Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, Vol. 1

Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil #1

by Stan Lee, Wallace Wood (Illustrator), Bill Everett (Illustrator)

Just as Marvel Comics celebrates the character of Daredevil with a new monthly comic book series written by movie Director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy), we also represent the earliest stories of the "Man Without Fear" in this handsome hardcover collection that has been out of print since the early '80s.

Who is Matt Murdock, blind district attorney who seems to "see" more than most people? And who is Daredevil, the acrobatic crime fighter with the garish red, horned costume of a "devil, but a sense of justice that is unchallenged? And how is it that these two people could be one and the same?

These questions will be answered in this volume of classic comic book stories that cemented the legend of one of the unlikeliest heroes of all!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

241 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

About the author

Stan 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.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being blinded in an accident, Matt Murdock finds that his remaining senses have been heightened to superhuman levels and he uses them to fight crime as Daredevil, The Man Without Fear!

I originally read most of these eleven issues of Daredevil on Marvel Unlimited a couple years ago. When I found the first two hardcover Daredevil Masterworks volumes on sale for $15 each, I decided it was time for a reread.

In this 250 page tome, Daredevil takes on The Fixer, Electro, The Owl, Stiltman, The Matador, Mr. Fear, Namor, The Purple Man, The Organizer, and his biggest enemy of all, his feelings for Karen Page, his secretary! The stories are a product of the silver age and aren't anything spectacular by today's standards but they're easily on par with the other super hero titles at the time.

The title was a revolving door of artists in the early days, from Bill Everett to Joe Orlando to Wally Wood to Bob Powell. Orlando and Wood on the title back to back gave the early issues a little of an EC comics feel. Hell, Bill Everett was no slouch, either, and I kind of like the original yellow Daredevil costume.

Wally Wood's art was easily my favorite. Marvel catches a lot of hell for not giving artists enough credit during the Silver Age so it's kind of a surprise that Wally Wood's name is plastered on the front cover of Daredevil #5.

This volume contains my favorite comic of the silver age and probably the comic I've read the most times over the years: Daredevil #7. While it shows it's age a little, it perfectly encapsulates everything good about Daredevil. He takes the shit-kicking of his life from Namor and still keeps coming. Eventually the sea king gives up rather than having to kill Daredevil to stop him. It's also the first appearance of the iconic red costume.

The first run of Daredevil stories was a little uneven but still quite enjoyable. Daredevil's abilities and handicaps give him a bit of a Spider-Man feel but I think Matt being a lawyer is what helps differentiate Daredevil from the web-slinger. I think Stan was spreading himself a little too thin at this point. Half of Daredevil's enemies are sloppy seconds from Spider-Man or the Human Torch. The Purple Man and Stiltman are really the only soley Daredevil villains in the volume that have stood the test of time, Stiltman for the wrong reasons.

I do not regret my purchase of this volume in the least. Daredevil's silver age adventures are a fun look back to the beginnings of the Man Without Fear. Four out of five stars.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

R. I. P. Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018)

Not as good as I used to remember, you need a major dose of suspension of disbelief to fully appreciate all the nonsense in the Electro issue (electrician Max Dillon knowing gow to operate Reed Richards' rocket controls and F4 hiring blind lawyer Matt Murdock to see/check if Baxter Building is in rule... Oh, good grief), the Matt/Karen/Foggy soap-opera love triangle is sickly sweet and Ka-Zar's jungle saga aged not much well at all, but a few stories collected here were very good ones, first three some of the first Marvel comics I've ever had and I have happy memories reading them at my grandma's home when I was a kid.



And I was so sad about Smilin' Stan passing away that I just wanted to read again some classic comic books by him and I just enjoyed it a lot, so this is still a 5 stars read for me and it will ever be the same.

Goodbye Stan, thank you for everything.

Excelsior.

[Evan Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book collects the first 11 issues of Daredevil, originally published from 1964 to 1965. Matt Murdock is a blind trial lawyer who moonlights as a costumed crime-fighter. While I am not a member of the New York bar, I am a practicing attorney and I can tell you that (1) Matt Murdock is committing a number of crimes while swinging around the city busting heads, and (2) he risks disbarment due to his cavalier, vigilante lifestyle which undoubtedly violates a number of local ethical rules governing his profession. There is a certain tension between Murdock’s self-proclaimed commitment to the rule of law and his extraordinarily illegal behavior. But if you are looking for a book that explores this dynamic in rich, nuanced detail – keep looking. This is the kind of book where menaces like Stilt-Man have to be dealt with swiftly, due process be damned.



