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Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil #3
Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, Vol. 3
Reprints Daredevil #22-32 & Annual #1.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
11 people are currently reading
103 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 9, 2020
Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, Volume 3 collects Daredevil #22-32 and annual 1 by Stan Lee and Gene Colan.
Hey there, True Believer! I'm not going to put a lot of time into this review because I feel like I've already wasted enough time on this. Gene Colan's art is fantastic but Stan Lee didn't give him much to work with.
People like to tout Stan Lee as some kind of creative genius but this book is a pretty good example of the hacky crap Lee came up with when he didn't have Steve Ditko or Jack Kirby driving the car for him. Matt Murdock invents a previously unknown brother in an elaborate lie to Karen Page and Foggy. Matt puts on a Daredevil costume and plays blind Matt pretending to be Daredevil. Matt puts on a Daredevil costume pretending to be Matt being Daredevil. Daredevil dresses up as Thor to lure Mr. Hyde and Cobra out of the shadows while wearing Thor's costume over his own. I reallize comics were written for a younger audience in the 1960s but there is some eye-rolling shit in this.
Up until Frank Miller took over in the 1980s, Daredevil was perceived as a second rate Spider-Man by a lot of readers. I expect stories like the ones in this volume lead him down that road. We're lucky Daredevil wasn't cancelled by 1970. Gene Colan's art is the only think keeping me from one starring this.
Hey there, True Believer! I'm not going to put a lot of time into this review because I feel like I've already wasted enough time on this. Gene Colan's art is fantastic but Stan Lee didn't give him much to work with.
People like to tout Stan Lee as some kind of creative genius but this book is a pretty good example of the hacky crap Lee came up with when he didn't have Steve Ditko or Jack Kirby driving the car for him. Matt Murdock invents a previously unknown brother in an elaborate lie to Karen Page and Foggy. Matt puts on a Daredevil costume and plays blind Matt pretending to be Daredevil. Matt puts on a Daredevil costume pretending to be Matt being Daredevil. Daredevil dresses up as Thor to lure Mr. Hyde and Cobra out of the shadows while wearing Thor's costume over his own. I reallize comics were written for a younger audience in the 1960s but there is some eye-rolling shit in this.
Up until Frank Miller took over in the 1980s, Daredevil was perceived as a second rate Spider-Man by a lot of readers. I expect stories like the ones in this volume lead him down that road. We're lucky Daredevil wasn't cancelled by 1970. Gene Colan's art is the only think keeping me from one starring this.
November 19, 2018
Like previous volumes, people reading this classic Silver Age stories now for first time are going to be probably bored to death, but this old Marvel Zombie here learned what evil is reading them something like 40 years ago and the Cobra-Hyde/Emissaries of Evil storylines and "deacon" Gene Colan's cinematic artworks made me a life long fan of the character, so this was another top score re-read for me.
And that pair of Smilin' Stan Lee's 4th Wall breakin'cameos made me cry like a baby.
Miss you, Stan.
Excelsior
July 8, 2016
This was a pleasant improvement on the first and second Daredevil masterwork collections. With over 20 issues already under their belts, the creative team is finally hitting their stride with these stories, which on the whole are entertaining and enjoyable. While there aren’t really any earth-shattering storylines here, what’s on display is fun to read and features some strong artwork by Gene Colan.
That said, the series continues to suffer from some negatives. While there are a lot of good stories here, there aren’t really any great ones. Daredevil’s rogues gallery remains unimpressive; many of the villains featured here are second-class hoodlums on loan from other titles. Finally, this collection introduces Matt Murdock’s alter ego “Mike,” a fake twin brother who Matt plays as a bit of jerk. This got pretty old pretty fast, at least for me.
For these reasons, Daredevil was not quite in the top tier of Marvel comics from its era, and its best years were still in the future. But it’s finally showing signs of promise, and this collection is a marked improvement from its predecessors. 3.5 stars, recommended!
