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Daredevil Epic Collection
Daredevil Epic Collection, Vol. 2: Mike Murdock Must Die!
Stan Lee and Gene Colan unleash an identity crisis as Matt Murdock juggles his triple identity as Daredevil - and his own "twin brother," Mike Murdock! You might need your slide rule to track the trigonometry of the Man Without Fear's mixed-up life. And as if that weren't complex enough, Daredevil experiences a body swap with Doctor Doom in one of comics' first crossovers! Other highlights include guest appearances by Spider-Man, Thor and Ka-Zar; the introduction of fan-favorite villain Leap-Frog; and the debut of the Emissaries of Evil! It's a series of action-packed extravaganzas so hazardous that all of our cast won't make it out alive! Collecting DAREDEVIL (1964) #22-41 and ANNUAL #1, FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #73 and material from NOT BRAND ECHH #4.
510 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2018
24 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,567 books2,336 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 25, 2025
Matt Murdock spending 20 issues pretending to be his own twin brother Mike, who claims to be Daredevil, in order to convince Foggy and Karen that he himself isn’t Daredevil after they snoop through his (Matt’s) mail and find a letter from Spider-Man saying that Matt’s secret identify is safe with him is one of the wildest subplots of the late 1960s Marvel books. Matt Murdock is the champion of committing to the bit, particularly given that “Mike,” unlike Matt, isn’t blind.
Shout out to Gene Colan’s artwork. He’s incredibly adept at shifting styles from book to book, whether it’s the bright superhero action of Daredevil, the moody mysticism of Dr. Strange, the creepy shadows of Tomb of Dracula, or the cartoonish slapstick of Not Brand Echh.
Shout out to Gene Colan’s artwork. He’s incredibly adept at shifting styles from book to book, whether it’s the bright superhero action of Daredevil, the moody mysticism of Dr. Strange, the creepy shadows of Tomb of Dracula, or the cartoonish slapstick of Not Brand Echh.
June 11, 2025
Man, I really want to rag on this for how stupid the whole Mike Murdock story idea was, but then I recall that it honestly wasn't all that bad as a background idea, and one that allowed for greater depth to be given to the stories. The stories were getting too cookie cutter before that and this was a decent diversion at times. It helps that Stan's writing improved a hell of a lot over this volume, and that we got Gene Colan on art either. I respect Wally Wood and John Romita well enough, but I really didn't like Wally's art at all, and John, while passable, didn't feel right for Daredevil at the time.
All that said, these are still fairly simple stories and are at times a bit rough to read. I'm determined to get through all of these and on to more complex stories though. That should be about 100 issues away from where I am now, hehe. Oh well.
All that said, these are still fairly simple stories and are at times a bit rough to read. I'm determined to get through all of these and on to more complex stories though. That should be about 100 issues away from where I am now, hehe. Oh well.
December 19, 2023
The first volume in the Daredevil Epic Collection line had some of Gene Colan's early stretch on the title as penciller, and he continues on across most of the issues collected here. Volume 2 collects Daredevil #22-41, Annual #1, Fantastic Four #73 and material from Not Brand Echh #4.
The opening chapter is "The Tri-Man Lives" which explores more of the gangland aspects that were first introduced in the tail-end of the previous volume. Masked Marauder and the Gladiator serve as the primary antagonists of this stretch which culminates with "DD Goes Wild!", leaving Daredevil trapped in Europe. There, he reunites with Ka-Zar (an odd recurring character for early Daredevil comics to be honest). Ka-Zar is the prime suspect in "The Mystery of the Midnight Stalker!", a thriller that only Daredevil can untangle. Stan Lee's writing is an all time level of corniness here with the bizarre depiction of English culture across these issues.
The title for this volume comes about from the story, "Enter: The Leap-Frog!", which introduces the idea of Mike Murdock, the fictional twin brother to Matt. Mike serves as a proxy through which Matt can pin the identity of Daredevil on, which successfully fools Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. How the pair fall for this is undeniably stupid, but this is basically how superhero comics were written in the '60s I suppose. The concept of Mike is funny at times though, with his brazen demeanor allowing for some hilarious clashes within the group. During this time, a love triangle has emerged between Karen, Matt and Foggy, but the infusion of Mike Murdock into the group really freshens things up. Mike's antics play a continuing role throughout this volume as Daredevil has entanglements with recurring villains like Stilt-Man, Masked Marauder and Mister Hyde. The annual has Daredevil taking on Electro, Gladiator, Matador, Leapfrog and Stilt-Man in an amusing, but highly corny tale.
