In this Epic Collection, Daredevil, the Black Widow and Shanna the She-Devil must join together to uncover the secret leaders of Black Spectre, an organization bent on bringing the United States to its knees. It’s a massive saga that will pull in heroes from across the Marvel Universe, culminating in a battle on the White House lawn! Classic villains like the Gladiator and the Owl also abound, and new enemies emerge when Death-Stalker hatches a plan that brings the Man-Thing into the fray. Then, Daredevil and S.H.I.E.L.D. confront a renewed Hydra. And finally, the Man Without Fear’s life changes forever when Bullseye, the madman with perfect aim and no mercy, makes his debut.
Steve Gerber graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in communications and took a job in advertising. To keep himself sane, he wrote bizarre short stories such as "Elves Against Hitler," "Conversion in a Terminal Subway," and "...And the Birds Hummed Dirges!" He noticed acquaintance Roy Thomas working at Marvel, and Thomas sent him Marvel's standard writing test, dialoguing Daredevil art. He was soon made a regular on Daredevil and Sub-Mariner, and the newly created Man-Thing, the latter of which pegged him as having a strong personal style--intellectual, introspective, and literary. In one issue, he introduced an anthropomorphic duck into a horror fantasy, because he wanted something weird and incongruous, and Thomas made the character, named for Gerber's childhood friend Howard, fall to his apparent death in the following issue. Fans were outraged, and the character was revived in a new and deeply personal series. Gerber said in interview that the joke of Howard the Duck is that "there is no joke." The series was existential and dealt with the necessities of life, such as finding employment to pay the rent. Such unusual fare for comicbooks also informed his writing on The Defenders. Other works included Morbius, the Lving Vampire, The Son of Satan, Tales of the Zombie, The Living Mummy, Marvel Two-in-One, Guardians of the Galaxy, Shanna the She-Devil, and Crazy Magazine for Marvel, and Mister Miracle, Metal Men, The Phantom Zone, and The Immortal Doctor Fate for DC. Gerber eventually lost a lawsuit for control of Howard the Duck when he was defending artist Gene Colan's claim of delayed paychecks for the series, which was less important to him personally because he had a staff job and Colan did not.
He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.
In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.
In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'
3.25 stars. This ended up being decent. There were a few stories they got pretty good that went for 2 or more issues. Like the arc with the Owl, the first appearance of Bullseye, the election going on with Foggy trying to get re-elected as the D.A.,and the Copperhead story. Then of course there where a bunch of flavor of the month villains who were one and done and some returning characters. Black Widow shows up just to cry on someone’s shoulder again. 🤦🏾♂️ Man, these writers in the 70s. Shout to Chris Claremont though who came in for an issue and immediately had Black Widow being a badass. Thank you for that. A little past the halfway mark Tony Isabella takes over the writing. Some of these stories were cool but towards the end, he had Daredevil trying to be a bit too funny with these long monologues during fights. Tone it down a little bit Tony.
Okay, the title is really misleading for this collection. Bullseye is only in the last two issues of this collection. That's my only real nitpick here though. This isn't a stellar run of stories, but it's not particularly bad either. There's a decent enough backstory going on most of the time to keep me invested beyond the monthly battle between DD and whoever the current villain is. Seeing a new face in the romances of our red suited hero is nice as well. I like Black Widow but I think they never really knew what to do with her in this context and ended up rehashing the same things over and over. So yeah, a solid enough collection for what it is, and that much closer to Frank Miller era Daredevil.
Watch Out for Bullseye is the sixth volume in the Daredevil Epic Collection line, collecting issues #108-132 and Marvel Two-in-One #3. Previous volumes typically had a more unified, homogenous feel to them as they tended to collect stretches belonging to a single writer (Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Steve Gerber). This volume collects the tail end of Gerber's tenure, followed by the brief Tony Isabella run, which then made way for the Marv Wolfman run. Isabella was originally meant to be the sole successor to Gerber who was rotating off to follow the lead of his Tomb of Dracula collaborator Gene Colan, the latter of which had grown tired of working on Daredevil. Editorial disapproved of Isabella's take on the character, and so after just five issues, Marv Wolfman was brought in and it would be Wolfman that carried the title for 20 issues. Wolfman's tenure on Daredevil can generally be considered a bit forgettable, but the significant highlights were the creation of Daredevil's arch nemesis Bullseye as well as bringing Klaus Janson on to ink the book and would lead towards cultivating the modernized aesthetic of Daredevil for years to come.