That said, the series continues to suffer from some negatives. While there are a lot of good stories here, there aren’t really any great ones. Daredevil’s rogues gallery remains unimpressive; many of the villains featured here are second-class hoodlums on loan from other titles. Finally, this collection introduces Matt Murdock’s alter ego “Mike,” a fake twin brother who Matt plays as a bit of jerk. This got pretty old pretty fast, at least for me.
For these reasons, Daredevil was not quite in the top tier of Marvel comics from its era, and its best years were still in the future. But it’s finally showing signs of promise, and this collection is a marked improvement from its predecessors. 3.5 stars, recommended!
December 4, 2015
3.5/5
"It's like Daredevil is my real identity and I'm just play-acting as Matt Murdock!"
Creo que fueron los issues más divertidos hasta ahora. Todo ese tema de Matt haciéndose pasar por su gemelo fue muy gracioso. Hubo muy poco de DD peleando o luchando contra el mal, sentí como que le prestaron más atención a los asuntos personales. Pero igualmente, fue muy agradable leerlos.
Issue #22: 4/5
Issue #23: 4/5
Issue #24: 4/5
Issue #25: 4.5/5
Issue #26: 3/5
Issue #27: 4/5
Issue #28: 3/5
Issue #29: 3.5/5
Issue #30: 3/5
Issue #31: 3.5/5
Issue #32: 3/5
Annual #1: 3/5
"I spend my whole life fighting trouble makers and then, when everything's finally peaceful, I'm just plain disappointed"
May 5, 2024
Gene Colan is the real knock-out star here. The art really pops and snaps and the action sequences are really worthy of a 5-star rating. I know, I hear you asking, “so why did you only give this book 3-stars?” Well, to be honest, the writing is atrocious. Stan Lee is really in top form here, and it illustrates exactly what happens to his writing when he’s no working with a storytelling powerhouse like Jack Kirby. I know of the fault for the story is from the hands of Colan, but this really is about the words and the whole Mike Murdock fiasco, the characterization of Matt Murdock that makes him so completely willing to lie and con his friends that he’s willing to pawn off this notion of twin brother just to keep them from considering that he could be Daredwvil. This is positively sociopathic. So, yeah, bad writing, gorgeous art and fight sequences. That why I’m giving it 3-stars.
November 3, 2023
4.5 rating. Got to love Daredevil. This collection. His foes are weird and fun: Leap Frog, Gladiator, Stilt Man, Masked Marauder, The Owl, Mr. Hyde and The Eel, and even Electro makes an appearance.
The stories are fun and Daredevil generally has a very human side to his stories (although the alien one was typical Stan Lee from the fifties--bad and derivative from his own stuff--hence the 4.5 and not 5 stars).
In this collection is the Daredevil Annual #1 and a small story at the back is the tell all that Gen Colon really did a LOT of the story telling. Stan wrote lines that sometimes were corny as hell.
But with all of that, I still love these Daredevil stories and the Man without Fear (and his "Twin brother Mike) make for fun reading. Again, Daredevil's banter is too similar to Spider-Man, but it is a Stan Lee trait. At least as Mike Murdock, a.k.a."Daredevil", the banter works to throw off Karen and Foggy.
Anyway, read Daredevil, these are worth your time.
The stories are fun and Daredevil generally has a very human side to his stories (although the alien one was typical Stan Lee from the fifties--bad and derivative from his own stuff--hence the 4.5 and not 5 stars).
In this collection is the Daredevil Annual #1 and a small story at the back is the tell all that Gen Colon really did a LOT of the story telling. Stan wrote lines that sometimes were corny as hell.
But with all of that, I still love these Daredevil stories and the Man without Fear (and his "Twin brother Mike) make for fun reading. Again, Daredevil's banter is too similar to Spider-Man, but it is a Stan Lee trait. At least as Mike Murdock, a.k.a."Daredevil", the banter works to throw off Karen and Foggy.
Anyway, read Daredevil, these are worth your time.