The latter half features a crossover with the Fantastic Four as we're treated to some great Kirby artwork, while other throughline narratives emerge including Foggy's campaign for district attorney and Karen's continued infatuation with Mike Murdock. Lee does drag this imaginary twin brother plot on for way too long, but in a story where Daredevil finds himself banished in an alternate dimension, he takes the opportunity to end the wacky charade. It's a clumsily written conclusion, but very welcome after a grueling dozen or so issues featuring Mike.
Gene Colan isn't quite as distinctive in style as he gets during his time on The Tomb of Dracula, but the growth his artistic capabilities are quite apparent throughout these issues. I'd say there are moments where Colan's work looks a bit too much like he's aping Kirby (it doesn't help that there are Kirby pages to compare with in this volume), but when he begins to negotiate out a unique aesthetic for himself, the results are fantastic. Lee's writing may be a drag, but it's the great artists on the early stretch of Daredevil that does keep things interesting enough for me.
The opening chapter is "The Tri-Man Lives" which explores more of the gangland aspects that were first introduced in the tail-end of the previous volume. Masked Marauder and the Gladiator serve as the primary antagonists of this stretch which culminates with "DD Goes Wild!", leaving Daredevil trapped in Europe. There, he reunites with Ka-Zar (an odd recurring character for early Daredevil comics to be honest). Ka-Zar is the prime suspect in "The Mystery of the Midnight Stalker!", a thriller that only Daredevil can untangle. Stan Lee's writing is an all time level of corniness here with the bizarre depiction of English culture across these issues.
The title for this volume comes about from the story, "Enter: The Leap-Frog!", which introduces the idea of Mike Murdock, the fictional twin brother to Matt. Mike serves as a proxy through which Matt can pin the identity of Daredevil on, which successfully fools Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. How the pair fall for this is undeniably stupid, but this is basically how superhero comics were written in the '60s I suppose. The concept of Mike is funny at times though, with his brazen demeanor allowing for some hilarious clashes within the group. During this time, a love triangle has emerged between Karen, Matt and Foggy, but the infusion of Mike Murdock into the group really freshens things up. Mike's antics play a continuing role throughout this volume as Daredevil has entanglements with recurring villains like Stilt-Man, Masked Marauder and Mister Hyde. The annual has Daredevil taking on Electro, Gladiator, Matador, Leapfrog and Stilt-Man in an amusing, but highly corny tale.
The latter half features a crossover with the Fantastic Four as we're treated to some great Kirby artwork, while other throughline narratives emerge including Foggy's campaign for district attorney and Karen's continued infatuation with Mike Murdock. Lee does drag this imaginary twin brother plot on for way too long, but in a story where Daredevil finds himself banished in an alternate dimension, he takes the opportunity to end the wacky charade. It's a clumsily written conclusion, but very welcome after a grueling dozen or so issues featuring Mike.
Gene Colan isn't quite as distinctive in style as he gets during his time on The Tomb of Dracula, but the growth his artistic capabilities are quite apparent throughout these issues. I'd say there are moments where Colan's work looks a bit too much like he's aping Kirby (it doesn't help that there are Kirby pages to compare with in this volume), but when he begins to negotiate out a unique aesthetic for himself, the results are fantastic. Lee's writing may be a drag, but it's the great artists on the early stretch of Daredevil that does keep things interesting enough for me.
August 2, 2022
Love when a book finally finds its footing. This is the part of the run where Marvel figures out what makes Daredevil different from say Spider-man. The Gene Colan art is so good in this book that he makes villains like Leap Frog, the Matador, and the Masked Marauder look intimidating. I also enjoyed a lot of the two issue storylines in this book. The Dr Doom “freaky Friday” story was fun, the Beetle was great, and the Emissaries of Evil were standouts for me. Now as for the Mike Murdock “twin brother” angle. I think it was fine. It was probably just an excuse for Stan Lee to go all out 60s hipster mode. Overall an incredibly fun book and would recommend it to any Daredevil fan.
July 4, 2024
Gets an additional star for the artist, the history, and the ironic use of the title Mike Murdock Must Die!, which is both the title of one of the comics collected and the very thought the reader has throughout the collection.
While Gene Colan’s art is the best thing going in this book, I have to acknowledge that he very well may be responsible for the Mike Murdock fiasco. Though Lee struggles to write to Colan’s art, this is the height of “The Marvel Way” where our artists are mostly coming up with their own stuff, and then Lee comes in to give it script. But Mike seems like an offhand comment from Lee to try and differentiate the Man Without Fear from his contemporaries.
