Part of an ongoing series revisiting graphic novels and collected editions from days gone by....

It begins with what seems like a fairly straightforward gang war between rival factions in New York City. On one side is Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk and his army of loyal thugs, while on the other are the gimmicky costumed criminals The Owl, Stilt-Man, Gladiator and Copperhead. It seems pretty one-sided, but everything is not what it seems.

Standing between the two factions are New York's hometown superheroes, Spider-Man and Daredevil.

Collected from a four-part miniseries by writer Paul Jenkins, the story focuses more on Daredevil and his alter-ego, blind attorney Matt Murdock, while Spider-Man makes occasional appearances in his red-and-blue tights. (I don't think Peter Parker ever appears out of costume, now that I think about it.)

Foggy Nelson, Murdock's partner in law, and the sometimes-Avenger Natasha "Black Widow" Romanov also make some appearances, although Black Widow is wasted here, primarily putting in an appearance just so there can be a flirty female in the mix, I guess. The Fantastic Four appears in a single panel, pounding impotently on a wall of infernal red energy.

But, while the gang war had potential, and Fisk's efforts to force Murdock to work for him could have built extra tension, the story took a swift downturn when suddenly there was a big energy bubble surrounding a chunk of New York, and oh yes, zombies. Leading them is a villain previously thought dead, who has apparently allied himself with Satan and is back for ... I dunno, collecting souls or something.

It comes with dialogue like this:

With these human souls and innumerable damnations more do I summon thee, my Lord of Darkness.

To prove my love, I offer these execrable gifts of blood and chitterlings and viscera most foul -- dipped in pus and rancor, flavored with the stench of human pusillanimity.

Come ... taste of this realm, my beloved -- who is called Lucifer and Ahrimanes, Zamiel, Beelzebub, Coroban and a million other names.

Your way shall be paved with the cries of the dying and the heart-echoes of the dead, who give freely of their blood in the name of avarice....

I mean, come on.

The gaping maw to Hell and the risen zombies and the energy bubble all are resolved pretty quickly and easily, all things considered. All it takes is a dead priest muttering scripture, a hero's threat of suicide, and a bad guy who suddenly sees the error of his ways and is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.

I won't say who, but he disappears into the void with a final plea to Daredevil to "think well of me" because "I was a kind man once." Oh, and he has "no regrets."

Ugh. No, really. Ugh.

The Kingpin's machinations are also sidelined with a neat and convenient side plot that, overall, adds little to the story. I'm really not sure why it was there, to be honest, unless it was just to give Foggy and Black Widow something to do ... but if you cut those pages out entirely, it wouldn't change the story much. I guess it might lead to them dating or something, although I'm not interested enough to pursue that storyline.

I mean, I don't see much chance of that working out well for anyone.

At least the book comes with a nice bit of dialogue where, in the midst of all those zombies and hellfire, Spider-Man pauses the action long enough to take Daredevil down a few pegs for his relentless lack of humor and explains why he jokes so much in tense situations. It's a nice touch, although the payoff in the last panel is weak.

Art by Phil Winslade (with inks by Tom Palmer) is fine. I've seen worse.

But I did not love this book.