December 26, 2017
Not good
The writing is God awful but the art is surprisingly excellent and lively. It's a great thing that Stan Lee stopped writing Daredevil cause it is clear he had no true grasp of the character in this volume. For anyone interested in Daredevil, skip this and just read the Frank Miller volumes.
The writing is God awful but the art is surprisingly excellent and lively. It's a great thing that Stan Lee stopped writing Daredevil cause it is clear he had no true grasp of the character in this volume. For anyone interested in Daredevil, skip this and just read the Frank Miller volumes.
June 27, 2020
Liking these less as I go along to be honest,,, on the bright side, the storyline’s are still a bit crazy which I love!!! And the art is more consistent now, and definitely very impressive and colourful
January 15, 2023
Another great edition in the Daredevil annuals and the first annual was a trailblazer!
June 18, 2023
Good color artwork, though a little old fashioned and silver age? As a street level hero daredevil always faces many chumps? The dialog was pretty horrible. Becoming his evil twin was soap opera! Still a lot of material, cheap.
April 12, 2024
3.5/5
November 20, 2023
God damn Gene Colan was good! One of the things that I love about these old school comic book artists is that the shading was done in pencil versus using a computer nowadays. There is something more realistic about this technique, even when coupled with the primitive four color printing process of the day. Flatter colors tend to suck me in, while millions of colors and bells and whistles can pull me out when used wrong. This is not a slight against modern artists or colorists at all. I'm just marveling at the artwork and craftsmanship in the same way that a carpenter would marvel at woodwork in an old house.
Stan Lee's writing is great. People bag on ol' Stan, usually out of a misguided loyalty to Jack Kirby. You don't have to hate Stan because of Kirby's bad business dealings. And really, the business side of things has nothing to do with where my head is at as a reader. Of course I want the writers and artists to get a fair rate and/or royalties, but at the end of the day it is really none of my business, and unless you are a family member or heir, it's none of yours, either.
Not everything Stan Lee touched turned to gold here. There are a few lame ideas thrown into the mix this time out. The first bad idea is Matt Murdock's third identity, that of his “twin brother” Mike Murdock, a silly Silver Age story convention if ever there was one. Matt's co-workers, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, have become increasingly suspicious of his wafer thin reasons why he disappears whenever Daredevil appears, and why things seem to center around their law office for our hero. “Mike” is an obnoxious, arrogant version of Matt who just happens to hang around the office when Matt is nowhere to be found.
One of the more interesting, yet unexplored, subplots is when Matt decides that he is going to propose to Karen Page. He can't figure out whether to do it as Matt or Mike. There are other points where he almost falls out of character, confusing his alter egos with one another. This is a precursor to the more schizophrenic Moon Knight storylines that Doug Moench would write a dozen years later. The worst scene is when Matt is supposedly Mike who is supposedly Daredevil who dresses up as Thor to smoke Mister Hyde and the Cobra out of hiding. This is almost as dumb as what DC was doing during the Silver Age.
Stan's second lame idea is Electro and the Emissaries of Evil in Daredevil Annual No. 1. The story is nothing more than a weak retread of the Sinister Six from Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 1. Electro was a member of both, but no mention is even made to this story. This has to be one of Stan Lee's laziest scripts ever, as he phones this issue in big time. The issue was more or less a bloated, let's bring new readers up to speed affair. These were done time to time, and I remember appreciating them in the olden days before the Internet made researching the history of any title a piece of cake.
There are jewels buried in this sand, though. The return of the Masked Marauder, and the way that his identity was revealed was very clever. Ka-Zar's trial. The introduction of the Leap Frog. The return of the Stilt-Man. I love how villains talk when Stan Lee writes them. They always return “more powerful, more deadly than ever”. I love it. And of course the Mister Hyde and Cobra story is great, with Daredevil hopelessly outclassed but coming out on top anyways.
I love these softcover Masterworks. Not only do they provide state of the art restoration and colors faithful to the original palette at a bargain price, but they lay flat in one hand like a giant periodical.