What is the Mike Murdock experiment? Well Matt, in his fear that someone will discover his secret identity creates a twin brother persona. Mike Murdock is flamboyant, ridiculous, and brings about all the danger to Matt’s friends that he fears will happen if people learn DD is Matt. It never works. It’s a goofy moment of Daredevil comics.
But Colan’s art is great and stands out from its contemporaries in its uniqueness.
While Gene Colan’s art is the best thing going in this book, I have to acknowledge that he very well may be responsible for the Mike Murdock fiasco. Though Lee struggles to write to Colan’s art, this is the height of “The Marvel Way” where our artists are mostly coming up with their own stuff, and then Lee comes in to give it script. But Mike seems like an offhand comment from Lee to try and differentiate the Man Without Fear from his contemporaries.
What is the Mike Murdock experiment? Well Matt, in his fear that someone will discover his secret identity creates a twin brother persona. Mike Murdock is flamboyant, ridiculous, and brings about all the danger to Matt’s friends that he fears will happen if people learn DD is Matt. It never works. It’s a goofy moment of Daredevil comics.
But Colan’s art is great and stands out from its contemporaries in its uniqueness.
August 19, 2024
- This was a thick one! 520 pages almost full of story, just a couple of extras.
- I had a great time reading this, what can I say. I love Colan, especially with Frank Giacoia inks. The splash pages are awesome.
- Also, almost no captions! It reads pretty well. There are a couple of jokes on some splash pages about Gene not wanting captions, so maybe he complained to Stan?
- Leap-frog, a stupid idea masterfully executed by Colan. It's almost frightening.
- The whole Mike Murdock is an extremely silly idea but the physicality that Colan gives the character is amazing. Feels natural and a lot different from regular Matt.
- Also, it should have lasted half the issues it did. 20 issues with Mike is waaaay too much.
- This volume is also special because it contains the issues that are my earliest memory of reading superheroes: issues 32, 34, 35, and 36. I re-read them so much that I remember a lot of details more than 35 years later (never read them again until now!). I read them from a Mexican edition in which Daredevil was called "Diabólico".
- The splash page of Thor and Thing punching each other in the FF issue, holy crap! Kirby on 🔥
- Fave Issue: Issue 36. Astounding cover, great art with Giacoia inks, loved the opening splash page, the action sequence has great visuals, the ending is surprising, top top notch.
- Least Fave Issue: The king-size annual. Nothing really happens, although the two-page story about Lee and Colan brainstorming a plot reads like a documentary nowadays.
- 3.5/5: Really solid read. The plots are super silly but it's enjoyable. A silver age epic that isn't a chore to read.
- I had a great time reading this, what can I say. I love Colan, especially with Frank Giacoia inks. The splash pages are awesome.
- Also, almost no captions! It reads pretty well. There are a couple of jokes on some splash pages about Gene not wanting captions, so maybe he complained to Stan?
- Leap-frog, a stupid idea masterfully executed by Colan. It's almost frightening.
- The whole Mike Murdock is an extremely silly idea but the physicality that Colan gives the character is amazing. Feels natural and a lot different from regular Matt.
- Also, it should have lasted half the issues it did. 20 issues with Mike is waaaay too much.
- This volume is also special because it contains the issues that are my earliest memory of reading superheroes: issues 32, 34, 35, and 36. I re-read them so much that I remember a lot of details more than 35 years later (never read them again until now!). I read them from a Mexican edition in which Daredevil was called "Diabólico".
- The splash page of Thor and Thing punching each other in the FF issue, holy crap! Kirby on 🔥
- Fave Issue: Issue 36. Astounding cover, great art with Giacoia inks, loved the opening splash page, the action sequence has great visuals, the ending is surprising, top top notch.
- Least Fave Issue: The king-size annual. Nothing really happens, although the two-page story about Lee and Colan brainstorming a plot reads like a documentary nowadays.
- 3.5/5: Really solid read. The plots are super silly but it's enjoyable. A silver age epic that isn't a chore to read.
March 14, 2025
Infelizmente não gostei tanto quanto o volume anterior. E atribuo isso a algumas coisas: a primeira é a inclusão do irmão gêmeo falso do Matt, que, além de ser muito difícil de comprar essa ideia (mesmo sendo quadrinhos), ele também é muito gordofóbico com o Foggy sem razão alguma, atribuindo ao próprio Matt um aspecto muito negativo. Isso sem contar que praticamente não temos novos vilões sendo inseridos nesses mais de 20 capítulos, sendo, portanto, muitas histórias de retornos e repetecos de personagens, sem muito de interessante. Além disso, eu pessoalmente não curto o traço do Gene Colan, o que é um problema, visto que ele que desenhou todas as histórias desse volume.