Like most of the Marvel publications, Daredevil was still finding its way a bit in the early going. In the first few issues Murdock runs around in a truly dreadful yellow ensemble that makes him look like a vengeful banana. The rogues’ gallery is not great. And the tone varies a bit from issue to issue. Some are relatively grim and serious, while others rise to an Adam West-as-Batman level of kooky. Pro tip: if somebody near you lives in a house like this one:



then move – move now – that person is a super villain.

Overall however, I thought these issues were pretty fun. I really enjoyed the artwork, and the occasional wackiness was entertaining. This is good solid stuff for readers who like the Stan Lee style. 3 stars, recommended.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved these stories plus the wit and humor of Daredevil!
With these issues, I can tell why this character is still so popular; the classics are just so good!

I recommend this to any Daredevil fan, they are definitely worth it.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

1 - A mysterious new super hero in red and yellow is gunning for the Fixer! But what is the connection between this criminal and the boy who was blinded saving a blind man years earlier?

This is the origin of Daredevil and the tale of his vengeance on the man who had his father killed. It reminded me a lot of Batman confronting the murderer of his parents. Stan Lee's writing wasn't bad in this and Bill Everett's art was pretty darn good for the times. Oddly enough, I didn't hate Daredevil's original red and yellow costume like I thought I would.

2 - Daredevil busts up a car theft ring, only to find that it's run by Electro! Can Daredevil escape Electro's wrath and stop him from stealing Reed Richards' inventions while the Fantastic Four is out of town?

Joe Orlando of EC Comics fame handles the art on this one. It's a jarring change from Bill Everett but the old pro gets the job done. The way Stan Lee managed to get Daredevil and Electro to Fantastic Four HQ at the same time was actually fairly clever. Daredevil vs. Electro begins the Daredevil tradition of being outgunned in nearly every fight, a big part of the character's charm.

On a side note, Daredevil sometimes comes off as a poor man's Spider-Man in the pre-Frank Miller days and sending him Spider-Man's sloppy seconds doesn't help that impression.

3 - After an accountant accused of fraud strolls out into traffic and punches his own ticket, the cops bring in the Owl for questioning. The Owl randomly picks Matt Murdock out of the phonebook. Will Matt defend the Owl in court or be forced to bring him in as Daredevil?

Joe Orlando's EC roots show through in the art in this one. His Owl is straight out of a Tales from the Crypt story. Daredevil's underdoggery continues in this one.

4 - Daredevil faces the might of The Purple Man! How can he hope to defeat a man whose every word is an unbreakable command?

So this is where the Purple Man first appeared! DD is really under the gun in this one. Killgrave, the Purple Man, proves to be a formidable foe. My admiration for Joe Orlando's art continues to grow. It's distinct enough from the Kirby imitation a lot of Marvel artists did during the same time period to set Daredevil apart.

5 - Daredevil goes up against the masked Matador!

The Matador is kind of a lame villain but the fight scenes between him and Daredevil are pretty good. Wally Wood becomes the regular artist at this point and gives Daredevil a little something extra.

6 - Daredevil takes on Mr. Fear, The Ox, and The Eel, the Fellowship of Fear!

Daredevl's underdog ways continue when he goes up against the Fellowship. Mr. Fear and his fear gas are pretty formidable. Ox and Eel are sloppy seconds from Spidey and The Human Torch, however.

Daredevil turns the lights out at one point during the battle. It would be really easy to over-use this tactic in future stories.

7 - Namor wishes to sue the human race and attempts to Matt Murdock as his lawyer. Matt tells Namor he doesn't have a case and the Avenging Son goes on a rampage. Standing in his way is Daredevil!

This issue has a lot of things going for it. It's the first appearance of Daredevil's trademark red costume. It also is the story that first got me interested in Daredevil when I read a summary of it in an issue of Marvel Saga. When I finally got the chance to read it years later, it became my favorite silver age Marvel story. Did it hold up under a re-read?

It did. It exemplifies the underdog, never-quit nature of Daredevil. Daredevil repeatedly gets his ass handed to him by Namor but keeps coming back. That's what being a hero is all about. Namor also shows he's more than a one dimensional asshole in this one, saving DD when he could let him drown.

To top it off, Matt winds up having to defend Namor in court anyway. Like I said, it's my favorite silver age Marvel story for a reason.

8 - Daredevil goes up against... Stiltman.

Despite the lameness of the Stiltman concept, I actually wound up digging this issue. The mystery of which of the characters was actually Stiltman was well done. Still, Stiltman...

9 - Matt Murdock goes to a tiny European country with a buddy from law school to see a surgeon that might be able to restore his sight.

Turns out Matt's old buddy was a dictator. I think this was an early attempt to get Matt away from his usual urban haunt. It was passable but I don't think Matt works well as a globe trotting super hero. At least it'll get Karen Page off his ass about getting eye surgery for a while.

