Issue(s): Daredevil #268
Cover Date: Jul 89
Title: "Lone stranger"
Credits:
Ann Nocenti - Writer
John Romita Jr. - Penciler
Al Williamson - Inker
Marc Siry - Assistant Editor
Ralph Macchio - Editor

Review/plot:
Daredevil is staying at a boarding house (not Brandy's Gently Killed Chickens from the card last issue), and even in his current depressed state, he can't help overhear that the husband of the landlady is working as a reluctant enforcer for his brother's loansharking operation. Daredevil goes and torments the brother, repeating verbatim the words that the brother used while beating up a delinquent "client" earlier.

The loanshark's brother, meanwhile, decides on his own to not go through with it anymore.

The loanshark (who it turns out was working for the Kingpin), decides to get out of town. You can see Matt kind of bitterly taking secret credit for helping, although again it is worth noting that the brother had decided to get out on his own.

These Daredevils are extremely bleak but quite good. Nocenti's scripting is perfect for a book just mired in disassociative misery, and JRJR is doing nice character work. I do wonder how they played in a market designed primarily for super-hero comics, which recent issues are decidedly not.

Quality Rating: B

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Oh man, I ended up with a number of these Nocenti Daredevils as a kid; they scared the shit out of me and I had no idea what was going on.