May 4, 2019
So much fun! This is a huge improvement compared to the first volume. Lee and Colan sure make an amazing team. Looking forward to reading the next collection.
December 30, 2023
So what’s up with the Unholy Three? They were animal themed villains who were never smart enough to lead themselves. So they went through many bosses. They sometimes fought other heroes and had additional members that dropped in and out depending on what the artist felt like drawing. My problem with them is whether they were supposed to be humans in disguise or animals shaped like humans. I know they were introduced as human, but it’s really hard to tell in later appearances.
Anyway, about the collection: it’s good even though Stan Lee’s writing threatens to spoil it. Every bit of art is by Gene Colan. It’s great, but it suffers from the limitations of comics coloring from this time. If these stories had darker, moody colors it would have been amazing.
The bad guys are much better than in the first volume. There is a big crossover fight with Doctor Doom, Leap-Frog (who is not in the Ani Men even though they do have a frog sometimes. But he’s French, so he sometimes is just left behind in a prison cell), and the Organizer. Now the Organizer is a generic one-note villain. But he creates this time-gun that makes for the most interesting plot in the whole collection.
One last thing I need to say about this book. What the hell was up with the imaginary twin brother idea? It is so stupid. Matt musses up his hair, wears ski goggles, and says stupid things. This is supposed to trick his closest friends? It’s annoying and a little insulting. Hopefully he’s forgotten…
Anyway, about the collection: it’s good even though Stan Lee’s writing threatens to spoil it. Every bit of art is by Gene Colan. It’s great, but it suffers from the limitations of comics coloring from this time. If these stories had darker, moody colors it would have been amazing.
The bad guys are much better than in the first volume. There is a big crossover fight with Doctor Doom, Leap-Frog (who is not in the Ani Men even though they do have a frog sometimes. But he’s French, so he sometimes is just left behind in a prison cell), and the Organizer. Now the Organizer is a generic one-note villain. But he creates this time-gun that makes for the most interesting plot in the whole collection.
One last thing I need to say about this book. What the hell was up with the imaginary twin brother idea? It is so stupid. Matt musses up his hair, wears ski goggles, and says stupid things. This is supposed to trick his closest friends? It’s annoying and a little insulting. Hopefully he’s forgotten…
January 31, 2022
The birth and death of Mike Murdock, who seems like he was made for Matt to make more fat jokes about his best friend. A real bummer of a party dude.
Some fun Dr. Doom non-sense, Leap Frog is introduced and is a delight. I like Stilt Man and The Gladiator, even though it makes no sense that I should. The Gladiator seems mad that people wanted to buy his super hero costumes and goes on to a life of crime. Adorable. He has circular saw blades on his wrists. Delightfully unhinged. I only skipped some of the yellow boxes, as seems smart to do on most Stan Lee written books.
Not Brand Echs is terrible. I really don't enjoy the humor at all. It must be an attempt to do National Lampoons, but it did not land at all for me.
Some fun Dr. Doom non-sense, Leap Frog is introduced and is a delight. I like Stilt Man and The Gladiator, even though it makes no sense that I should. The Gladiator seems mad that people wanted to buy his super hero costumes and goes on to a life of crime. Adorable. He has circular saw blades on his wrists. Delightfully unhinged. I only skipped some of the yellow boxes, as seems smart to do on most Stan Lee written books.
Not Brand Echs is terrible. I really don't enjoy the humor at all. It must be an attempt to do National Lampoons, but it did not land at all for me.
February 8, 2024
Stan Lee tries to make this an entertaining series but he just can't help but make Daredevil seem like an off-brand Spider-Man with less interesting villains.
BUT! Gene Colan comes along and gives this book a much needed dose of energy. The characters finally start acting and there's little physicality moments throughout that make this series finally pop, in as much as Stan's writing allows.
BUT! Gene Colan comes along and gives this book a much needed dose of energy. The characters finally start acting and there's little physicality moments throughout that make this series finally pop, in as much as Stan's writing allows.
July 2, 2024
This was a very weird book, since a lot of the story here simply doesn't work but I still actually really enjoyed what I read. The entire Mike Murdock plotline was pretty out there and not my favorite, but the artwork was some of my favorite from this era and there was still some cool story stuff sprinkled throughout. Maybe I view the story as so bad it's good, but I still thought this was solid.