10 - Daredevil takes on The Organizer, Ape-Man, Frog-Man, Bird-Man, and Cat-Man!

The first Daredevil story I read was an issue of Marvel Team-Up where DD and Spidey took on the Unholy Trio of Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and Cat-Man so this story had some special interest for me. As always, DD is outnumbered and outgunned.

11 - The battle with the Organizer concludes!

Daredevil continues his fight against unfavorable odds. The Organizer was formidable enough but his Ani-Men were scrubs, for the most part. I did like Daredevil's switcheroo with Frog-Man, though.

Closing Thoughts: The first run of Daredevil stories was a little uneven but still quite enjoyable. Daredevil's abilities and handicaps give him a bit of a Spider-Man feel but I think Matt being a lawyer is what helps differentiate Daredevil from the web-slinger. The writing was actually way better than I expected. The ever-changing art chores were a little jarring but all the lead artists were pretty good for the time. 3.5 out of 5 stars, adjusted for the passage of 50+ years.

[Vanny (reading.halfling) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Puh, die Bewertung und der Abbruch fühlen sich echt mies an hier. Aber ich habe wirklich lange mit dem Comic gekämpft und muss sagen, dass ich einfach mit dem Stil und dem immer gleichen Schema des Comics nicht klarkomme. Das kann natürlich daran liegen, dass früher eine ganz andere Art zu erzählen gewünscht war.
Was mich am meisten stört, ist tatsächlich der immer gleiche Ablauf der Comics. Matt Murdock bekommt irgendwie von Bösen mit, guckt sich das als Daredevil an, die Bösen sind von Daredevil überrascht und finden trotzdem zufällig eine Schwachstelle an ihm oder entkommen ihm anders, woraufhin Matt wieder im Büro ist, da wird eine oberflächliche Dreiecksbeziehung abgespielt, dann besiegt Daredevil die Bösen doch und am besten rettet er auch noch einen seiner zwei Arbeitskollegen. Zum Schluss kommt dann natürlich noch ein "Puh, alles nochmal gut gegangen, ich wünschte, ich wüsste, wer Daredevil ist" von den Freunden im Büro, wo er natürlich als Matt wieder an die Anwaltsarbeit will.
Und das quasi immer wieder. Sechs Issues lang, dann habe ich aufgegeben, denn an diesen sechs Issues saß ich nun schon 1,5 Monate und habe mich wirklich immer zwingen müssen, eine davon zu lesen.
Trotzdem ist Daredevil an sich ein echt cooler Charakter mit krassen Fähigkeiten und einer guten Einstellung bezüglich der Hürden, die ihm das Leben oder die Gegenspieler stellen. Ich schaue mir vielleicht nochmal moderne Comics zu ihm an, in denen ein ganz anderer Erzählstil herrscht.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daredevil is one of the most interesting characters in comics and you get glimpses of that potential in this book, but doesn’t quite get there all the way. I would say what would make this book a must-read is the art, though. A type of crime book design in a superhero world makes it really interesting to look at. It really picks up when Wallace Wood takes over on art. The perfect design of the red costume and he makes villains like the Matador and Stilt-man seem dynamic. It’s interesting to see the beginnings of this character but like a lot of comics from this time, there’s a bit too much dialogue/thought balloons on every page. The art totally makes up for it, though.

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daredevil was the last solo book of the first creative era known as the Marvel Age of Comics. It was supposed to be released in the summer of 1963, but artist Bill Everett (who is credited as co-creating DD along with Stan Lee) was so far behind on the book—his comeback into comics—that Lee pushed a new one out to fill the hole in the printer’s schedule. That book was The Avengers, supposedly created by Jack Kirby over a long weekend, and instead it debuted along with the other Lee/Kirby co-creation, The X-Men, in the summer of 1963 (I vaguely remember buying both of them on the same day from my local newsstand). DD was finally released in early 1964.

Whether it’s because of Everett’s slowness (he only did that first issue) or Lee dealing with some less capable “Marvel Method” artists, Daredevil in its earliest issues is kind of a mess. The scripts are incredibly talky, even for Lee, and the art is less than memorable. Joe Orlando, famed first for his work in EC Comics and later as a DC Comics editor and exec, did issues 2-4 and they’re not exactly memorable (Vince Colletta’s inking doesn’t help). DD’s original wrestling-inspired costume, in its garish yellow and red design, along with wimpy villains (Electro, The Owl, The Purple Man, wimpiest of all), meant the book didn’t reach its early zenith until Wally Wood came onboard. Lee touted Wood as the second coming of Christ (even giving him a cover shoutout on his first issue, #5), and his work on the title—including redesigning DD’s costume to the all-red version we know and love, in a memorable issue featuring Sub-Mariner—reinvigorated it. But Wood and Lee were a bad fit. Wally didn’t really like the Marvel Method of the artist plotting and drawing the story (and not being paid for the extra work) and then Lee writing the dialogue and hogging all the credit. Wood only lasted six issues (#5-11), all of which are included in this volume. He also didn’t exactly break the wimpy villains trend either, with the Matador, Stilt Man, and the terrifying quartet of Cat-Man, Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and—sigh—Frog-Man, who worked with the hood-shrouded menace known as The Organizer. Wood was only doing finished inks by issue 10, handing layout chores over to Bob Powell, and he was gone with issue #11, bad-mouthing Stan along the way (to be fair, Stan bad-mouthed him back). Issues #1-11 are included in this new digest-sized reprint with (once again) a wonderful new Michael Cho cover. They’re not Marvel’s finest 1960s’ hour, but they’re fun and Wood’s art is great. Too bad it didn’t last.

