Issue(s): Daredevil annual #9
Cover Date: 1993
Title: "Devouring madness! / On the clock / Resurrections"
Credits:
Gregory Wright / Glenn Herdling - Writer
John Heebink / Andrew Paquette / Scott McDaniel - Penciler
Fred Federicks / Andrew Paquette / Bud La Rosa - Inker
Pat Garrahy - Assistant Editor
Ralph Macchio - Editor

Review/plot:
Is... is this the new character for the annual?

According to my 1st Edition Fiend Folio, that is a Grimlock. They have 2 hit die, but when encountered in groups of 10 or more there will be a leader with 4 hit die. They do 1-6 points of damage, or by weapon type.

Part of my problem with this character is i kept waiting for his story to "start". Based on the cover, he was eventually going to team up with the Daredevil Infinity War doppelganger at the behest of Zatanna Calypso, and then Simon Garth, aka the Zombie, was going to step in to even out the odds. And ok, the "Devourer" by himself is a generic monster, but a three-way monster mash is always welcome.

However, the cover is a lie! The Devourer is the only villain in the first story, and the second story is a "day in the life" story for Daredevil. The third story is confusing, but it does feature Calypso killing the Voodoo priest Papa Doc and bringing back Simon Garth and accidentally summoning up the "Hellspawn" doppelganger. But a) neither Daredevil nor the Devourer appear in that story and b) neither Calypso nor the Zombie appear in upcoming Daredevil issues. So the first story is a bust (Devourer will appear in one more Daredevil story, over a year from now), the second story is not worth discussing, and the third story only seems to be about making Hellspawn available for Fall From Grace.

On the other hand, if you like your heroes incompetent, i've got a moment for you: here's Daredevil trying to stop an ordinary burglar from robbing a museum, but accidentally bouncing his baton into a security guard's face.

That security guard winds up dribbling blood on an ancient talisman, causing him to become the Devourer.

I don't mind heroes occasionally making mistakes like that. I think it could lead to some interesting stories. In this case the guard threatens to sue. But it's funny how this is like the first and only time something like that has happened, and it's in the service of a plot where the guy winds up getting transformed into a demon so we don't need to worry about the more complex repercussions.

Along those same lines, it's said that Daredevil's halting of that museum robbery was the 17th heroic thing he did this day. He's also got a legal case he's supposed to be working on, but after his 17 deeds he goes home for a mere 5 hours sleep, and winds up losing the case.

After the case, Daredevil learns that the Devourer has murdered someone. Instead of realizing that he's been pushing himself too hard and needs to sleep every once in a while, he learns the wrong lesson and decides that he needs to continue to forgo sleep to deal with the Devourer.

I'd love a story about how a character like Daredevil neglects himself thinking he can handle more than he really can and how he makes mistakes as a result. But that is not this story, which presents Daredevil self-admonishment at face value. And Daredevil eventually rectifies his wrongs, breaking the security guard's curse and winning what seems to be a very hastily scheduled appeal trial for his client.

Moral: you can do it all, and those of you who want a full night's rest are a bunch of slackers.

As for our Calypso story, she goes to New Orleans and pays Papa Doc to tell her about Simon Garth. She then offers to pay him more if he'll help her resurrect Garth, but Doc refuses, even for sex.

So she kills him...

...and takes his Talisman of Damballah, and uses it to bring back Garth.

She then resurrects the Hellspawn doppelganger to fight the Zombie as a test of the Zombie's strength.

And the Zombie doesn't do so well in that test. He doesn't have any free will...

...so he loses the fight, even getting his jaw knocked off.

Calypso has to fend off the doppelganger herself, but it eventually flees. Then the Zombie retrieves its jaw and topples the jar where Calypso was keeping Papa Doc's soul. He then also leaves, supposedly acting on Calypso's command to "kill the redman".

Overly busy art and an inconclusive story. The latter would be fine if we could expect all these characters to return soon, but that isn't the case.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place before Fall From Grace due to Hellspawn's resurrection.

References:

• Simon Garth became a Zombie in Tales of the Zombie #1.
  
• Papa Doc seemingly put him to eternal sleep in Tales of the Zombie #9. What Papa Doc and Calypso (and writer Glenn Herdling) are unaware of is that the Zombie was re-awakened by Damballah for Bizarre Adventures #33, and after that he seems to have gone right back to where he was at the end of TOTZ #9.
  
• No footnote, but Calypso previously killed Hellspawn in Daredevil #310.

Crossover: 1993 Annuals

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A