March 27, 2020
The entire Mike Murdock storyline (gimmick) is just too too stupid. Even if I had been 10 in 1967 and reading it fresh off the newsstand, I would've rolled my eyes so much they would've gotten stuck. That said, this is still fun.
July 16, 2020
A mammoth volume with a mammoth price tag that collects over twenty issues of the Lee/Colan run. The storylines are goofy-fun and would've rated this three stars for Stan's corny plots but Gene's cool pencils and the great embellishers take these classic silver-age tales up a notch.
December 2, 2024
This was bad. I mean. Really bad. From Mike Murdock to Electro and his wanna-be Sinister Six. There is nothing in this volume I would ever want to read again. In fact, I can't believe the property of Daredevil survived these couple years to go on and become the character he is today.
September 1, 2020
Mike. Murdock.
May 23, 2021
Overall the action of these issues was fun and interesting. Some of the villain team ups were fun to watch DD take on. Fun, but predictable, story telling.
August 24, 2023
An improvement from the last collection, but not much of an improvement. Love the idea of Murdock masquerading as a twin brother, it's just goofy enough to be enjoyable.
September 24, 2023
Incredible, page turning stuff. Gene Colan rules.
February 22, 2024
Great art by Gene Colan. The crossovers with other marvel heroes in this volume are fantastic. The Mike Murdock stuff is just silly. Probably one of the most frustratingly dumb arcs in all of comics
March 14, 2024
Clsssic
Great set of classic DD stories. Some wild stuff happen. But there are some great villians. Crazy soap opera stuff.
Great set of classic DD stories. Some wild stuff happen. But there are some great villians. Crazy soap opera stuff.
July 2, 2024
A fun look into retro comics with a truly outlandish premise and Gene Colen's art is simply S tier. Worth a read.
May 8, 2024
This volume, which included Daredevil #22-41 & Annual #1, is brought to you by Gene Colan and Stan Lee (with a little smidge of Jack Kirby on Fantastic Four #73 that’s included) and it’s also when old horn-head really came into his own. It was Colan’s approach with the art than really allowed Daredevil to distinguish himself from the other early Marvel titles. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of really contrived narrative issues in these pages as well. While some of it can be blamed on Colan, most of this has to go to Lee. But the worst aspect must lay firmly on both of their shoulders: Mike Murdock. Creating the fictitious twin brother to explain away the growing theory that a blind man was Daredevil is the most soap-opera clichéd contrivance imaginable. It was badly conceived, poorly implemented, and doomed to failure from the very beginning; and it all but destroys any credibility that Matt Murdock has with Foggy and Karen, stretching the suspension of disbelief in this comic book series and its characters to the breaking point. On the other hand, this volume also features the threats of new and returning villains like the Masked Marauder, the Gladiator, the Leap-Frog, the Stilt-Man, Cobra, Mr. Hyde, Electro, the Matador, the Beetle, the Trapster, Doctor Doom, and the Unholy Three. There’s also some fun guest-stars with Ka-Zar, Spider-Man, Thor, and the Fantastic Four. So it’s a mixed bag. Yes, there’s wonderful consistency with the art, finally, and the title really comes into its own, finally, but abysmally contrived narrative hooks really lose an enormous amount of credibility. One continuity glitch is that the Annual should take place after the Beetle story from Daredevil #35-36, and not before where it’s placed in this volume.
December 6, 2018
This is the best way to read DD's back issues without spending a fortune. Significant stories include the intoduction of Mike Murdock, Matt's twin brother and a team up with the Fantastic Four with Jack "King" Kirby rendering DD in the 2nd half of the two part story. A great book for any Marvel fan.
September 16, 2025
Every time Mike Murdock appears I loose 5 brain cells and another year off my fucking lifespan GET THE FUCK OFF OF MY SCREEN (#30-32 my beloathed)
Honorable mention #34 Daredevil gets kidnapped and instead of escaping he decides to take a lil nap because he's really tired. He just like me fr
Honorable mention #34 Daredevil gets kidnapped and instead of escaping he decides to take a lil nap because he's really tired. He just like me fr
October 1, 2018
Once again we have some fun stories from DD, this time featuring issues 22-41 and the first Annual from 1967, but there are still no decent villains for him until he faces off against Doctor Doom and even then it's just to allow a guest appearance / crossover with the Fantastic Four. Check out the line-up of bad guys in the annual, and you'll get the basic idea of how feeble DD's enemies are.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews