The year is 1988, a new villain is turning up the heat in Hell’s Kitchen, and Daredevil may be helpless to resist her wicked wiles. A Touch of Typhoid collects Daredevil #253-270 as well as Punisher #10. This era of the man without fear introduces readers to the titular villain Typhoid Mary who serves as the primary antagonist. This engrossing blast from the past pairs Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr for a well rounded volume. Three main arcs comprise this collection: #253-261 Typhoid Mary, #262-266 Inferno tie-ins, and #267-270 the fallout from Typhoid Mary.
#253-261 A Touch of Typhoid
We’re a year or so removed from Frank Miller’s epic “Born Again” and Matt Murdock has finally reestablished a firm footing in his life and career. He’s happily with Karen Page, found a way to make a difference in his law career, and things are finally looking up. But for Matt when things start looking up, that only means he can fall twice as far, and the Kingpin of crime will personally see to it. Issue #253 makes for a near-perfect introduction to Matt in this era. It establishes where he’s at internally and externally, Nocenti’s socially conscious approach to the character, as well as the visual style JRJR will lend to this era. Then, along comes Mary.
Typhoid Mary kicks down the door and takes what she wants. She’s a fully self-possessed force to be reckoned with and takes pleasure in others’ sufferings. She knows just how to stab you and give the knife a final twist to sink you lower into despair, which is just what Kingpin wants. This whole arc is a knockout from beginning to end. The seeds of Typhoid’s deception are slowly laid, with her oblivious alternate personality, Mary, haplessly wooing Matt. And then in the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, the lurid and entrancing Typhoid takes over to taunt and prod Daredevil. With Typhoid and Mary having different heart rhythms and aromas, Daredevil’s extraordinary senses can’t pick up the difference before it’s too late. This makes for a unique battle on two fronts for Daredevil.
Credit: Marvel Comics
Each issue in this arc tells a relatively self-contained adventure, yet also keeps its sights on advancing the main arc forward purposefully. The tension steadily rises before it reaches its climax in the ‘Giant-Sized’ issue #260. JRJR’s artwork enhances the stories further and I think it’s some of his most energetic work. There’s a 2-parter with the Punisher ongoing, with each issue basically telling the same story from different perspectives. It’s neat to see how two artists render their Daredevil vs. Punisher fight. Whilce Portacio’s rendering is effective but JRJR’s is in another class of its own. Later in #260, the ‘Giant-Sized’ length lets JRJR go all out. As Daredevil battles Typhoid and her gang in a knockdown, drag-out fight, Matt never gets a chance to breathe and neither do we. All in all, this great collaboration makes for a true classic introductory arc for Typhoid Mary, and if things weren’t already bad enough for Matt, all hell is about to break loose.
#262-266 Inferno
No sooner has Typhoid left Daredevil for dead than New York becomes a demon-haunted hellscape. These issues tie into the concurrent X-men event, Inferno. None of the event’s major moments play out across these issues, instead, Daredevil’s street-level perspective is used to show how the average Marvel citizens react to the event. It’s a smart utilization of Daredevil’s unique viewpoint and describes the horror of a literal hell-on-earth event. Nocenti’s narration reaches an apocalyptic peak here, and JRJR’s artwork with Max Schelle’s coloring creates blazing hellscapes.
Credit: Marvel Comics
Goblins haunt the streets, demons possess inanimate technology, and Daredevil serves as the singular bastion of hope raging against damnation. What’s even more eerie is Daredevil’s reaction to it all. Awakening to all hell breaking loose, Matt feels he’s lost it all and Daredevil goes into autopilot. Daredevil doesn’t say a word in these issues, he just stalks his city destroying demons with merciless precision. His demeanor is off-putting and the lack of narration keeps us out of his head. It creates a strange reading experience.
But don’t think these are just downer issues. Amidst all of this, Nocenti weaves a tongue-in-cheek glimmer of humor through the average New Yorkers who see hell invading their city as “just another day.” In lieu of Daredevil’s narration, one issue follows a citizen who decides to leave the city and his comical indifference to the horror on display. The grim humor contrasts well with the completely serious Daredevil of these issues. The creative team makes the most of having to work this event into their overarching story, and Nocenti thematically works it together effortlessly. Daredevil literally descends into hell after his downfall and must fight his way out before rising again. It’s tie-in issues like these that remind one how they can show the strengths of a uniquely collaborative medium.
#267-270 Matt Murdock: Hopeless drifter
This is where my interest started to wane. Matt can’t get over the fallout from Mary, and despite how many times his friends have forgiven him, he can’t fathom asking them again. This spurs him to drift across upstate NY, stealthily performing superheroics. Again, while Matt wallows in his despair, Daredevil operates on autopilot. He takes on local mobsters, a mutant-hunting duo of Blob and Pyro, and teams up with Spider-Man to take on the demonic Blackheart. These stories are serviceable and the artwork remains great, but by this point in the collection, the energy and narrative momentum has settled down to the point I found myself less invested and wanted to get back to Hell’s Kitchen.
Overall
A Touch of Typhoid makes for a solid collection. There’s a strong central plot woven from beginning to end, while each issue also tells its own story. The 2 fill-in issues (#258 &264), don’t interrupt the momentum too harshly, making for a consistently engaging series of issues. As mentioned earlier, Nocenti’s perspective lends a more socially conscious approach, some of which dates the book, but most still reads well. To me, this parallels Chip Zdarsky’s current run as he seems to lend take a similar approach to the book, which could lead to modern readers feeling more at home revisiting this era of the book. Fans of Daredevil will already be familiar with Typhoid Mary’s introduction and this volume provides a simple way to collect these issues. For new readers, this also serves as a solid jumping-on point to older Daredevil comics. It catches you up to speed in the beginning and delivers a knockout story arc paired with some killer art.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.