente toda la parte de mephisto me resulto mas bien aburrida.

[Breiner · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe rhe weakest of Nocenti's run so far. I like this era of Romita's art.

[No_One · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second half of Nocenti’s run and…I like it more than the (already good) first half.

There’s something about the way she writes, the ideas she puts into the events as they unfold on page that just click with me. Most of all though is that every story or arc she wrote was conveying a message about the world at large. Stuff that was happening back then (like the subject of nuclear war) and topics that still remain relevant today (looking at Number Nine and feminism).

Love it. Another reminder that DD is blessed with great and unique stories.