[Batmark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daredevil is my favorite superhero, and the start of his series is one of those rare few that, for me anyway, holds up fifty years later. The first issue is great, with beautiful art by Bill Everett. The next three, with art by Joe Orlando, are OK--though I've never been much of a fan of Orlando's artwork. But then the series really hits its stride with art by the inimitable Wally Wood. Issue 7, in which Daredevil wears his iconic red costume for the first time, contains possibly the most gorgeous 20 pages of comic book artwork ever drawn. Sadly, Wally Wood left the book with issue 11 (which ends this volume), but those seven issues he drew are gold.

Beyond the artwork, though, Stan Lee seemed to have a good handle on the charms of Daredevil and his supporting cast (Matt Murdock's law partner Foggy Nelson and their secretary Karen Page) right from the start. The stories are not as simplistic as a lot of the early Marvel comics of the '60s were. Granted, these aren't exquisitely plotted masterpieces, either, but they're far more readable than the average superhero comic book of the era.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Among other things, 2024 is the 60th anniversary of my favorite superhero! Among all the Daredevil comics I intend to read this year, I started with this volume, “Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil”, as it collects the first few issues of Daredevil’s initial comics by Stan Lee, back when he had the gold & red costume and before Frank Miller made Daredevil the gritty and noir character he’s known for.

On the one hand, I appreciate this volume and these preliminary issues for establishing the Daredevil character, supporting cast, and mythos. That said these issues clearly are a product of their time, with an emphasis on characters explaining all their actions/motivations for the reader, Cold War-era values being everyone (i.e., Matt's blindness being treated in a very ableist manner, women being helpless damsels), and villains being overblown and corny (bit hard to take things seriously when Daredevil says that “The Masked Matador” is the greatest threat to law and order in years). There was the Matt-Karen-Foggy love triangle which was really repetitive and aggravating (particularly Karen who is as far away from the strongly written & portrayed version in the Daredevil show of the 2010s).

All that said, some of these individual comic issues in this collection were pretty entertaining. I particularly liked the issue that introduced Kilgrave (even if the way they defeated him was weak AF), and the issue where Daredevil finally gets his red costume and fights Namor. In general these issues are more akin to the swashbuckling adventures from Mark Waid’s run (my personal favorite Daredevil period) but with the Silver Age of Comics’ general feeling of corniness added on. Frank Miller making the character a lot darker in the 1980s may have improved things and better helped to differentiate him from other Marvel heroes of the time. Yet there’s still a charm to the character from these early issues that is reminiscent of early Spider-Man stories from this era of Marvel comics.

While ultimately I was unimpressed with a lot of the writing for Daredevil in the early issues collected here, this collection isn’t without its moments and I sincerely appreciated seeing the character in his early days and under Stan Lee’s direct control before other writers took the character in many different directions in the subsequent decades. In general, a decent start to celebrating Daredevil’s 60th anniversary.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daredevil #1 - Stan Lee & Bill Everett are credited with the creation of the Man Without Fear, but with Lee’s track record I’d lean toward giving most of the credit to Everett. In any case, Daredevil is a rather unique concept for a character and his abilities will evolve with some fine tuning over the coming years as much as any early character at Marvel. The core concept is pretty well established right off, but the “radar sense” was not well thought out initially. It’s a shame that Everett only contributed to this issue, it would have been nice to see how the character might have developed had he stayed on the title.

Daredevil #2-4 - Joe Orlando replaces Everett as artist and collaborator with Lee, and we get our first taste of colorful baddies with Electro (fresh from the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #9), the Owl, and the infamous Purple Man. But first off is Electro and a guest appearance by the Fantastic Four in a wild story that stretches credibility as only a comic book adventure can (old DD isn’t off to the great start). The next story delves back into the more real-world threats, like the first issue, with the introduction of a criminal mastermind, the Owl. For quite some time the Owl will be portrayed as Daredevil’s arch-nemesis (it’s still early days, we haven’t gotten to the Jester, Bullseye or Kingpin yet). The last of these first three villains is Killgrave, the Purple Man. This is a character with a really insidious ability, unfortunately his true potential for evil never seems to get fully realized for years and even then not until David Tennant portrays him in the Jessica Jones TV series.

