Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, Vol. 1 by Stan LeeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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.
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