Gerber already began de-emphasizing Black Widow in the series to the point that the Daredevil and the Black Widow title was changed back to just Daredevil by issue #107. Widow, who was the active driver behind Matt Murdock's more emotional beats, had effectively replaced Karen Page in the narrative. But here, we see the two drift apart due to Matt's unceasing angst and she eventually departs the series. Perhaps the first major flaw of this era of Daredevil really emerges here - the character itself is just a generic superhero. This could very easily have been described as an adult Spider-Man series, whereby the teen angst of Peter Parker's life is replaced by the slightly older adult angst of Matt Murdock's life. Daredevil for his own part, takes on increasingly more colorful villains, with the save exception of Isabella's brief stint where Daredevil is working more closely with S.H.I.E.L.D. The lack of defining qualities, coupled withe the whiplash from writing choices, makes this a fairly uneven reading experience. Gerber kept things swashbuckling but eccentric, Isabella was intrigued with making the book an explosive spy thriller, and Wolfman preferred the more intimate beats. Of the lot, it's clear that Wolfman was trying the best to ground the character, and it's his choices that you can clearly see seeding the groundwork for the eventual revolution Frank Miller would bring to the title.
Gene Colan effectively rotated himself out of the Daredevil job by issue #98, but would continue to contribute to occasional issues here and there. As Wolfman took the writing gig with #124, Bob Brown came along to be the major artist, but fill-in issues across the rocky transition from the Gerber to Wolfman runs lead to several fill-in artists taking over, with Don Heck delivering several of his own. Brown's work, though not nearly as vibrant or energetic as Colan's art was on the book, still delivers admirably on the colorful rogues gallery created during his tenure like Silver Samurai and Bullseye. Brown's tenure ends unfortunately with his death in 1977, but his stamp on Daredevil remains deservedly lauded.
Esse volume dá continuidade ao anterior, com Matt em Nova Iorque, sendo visitado por Natasha, e finalmente temos um pouco mais de desenvolvimento sobre o motivo do relacionamento entre os dois não funcionar. Eu considero isso um grande amadurecimento e uma questão interessante de ser tratada em uma HQ dos anos 70, que também torna os personagens bem mais humanos. Há algumas histórias em que Demolidor se mete em conflitos militares que envolvem todo os EUA, a SHIELD e que provam que o nosso herói encaixa melhor em histórias mais urbanas mesmo. Quando é jogado em tramas assim, ele rapidamente perde o protagonismo, uma vez que seu 'universo' não conta com elementos desse porte. Gostei de como, cada vez mais, o radar passa a ser mais explorado, utilizando até técnicas de desenho diferentes, e desgostei do novo par romântico, Heather Glenn, que caiu de para-quedas na história e ficou por ali. Há um sentimento positivo, no entanto, de que a história avança, uma vez que além de términos e mudanças de cidade, agora temos rumo que é uma consequência direta do personagem percebendo como estava sendo inconsequente como super-herói e como pode ser também um herói em sua identidade civil. Também nota-se que apesar do da Comics Code Authority, ainda estar vigente, a Marvel estava gradualmente mudando o tom de algumas situações nas histórias do Demolidor (algo que já vinha fazendo desde a história do Homem-aranha sobre drogas e vício em 1971), evidência disso é que temos menções mais claras de que Matt e Natasha transam; também temos um quadro que é desenhada a silhueta de um jato de sangue; e principalmente a presença da temática do assassinato/homicídio. Há suicídio, vilões que matam (como Copperhead) e também a personificação do assassinato em si: o vilão Mercenário (que não joga pessoas de prédios para matá-las, como costumeiramente acontecia até então). Era o que eu mais esperava ler e, particularmente, adorei a apresentação do Mercenário, sendo desde sua primeira aparição, esse oponente muito desafiador e implacável.
Starts in a bad place. Gerber didn’t have any handle on DD. And the San Francisco setting never takes. As well the relationship with Natasha always feels like we’re being told constantly why it doesn’t work and never shown why it ever began. While I can admit in my head it makes sense, between Conway and Gerber it is never justified. If this was only Gerber the book would get a one-star.
But we get Isabella’s short serial which slightly improves things.
And then Wolfman comes and gives some moderate revitalization to the book. Nothing incredible, but improvements. And some pieces appear that will be made much bigger under Miller’s care.
As the title of the collection says we get the first appearance of Bullseye. Wolfman admits DD’s Rogue’s Gallery is lackluster, so this is an attempt to remodel the gala. I will admit he stands out if still only a hint of what is to come.
Likewise, Heather Glenn shows up… oh flighty, silly Heather Glenn. This would be one of those relationships where you’d sit down your friend and tell him, “What are you thinking?” Essentially Heather’s a rebound girl. Multiple times… Matt and the ladies… he’s got serious issues.