Daredevil #5-8 - Wallace Wood comes aboard as the regular artist, replacing Orlando, and he’s immediately made some streamlined modifications to Daredevil’s costume, creating the more familiar double-D chest insignia. New opponents for these issues begin with The Matador, a colorful looking character, but someone Daredevil should be able to take down with ease. This makes the story feels more than a bit contrived in order for it to play out. This is also the first issue that gives a visual idea how Daredevil’s radar-sense works, it is a crude depiction but it certainly helps establish this unique signature ability. Next up: the Fellowship of Fear (comprising Mister Fear, the Ox & the Eel) provide a team of antagonists. Of these, Mister Fear will become a reoccurring menace for awhile. We’re also starting to see some characterization of Daredevil that is in some ways making our titular character more and more like Spider-Man, as he is spending more and more time on the rooftops. Speaking of Spider-Man, the sptorytellers borrow a villain from that hero’s growing usual suspects and the Eel comes from the pages of Strange Tales, an opponent of the Human Torch, to round off our trio of baddies. For all the potential they ought to have, it’s effectiveness is nullified by having Mister Fear coerce the others into working for him by putting them under the effects of his fear gas. And the juvenile love-triangle shenanigans between Matt, Foggy and Karen is already wearing thin (and we’re only been through 6 issues!). The next issue offers the biggest change to Daredevil’s costume yet. The “hood” to carry his clothes around has already come and gone, we have seen the arrival of the double-D chest insignia, and now the full red suit arrives, but almost as important is the first use of the cable concealed inside his billy club, this enables him to do even more “swinging” action through the city like Spider-Man. Oh, and least we forget, there’s no true villain this time, as Daredevil is merely trying to subdue Namor. Almost laughable actually. Conceptually, this is a fascinating story. But it doesn’t provide a good, strong moral as the narrative unfolds. And I think part of that is because it serves as a kind of introduction to Namor’s upcoming series in Tales to Astonish and is therefore not really a Daredevil story, but actually a Namor story (and as it’s included in Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Enter the Sub-Mariner I feel extremely justified in saying so). Next up? The Siltman arrives on the scene for the first time. It’s interesting how some super-villains are just plain silly, but the method of operations, their gimmick(s), might make or break them. Stiltman’s introduction leaves a lot to be desired, and it signals that Daredevil would be headed down a route filled with gimmicky opponents that aren’t going to set him aside from any other masked vigilante and direction of the comic isn’t really going to be unique in any substantial way.

Daredevil #9-11 - At this point Daredevil was only coming out every other month, this is not a good sign. Without being about to build up a steady readership, Daredevil was never going to find an audience. In an attempt to ease the work load and get things moving quicker to get the title out every month, Bob Powell is brought in to add his talents to Lee and Wood. This run of issues opens with a long teased plot notion of Matt going to have an operation to fix his blindness. This is compounded with the tiny European country overrun by a tyrannical dictator that Daredevil has to fight in order to liberate the populace. It’s an old tired comic book cliché and it works about as well here as anyway. It would have been better and probably more interesting had it been Latveria and Doctor Doom, particularly with all the robots palace guards and all. Finishing off this volume is a 2-part story that pits Daredevil against a mob-style boss and his costumed hired hands who are attempting to take over the city by rigging an election (pretty much what’s happened in Ohio and exactly how Donny-the-Whining-baby runs his brand of politics). This makes for an interesting story and is probably my favorite so far, also interestingly is that the first half has Wood credited as the writer and the second half has Lee credited. In any case, it seems that things are starting to get better, what with breaking up the Matt-Foggy-Karen love triangle with the introduction of Debbie, and a focus on the characters and pulling away from what new gimmicky villain can be thrown at Daredevil this month. But this was not to be the direction the title would continue in. Nope. There were even more BIG changes coming for ol’ Hornhead.

[Sirbooksage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daredevil has long been one of my favorite comic book characters so it was fun revisiting his first year as a comic book. This is from 1964, part of the "Silver Age" of comics. If I were to give a comparison it would be to Classic Doctor Who. Silly, cheesy, fun, stories with over the top dialogue. But overall, a lot of fun.

Underneath the silly charm and melodramatic, hyperbolic writing style of 1960s Stan Lee, important worldbuilding is taking place, laying the groundwork for what future writers will do with Matt and his friends. And seeing the early iconic artwork was great.