Stan Lee's writing is great. People bag on ol' Stan, usually out of a misguided loyalty to Jack Kirby. You don't have to hate Stan because of Kirby's bad business dealings. And really, the business side of things has nothing to do with where my head is at as a reader. Of course I want the writers and artists to get a fair rate and/or royalties, but at the end of the day it is really none of my business, and unless you are a family member or heir, it's none of yours, either.
Not everything Stan Lee touched turned to gold here. There are a few lame ideas thrown into the mix this time out. The first bad idea is Matt Murdock's third identity, that of his “twin brother” Mike Murdock, a silly Silver Age story convention if ever there was one. Matt's co-workers, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, have become increasingly suspicious of his wafer thin reasons why he disappears whenever Daredevil appears, and why things seem to center around their law office for our hero. “Mike” is an obnoxious, arrogant version of Matt who just happens to hang around the office when Matt is nowhere to be found.
One of the more interesting, yet unexplored, subplots is when Matt decides that he is going to propose to Karen Page. He can't figure out whether to do it as Matt or Mike. There are other points where he almost falls out of character, confusing his alter egos with one another. This is a precursor to the more schizophrenic Moon Knight storylines that Doug Moench would write a dozen years later. The worst scene is when Matt is supposedly Mike who is supposedly Daredevil who dresses up as Thor to smoke Mister Hyde and the Cobra out of hiding. This is almost as dumb as what DC was doing during the Silver Age.
Stan's second lame idea is Electro and the Emissaries of Evil in Daredevil Annual No. 1. The story is nothing more than a weak retread of the Sinister Six from Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 1. Electro was a member of both, but no mention is even made to this story. This has to be one of Stan Lee's laziest scripts ever, as he phones this issue in big time. The issue was more or less a bloated, let's bring new readers up to speed affair. These were done time to time, and I remember appreciating them in the olden days before the Internet made researching the history of any title a piece of cake.
There are jewels buried in this sand, though. The return of the Masked Marauder, and the way that his identity was revealed was very clever. Ka-Zar's trial. The introduction of the Leap Frog. The return of the Stilt-Man. I love how villains talk when Stan Lee writes them. They always return “more powerful, more deadly than ever”. I love it. And of course the Mister Hyde and Cobra story is great, with Daredevil hopelessly outclassed but coming out on top anyways.
I love these softcover Masterworks. Not only do they provide state of the art restoration and colors faithful to the original palette at a bargain price, but they lay flat in one hand like a giant periodical.
November 26, 2014
And Daredevil's identity is revealed to be... Mike Murdock. This is the first full volume of Gene Colan's moody artwork, which brings with it a sophistication lacking in Kirby's work of the period. I mentioned Mike Murdock in my review of Daring Mystery Comics (in which the Phantom Reporter juggles three identities), but all I knew about him at the time was in a book about comic books I had read as a teenager. Apart from a midsection with aliens that doesn't quite work, the overarching story is excellent, and the superhero derring-do is quite a bit less cheesy than in The Avengers at the time, even when Matt takes on a fourth identity by impersonating Thor. A clever D.A. (could it be Dennis Burton?--he's not named. He looks like a black guy, but that could be some updated coloring) causes the Leap-Frog to break his leg by letting him put on his spring shoes without the fasteners. Many of DD's enemies get together for revenge, but it doesn't feel overbearing until the annual at the end of the volume. The team of Mr. Hyde and the Cobra (previously known for their dealings with Thor) appear as villains for no less than three issues, and they are special. Hyde throws a formula in DD's face to make him blind, but it dulls his other senses and ends his radar sense. The antidote seems to come into play rather hastily. It's unclear why Hyde would have it in his hand at the first point at which he does, and why Daredevil would know it was there with his few superpowers gone.
Stan Lee makes a cameo on page 154, and the annual ends with a fictionalized portrayal of Stan and Gene working together that seems a lot more sinister after having read Sean Howe' Marvel Comics The Untold Story .