I feel I may be the only one, but I actually like Death-Stalker as a villain.
But really the most important introduction is the new inker toward the end of the book: Klaus Jansson has arrived which means Daredevil and friends are looking a bit more like the Miller days to come. Which is a comforting feeling.
One more epic collection to go. (But the 60th anniversary year is nearing its end…)
This collection takes place between bigger storylines, but has some pretty cool moments. There is a crossover with the Thing. The introduction of the new Torpedo and Bullseye. A girl breaks into his apartment and becomes Matt’s girlfriend while he’s on the rebound with Black Widow. And a fun story with Hydra and a bunch of superhero guest appearances. Most of the this is drawn by Bob Brown, a mostly forgotten artist who died a year later.
3.5 stars. While I’m glad that the DD/Black Widow issues are behind us, this volume consisted mostly of those. It wasn’t until the last half dozen or so issues that DD was really back in his own solo title. The book got a bit better after that, but improved massively with the last two issues and the introduction of Bullseye.
there's some good stuff in this book, but overall it feels like it meanders a bit and none of the stories in here feel like they're anything too crazy good. the introduction of bullseye is cool, and it shakes up the status quo from the previous volume, but it still felt like it was lacking any reason to want to keep reading for most stretches.
Within the first 40 pages of this, Daredevil fights an evil organization whose plan is to spread hate across the world. They do this by carving Hitler’s face into Mount Rushmore.
It’s another groovy Marvel Epic from the swinging 70s!
I was pleasantly surprised by this volume. I didn’t have too high expectations going into this, figuring that true Daredevil greatness didn’t start until Miller. But I was at least hoping for some solid 70s Marvel storytelling, and that’s exactly what I got.
Steve Gerber writes the first ten or so issues. I’ve not read the preceding volumes, so I went in cold, and was dropped right in the middle of the DD/Black Widow drama in San Fransisco. But as Shooter would probably say, “every Epic is someones first Epic”.. I got up to speed quickly. I like their dynamic, it makes for both nice soap opera, and exciting team battles.
First up is a long (6 issues across DD and Marvel Two-in-One) arc featuring Mandrill and his Black Spectre organisation, with Shanna the She-Devil making a guest appearance. Reading these issues I’m reminded of how solid a writer Gerber is, even at his most “straight”. The mix of plots and sub-plots, drama and action, flows very smoothly.
Next up is an arc featuring Foggy’s sister Candace, pitting DD against Death-Stalker. Somehow the action ends up in the Everglades, setting the stage for a Man-Thing appearance. *Gerber intensifies* A nice two-parter featuring the Owl ends the Gerber DD run.
Gerry Conway does a fill-in issue, and then Tony Isabella takes over for a few issues. I was afraid the quality was gonna dip here, but he does a good job, with an exciting arc featuring DD and Nick Fury against HYDRA.
Marv Wolfman does the rest of the book. Issue 124 is significant for two reasons: Natasha departs (sad to see her go), and Klaus Janson makes his DD inking debut. This is still early in his career, but already it’s starting to look like the DD I know and love from the Miller run.
The two-part Copperhead story in issues 124-125 was one of the highlights of the book for me, it has a nice detective/crime feel to it. Wolfman also introduces a subplot involving Foggy’s re-election for district attorney, which runs for the next several issues. Heather Glenn makes quite the cringey debut in #126, practically throwing herself at DD… Oh how tough life as a handsome superhero is, with all these women throwing themselves at you. Heather comes off as rather kooky and ditzy, but maybe they wanted to make a contrast to the strong-willed Natasha?
After a few battles with B-list villains like Man-Bull and Brother Zed, we arrive at arguably the main event of the book: Bullseye’s first appearance. It’s a solid debut, and I got the same feeling I got when reading ASM 129 (1st Punisher) for the first time a while back: How exciting to read these historic Marvel moments!
So yeah - a good-to-great volume, I enjoyed this a lot. The only letdowns were the departures of Gerber, and Natasha. Bring on volume 7, which will take us almost up to Miller 🫶🏻
Some interesting stuff here and there (the Death Stalker arc (#113-#115) was kind of fun), but overall kind of a drag. DD keeps getting passed from writer to writer, and even if there was occasional stuff I vaguely remember liking, none of them ever really get a handle on him. It kind of feels like the ghost of San Francisco is still lingering (maybe because Black Widow is still here and still written like shit lol), and I'd really just rather they move on
Idk I wish I had more to say but honestly this was just pretty forgettable. Bullseye (#131-#132) was pretty fun tho