I'm definitely going to enjoy revisiting some of these and finally reading many of these older ones for the first time as I make my way inexorably towards the early '80s where I first began reading comics, and then continuing from there.

[Aaron Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical fun origins for early 60s marvel characters. The character depth at the moment lies in the love triangle between Matt/Foggy/Karen. How can he love her when he's blind?! How could she love a blind man fully?! Why can't she love me the seeing best friend?!

The silliest (but also maybe the best) of the issues follows the Duke of made up European country as he is going to rule the world. His first steps are to bring an ophthalmologist and a lawyer (Matt) to his country where...they'll watch as he lures more scientists and professionals to build his robot army? Even his "Karate Chop!" couldn't save a plan this inelegant.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 11 issues of the first Daredevil run are collected here all written by Stan Lee minus issue #10 which was written and had layouts from Wally Wood, who had taken over as series regular artist with issue #5. Many colorful and interesting villains and super-villains in these early tales the likes of Electro, The Purple Man, The Owl, Matador, and Stilt Man.
My favorite issues were #2 vs Electro, Purple Man in #4, the battle with Sub-mariner in #7, and the mystery two-parter closing the book.

[Mercedes · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a total bore. Started out okay with the first issue, just went downhill from there. I'm not the greatest fan of silver age comics but they can certainly be enjoyable—unfortunately this wasn't. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't a really, really big fan of Daredevil because these stories just aren't good. There's a whole issue about a villain who throws his cape over people... it's not exciting stuff. Daredevil's radar sense capabilities seem to change each issue, most of them not making much sense. Though let's all appreciate one of the greatest quotes of all time that appears in this volume, "they're all prominent, wealthy men... why do I sense danger?"

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to see the start of Daredevil in the comics and what it outlines for the rest of history for the character.

[linzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who’s this? Why it’s Daredevil, of course! The swashbuckling sightless Man Without Fear, here to save the day!

I enjoyed this a whole bunch. I love me some run-of-the-mill old school comics, although some of it was quite dated, as to be expected. Oh, Karen, I love you but... in this she’s merely a “pretty little thing” for Foggy and Matt to fight over. Well, ok, Matt lusts silently, and Foggy gets jealous anyway while Karen waits for one of them to make a move, despite knowing which one she really wants to... A love triangle for the ages. Ugh. (I love love! But.. ugh)

The art style was a little all over the place to begin with, and the change from Bill Everett in the first issue, to Joe Orlando’s illustrations in Issues #2-4, to Wallace Woods from #5 onwards was quite stark each time. I found that I actually like Daredevil’s original yellow&red costume more than I thought I would though!

Talking of costume, it seemed they had a bit of trouble figuring out what they wanted to do with it! They added a hood, then got rid of that in the very next issue. Then when Woods took over he added a second “D” to the front of his costume to make the now recognisable Daredevil symbol. Finally, in Issue #7 the iconic red suit is introduced and after that things seemed to settle down. They found their swing!

Speaking of swinging....The character of Matt Murdock/Daredevil has changed a lot over time- although, again, I was expecting that to have been the case. In these beginning issues, he is wise-cracking and confident, and it wouldn’t be outright wrong to say he was cut from the same cloth as Spider-Man. That impression wasn’t helped by the fact that he was facing quite a few of Spider-Man’s own foes... However, there WAS the introduction of new villains just for DD, such as The Purple Man (aka. Killgrave) I’d never actually read his origin story before, so that was cool.

Issue #7 was my favourite of these I would say. Daredevil faces Namor, who’s travelled from Atlantis to try to reclaim the surface world for his people! But, he’s not simply a villain for Daredevil to defeat- he’s an honourable ruler who wants to prevent a war, not start one. He even SAVES Daredevil when he could have easily left him for dead. As I mentioned before, #7 is also the issue where the red suit is introduced and well. Special place in my heart for that.

tl,dr; classic comics, rated 5/5 outta pure respect.

TOP THREE:
Issue #7- red suit is introduced, Namor is cool and a complex “villain”
Issue #1- the origin story; the issue that started it all!
Issue #5- Killgrave/The Purple Man’s debut! a villain that will always give me chills

[Antonella · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When it comes to affairs of the heart, I really am a blind man!"

Me gustó bastante, algunos más que otros, pero en general están muy bien. En más de una ocasión me hicieron reír y fueron entretenidos.

Issue #1: 5/5
Issue #2: 4/5
Issue #3: 4.5/5
Issue #4: 4.5/5
Issue #5: 4.5/5
Issue #6: 4.5/5
Issue #7: 2.5/5
Issue #8: 3/5
Issue #9: 3/5
Issue #10: 3.5/5
Issue #11: 4/5

I came in like a wrecking ball!♪

"He's a nutty as a fruitcake! But, so was a little housepainter named Hitler and look at the damage he caused!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

So one of my goals for my book reading challenge this year was read more comics. So when I saw that my library had this I decided to give it a try. These were a very interesting collection of comics. I liked daredevil and his adventures but some of these were kind of dry and not what i expected. I cannot wait to read more of the daredevil comics.