Colan's fluid style gives the book a more modern feel, but there are some downsides. Mr. Hyde isn't terribly recognizable compared to Kirby's drawings in Thor, and the drawing of Foggy Nelson on page 214 is easily the worst artwork I have ever seen from him (which I'd previously reserved for a rather small image of The Owl in #116). He looks like his face has just been rearranged, but he never looks that bad when he has been taken hostage by the villains, as happens several times. I don't know of any angle a human face could look like this. These are really minor, and if I didn't know that this volume contains material from 1967, I would have assumed from the art it was from the 1970s. Just wait until you see what happens with the debonair building manager who keeps asking for his rent. He appeared briefly and unnamed in the last volume.
At one point (p. 234), Matt wonders how superheroes without his financial resources cope, but readers of The Amazing Spider-Man know all to well.
Stan Lee makes a cameo on page 154, and the annual ends with a fictionalized portrayal of Stan and Gene working together that seems a lot more sinister after having read Sean Howe' Marvel Comics The Untold Story .
Colan's fluid style gives the book a more modern feel, but there are some downsides. Mr. Hyde isn't terribly recognizable compared to Kirby's drawings in Thor, and the drawing of Foggy Nelson on page 214 is easily the worst artwork I have ever seen from him (which I'd previously reserved for a rather small image of The Owl in #116). He looks like his face has just been rearranged, but he never looks that bad when he has been taken hostage by the villains, as happens several times. I don't know of any angle a human face could look like this. These are really minor, and if I didn't know that this volume contains material from 1967, I would have assumed from the art it was from the 1970s. Just wait until you see what happens with the debonair building manager who keeps asking for his rent. He appeared briefly and unnamed in the last volume.
At one point (p. 234), Matt wonders how superheroes without his financial resources cope, but readers of The Amazing Spider-Man know all to well.
August 4, 2014
The very definition of a curate's egg. One of my favourite Marvel characters, who has developed unbelievable shades and intonations over the years, and the beginnings of his complexity are in evidence throughout this volume of early stories. The art by Gene Colan is superb: clear, active, with unexpected depth and elegance.
But, oh Gods, Stan Lee is an abysmal hack. The writing is embarrassing, and the z-grade line-up of villians-- including El Matador, whose powers involve being a matador and having a skeezy Spanish accent; the Masked Marauder, who, well, has a mask that's basically a welding helmet with a mauve hanky hanging off the bottom, and arguably the worst villain Marvel have ever devised (and we're talking the company who gave us Razorback and Rocket Racer...) Leapfrog, with springs on his scuba flippers and a frog costume, whose power involves being able to jump high on his springs (I shit thee not!)-- should have been enough to kill the book dead, dead, dead. The dialogue is leaden, the misogyny oozes from each page, the majority of characters are two-dimensional at best, and some of Lee's plot devices wouldn't pass grade in a Perils of Pauline script meeting. A supposed 'bonus' feature, wherein page are devoted to a supposed meeting between Lee and Colan to work on the scripts, showing what swell and quirky fellas they are, is just teeth-grindingly awful.
The Cult of Lee has been built, over the years, on his personality and bullet-proof self-belief and love for what he does. If it had anything to do with his writing skills, he'd be long-forgotten.
Three stars for Colan's artwork, which deserves-- and, thankfully, regularly received-- a better forum. Thank God Horn-head went on to better things than this tripe.
But, oh Gods, Stan Lee is an abysmal hack. The writing is embarrassing, and the z-grade line-up of villians-- including El Matador, whose powers involve being a matador and having a skeezy Spanish accent; the Masked Marauder, who, well, has a mask that's basically a welding helmet with a mauve hanky hanging off the bottom, and arguably the worst villain Marvel have ever devised (and we're talking the company who gave us Razorback and Rocket Racer...) Leapfrog, with springs on his scuba flippers and a frog costume, whose power involves being able to jump high on his springs (I shit thee not!)-- should have been enough to kill the book dead, dead, dead. The dialogue is leaden, the misogyny oozes from each page, the majority of characters are two-dimensional at best, and some of Lee's plot devices wouldn't pass grade in a Perils of Pauline script meeting. A supposed 'bonus' feature, wherein page are devoted to a supposed meeting between Lee and Colan to work on the scripts, showing what swell and quirky fellas they are, is just teeth-grindingly awful.
