Issue(s): Daredevil #262
Cover Date: Jan 89
Title: "...I found me in a gloomy wood, astray..."
Credits:
Ann Nocenti - Writer
John Romita Jr. - Penciler
Al Williamson - Inker
Marc Siry - Assistant Editor
Ralph Macchio - Editor

Review/plot:
The joke amongst my friends was that while everyone else was dealing with heavy stuff during Inferno, Daredevil fought a vacuum cleaner. And that's not really fair. There's more going on here.

Black Widow also fights an elevator.

Actually this Ann Nocenti comic is a lot more (surprise!) surreal and psychological than all of that. And to be fair, we've seen that elevators are a major threat in Inferno. So while when i used this crossover as an opportunity to sample the Daredevil book as a kid and walked away holding my nose, it's really not that bad.

We have Typhoid Mary still in her innocent Mary form...

...pondering what to do about herself, but ultimately succumbing to the Typhoid persona again.

And we've got Black Widow helping Karen Page and the Bratpack kids look for Matt, but then having the city go crazy around them.

They first notice the heat, and this is one of two books (the other being Power Pack) that ties the heatwave to environmental problems like greenhouse gases.

They're also attacked by a falling gargoyle statue and crazy subway turnstiles...

...and crazy people on the subways that can sense Karen's drug weakness.

And the police can't help look for Matt because they're overwhelmed with similar issues.

So it does come down to the Black Widow having to fight that elevator.

And then, yes, the vacuum.

Of course Daredevil doesn't actually fight the vacuum the whole issue. He's unconscious and dreaming about Stick.

What i think is funny is that Stick tells him that "sometimes, you have to go into the darkness". Sometimes? For poor Daredevil it's his regular state.

Meanwhile, that vacuum is doing terrible things to him (and looks techno-organic to me, but see Jay's comments).

But he does manage to destroy it before collapsing again. But that's when Typhoid shows up.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Daredevil is still laying unconscious, so it probably shouldn't take place too long after the previous issue. Per Jay's comments, i've placed this before X-Terminators #3/New Mutants #71. Despite Mary showing up at the end, next issue isn't a direct continuation, so i'll place it in a separate entry.

References: N/A

Crossover: Inferno

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

All the cats and dogs of the world were right all along.

In Daredevil #263 one of Kingpin's minions rushes in to inform Kingpin that demons are pouring into New York like it just happened. This may just be an animated broken vacuum cleaner and not actually techno-organic.

I guess I didn't finish my conclusion... I'd place this before X-terminators #3/New Mutants #71 where the portal opens.

Thanks, Jay. I've pushed it back.