[Sophie Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super uneven, but interesting for fans of Daredevil who wanna see where it all started. A lot of what we know about the character, including vital characters like Kingpin, Elektra, Punisher, and elements like The Hand, weren't introduced until the Frank Miller run 15 years later, so these early issues feel quite a bit different from Daredevil as we know him today, which is both a strength and a weakness. This Daredevil simply isn't as compelling as he'd later become, and they clearly had no idea what to do with the character. He was made to capitalize on the success of Spider-Man, and it shows. He's very quippy here, and his personality frequently feels very similar to Spider-Man. It's no wonder this series didn't really take off until Frank Miller took over; the series had no real identity of its own.
Still, there's old-school shlocky comic book fun to be had here, even if some issues are better than others. The first issue is a fine enough origin story, even if it's not quite as fleshed out as his origin would later become. Daredevil's first proper villain was Electro in issue 2, which felt a bit lame. Reusing a Spider-Man villain rather than giving Dardevil his own villain to fight was disappointing, and the issue is fairly uninteresting, save for a part where Daredevil is launched in a rocket up to space. Daredevil's first original villain is The Owl, who also isn't particularly interesting and has a fairly bland story. Daredevil's fight in issue 4 with Purple Man, however, is an early standout, with Purple Man being a pretty interesting villain whose powers are used in interesting ways here. In issue 5, Daredevil fights The Matador, who might be one of the most laughably lame Marvel villains I've ever seen, but there's some decent shlocky fun there. In issue 6, Daredevil fights The Fellowship of Fear, who also aren't memorable or interesting, although again, there's just enough shlocky fun here (the wax museum of superheroes and villains in particular is pretty fun).
The three issue run from issues 7-9 is definitely the highlight of these issues. Issue 7 sees Daredevil adopt his red costume, and his fight with Namor is an early classic, being the most dramatically and narratively interesting and giving Daredevil a more nuanced foe to fight. Issue 8 introduces Stilt Man, who is such a silly villain that I can't help but love him, and issue 9 has a particularly fun, outlandish story where Daredevil travels to a fictional European country and fights an old college friend who is now a dictator, complete with a castle and robot army.
Things start to fall apart a little in issue 10, as penciler Wally Wood attempts to write an issue, leading to a fairly boring, convoluted 2-issue mystery arc that isn't very compelling and lacks any interesting villains. Still, issue 11 at least ends on an interesting note, making me excited to read more of the series.
These early issues are wildly uneven, and even at their best, they lack a real identity to set Daredevil apart from any other B-grade Marvel hero of the time, but there's definitely fun to be had here, and a handful of fun early villains make this enjoyable enough. It's particularly interesting for Daredevil fans wanting to see how it all started, and if you're one of those fans and know going in that it's quite a bit different from the Daredevil you're used to, you might have some fun here.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first time reading any of these stories (other than issue one) so I didn't have rose-colored glasses of nostalgia and my childhood experience clouding me as I read this (which I often do when reading other classics) I could read them as is. Now, obviously older silver age stories, in general, are not as well written as some modern stories because of the comics code restrictions and storytelling in comics has evolved for the better (and worse) over the decades BUT they can still be a lot of fun. Well written ones are still great on their own merit. The early Spider-man stories are solid stories and I still enjoy reading them.

This collection? Not so much. We get a great origin story without question. And the premise is a great one as later writers have proven time and time again with their amazing runs on Daredevil (Miller, Bendis, Brubaker to name a few). But Stan Lee and his early collaborators were fumbling in the dark and this series suffered from the changing artists - Bill Everet, Joe Orlando, Wally Wood - all great artists but with the Marvel Method they also needed to be great plotters since they - for all intents and purposes - were fleshing out the story before Stan Lee wrote in the dialogue - and they were not up to the task. We have one artist giving Daredevil a little hoodie backpack to carry his suit around in (I had no idea this existed and current writers need to mock this more!). We have one story Daredevil being shot into space and (blind!) pilot it back to earth safely. We have Daredevil going toe to toe with Namor because Namor wants his day in court (geesh). There were a lot of cringe stories and inconsistencies of how Daredevil's powers worked - sometimes they remembered he had radar and sometimes they didn't.
And always the love triangle with Karen Page the secretary and Foggy Nelson.

A few good villains were introduced - The Owl - Stilt Man (yes he's cheesey but I love him) - and Purple Man. But overall these are not good old fashioned stories - the series/character really needed one writer to take the reins and figure out how best to use the character and how his powers worked and which villains he could best fight.
He got better - but not in these stories.

[Stven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daredevil was my first favorite Marvel character, starting from when I spent a nickel for a beat-up copy of Daredevil #6 at a junk store in Durant, Oklahoma. The artist for that issue and a handful of others was Wally Wood, whose style appealed to me much more than the scratchy Steve Ditko work on Spider-Man or the clunky Jack Kirby on Fantastic Four. And the concept of a blind hero whose other senses were hyperacute was one I found appealing.

These stories, from the origin in Daredevil #1 (1964) through the subsequent ten issues, are frankly not very good. They establish the soap opera: Matt Murdoch (secretly Daredevil) opens law offices with his classmate Foggy Nelson, and they hire pretty blonde Karen Page as their secretary, whom they both immediately have a crush on. (Cue thought balloons, issue after issue: "Oh, Matt, if you only knew how I feel about you!") A succession of silly super-villains bother New York City and confront Daredevil. Lots of acrobatic fight scenes with obligatory wisecracks.

And Stan Lee's comic book universe seized the imagination of a generation of schoolboys. I still can't quite understand why.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10 I understand this isn’t gonna be Born Again level stuff and you gotta take it with a grain (more like a barrel) of salt but goddamn. I appreciate this for giving us Daredevil but between the books complete disregard for “show don’t tell”, it’s nonsensical plots, it’s repetitive formula, it’s horrible romantic subplot and it’s casual sexism and ableism I just can’t bring myself to enjoy it. Some of the issues were alright and it does get mostly better as it goes on but still. If this wasn’t the book that gave us one of my favourite fictional characters my rating would definitely be even lower.

[Tim Lapetino · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the first 11 issues of Daredevil are a snapshot into the creation of the iconic character, it's pretty clear that the title was cast heavily in the mold of Spider-Man -- lots of melodrama, hero's quips, and colorful villains. Matt Murdock had an interesting gimmick of blindness, but didn't really develop on his own as a character significantly until Frank Miller's grounding of DD in the 80s, which changed everything for the gritty, urban hero.

This book is a great look at the early days of Daredevil, but only really hints at who he would later become.

[Cosmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly? I’ve had zero interest in Daredevil. I didn’t watch the movie or Netflix series. I’ve just overlooked him. He’s the blind super hero that is also a lawyer. That was my impression. Oh how wrong I was.

This collection is the debut of Daredevil. I loved it. The character, the artwork, the plots. All good. Reading it, I was surprised how much a love triangle is present. These comics, given their age, can be enjoyed by kid and adult alike. I really enjoyed reading about The Man with No Fear, a super hero unlike other super heroes at the time.

[Chris W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graded on the Silver Age curve: it's ok, goofy Saturday morning cartoon energy, but the first few issues do have some decent elements. The origin issue, Purple Man, Owl, and Matador, all provide very silly but fun stories with powers and gimmicks that would later be expanded upon in many ways.

This is really only for hard-core DD fans. If you want a lighter more "swashbuckling" take on the character read Daredevil Yellow, Daredevil by Mark Waid or the original Frank Miller Run on Daredevil (a good blend of fun and darker elements of the character)

[Paul Stanis · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I will… observe by means of the ‘creepy-peepy’ TV cameras on your chests…”

First appearances of: the Owl (#3); the Purple Man (#4); Daredevil’s red suit (#7); and Stiltman (#8).

Look for: Daredevil adding a hood to his suit (#3)… which is gone by the next issue; Mr. Fear’s extensive Easter egg-filled wax museum (#6); German Expressionist influence in the art (#9); the existence of an in-universe Agent of Shield show (#11); and Matt leaving Nelson and Murdock (#11).

Casting: Sean Astin as Foggy Nelson.

[Jan]

This volume collects the original Daredevil series issue 1-11. I abandoned it after the first two issues (2 stars for the opening issue and 1 star for issue 2).

The artwork is good, but Stan Lee’s insanely-over-the-top writing made it impossible to progress any further. Pick up a copy of Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale’s “Daredevil: Yellow” instead if you looking for a proper yarn about The Man without Fear.

[Lionel Schotter]

Nostalgic but a reminder why modern is better

It's fascinating looking back at the origin stories of one of my favourite comic heroes. However, it does serve to remind me how appreciative I am of the modern masterpieces in the daredevil canon. These first books, as with most of marvel's early works, were always so Adam West batman in style, that I cringe a little at the campness and juvenile storytelling.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daredevil himself is an okay action hero, but in the early days of his start he really didn't have any good villains to go up against. Such foes as The Owl, the Purple Man (alas, not Prince), and Stiltman just aren't the kind of characters you bother to boo.