The Cult of Lee has been built, over the years, on his personality and bullet-proof self-belief and love for what he does. If it had anything to do with his writing skills, he'd be long-forgotten.
Three stars for Colan's artwork, which deserves-- and, thankfully, regularly received-- a better forum. Thank God Horn-head went on to better things than this tripe.
July 26, 2015
I've always wanted to write a soap opera. I think the challenges of coming up with a prolonged story on a daily basis would be a great challenge for any young writer. These early comics really display the difficulty of that kind of grind, with Daredevil dealing with returning supervillains and even aliens at one point!
That being said, I really liked a lot of the stuff in here. Quiet, unassuming Matt Murdoch assuming a "hip, hedonistic" twin identity to throw off his best friends is rife with Freudian undertones, and some of the only true character work the title has gotten into to this point.
That being said, I really liked a lot of the stuff in here. Quiet, unassuming Matt Murdoch assuming a "hip, hedonistic" twin identity to throw off his best friends is rife with Freudian undertones, and some of the only true character work the title has gotten into to this point.
June 3, 2015
Much better than previous volumes despite the fact that Stan Lee was writing it. Don't get me wrong, Stan Lee is a living legend. But by this time, he had proven himself more of an idea man than a writer. Gene Colan is amazing on art as well. But I guess that goes without saying. His panel layouts were so much different than any other artists of his time. The only direct comparison would be Neal Adams.
April 27, 2015
Once again we have some fun stories from DD, this time featuring issues 22-32 and the first Annual from 1967, but there are still no decent villains for him. 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.
June 12, 2015
Daredevil #22-32, November 1966-September 1967
Annual #1, 1967
I like Gene Colan's art in this collection. Karen Page looks a bit more up-to-date. The romance triangle gets even more complicated with the introduction of "Mike" as Matthew's "twin brother".
Annual #1, 1967
I like Gene Colan's art in this collection. Karen Page looks a bit more up-to-date. The romance triangle gets even more complicated with the introduction of "Mike" as Matthew's "twin brother".
July 13, 2015
the twin brother plot. oh god. so hilarious. can't wait to see how much longer Matt can keep that up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2016
Excellent reprint book of the silver age Daredevil stories. Great way for a reader to experience these very expensive and hard to get early issues. Very recommended.
September 16, 2016
2.5 stars. It's hilarious and a bit sad reading comics from the '60s because of just how much society has changed and how much better the storylines and artwork is now.
April 23, 2017
As of the issues compiled in this volume, Gene Colan became the regular artist on Daredevil, a position he'd keep for a rather long time. He later returned to the book at the end of the first series, well after the glory days of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.
The writing, meanwhile, is pretty much the standard Stan Lee twaddle, but is occasionally a lot of fun, although at times it's gloriously stupid, too -- the entire Mike Murdock subplot, which has Matt masquerading as his non-existent asshole twin brother Mike, not only verges on the ridiculous, it leaps gleefully into the middle of the ridiculous and does twenty lengths backstroke while singing show tunes.
Just another day in the life of Daredevil, Man without Fear, as played by Matt Murdock, Lawyer Without Ethics.
The writing, meanwhile, is pretty much the standard Stan Lee twaddle, but is occasionally a lot of fun, although at times it's gloriously stupid, too -- the entire Mike Murdock subplot, which has Matt masquerading as his non-existent asshole twin brother Mike, not only verges on the ridiculous, it leaps gleefully into the middle of the ridiculous and does twenty lengths backstroke while singing show tunes.
Just another day in the life of Daredevil, Man without Fear, as played by Matt Murdock, Lawyer Without Ethics.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews