Recently I've been going through a phase of resurrecting and completing old, unfinished discussions. My discsussion of Daredevil was split across many posts in the "What Comic Books Have You Read Today?" thread. Not that I expect anyone else other than myself to read the next post, but I would like to bring them all together for future reference.
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DAREDEVIL #1-2: The last time I tried to read all of Daredevil (a couple of years ago), I petered out around issue #50 or so. A lot more has been reprinted by this time, so I thought I’d throw it into rotation with FF and Thor. Also the last time I read it, I skipped the first MMW volume (which reprints #1-11). I started with Miller & Romita’s The Man Without Fear and from there skipped directly into #12. About a year ago I read through several volumes of various Wally Wood reprints, but stopped at the point I would have read early Daredevil. There’s some other stuff to slog through before I get to the Wood issues, though.
I normally wouldn’t use the word “slog” to describe the work of Bill Everett and Joe Orlando, but the work in the first four issues is not their best. Bill Everett is give sole artistic credit for issue #1, but I see another hand involved, inking. Maybe not, but if Everett himself did do the inks, it’s not his best work. Joe Orlando’s work, too (inked by Vince Coletta) is somewhat disappointing. I’ve read as far as issue #2, and it took me forever to get through it. I knew from having read it before it wasn’t my favorite, but this may be my least favorite Marvel story of any note of the era. They’re still working out how Daredevil’s powers work, and the explanations they give often don’t make much sense.
This volume of Marvel Masterworks was quite controversial when it was first released because of Richard Howell’s coloring. Instead of coloring Daredevil’s costume yellow, he used shades and other modern coloring techniques to indicate shadows and provide other effects. The contention was that it wasn’t what the artists originally intended, the comic book equivalent of colorizing old black & white movies. My thought is, once you make the decision to reprint old comics on slick. Glossy paper, you’ve already disregarded any attempt at making it look like the original.
DAREDEVIL #3: The crimelord known as the Owl needs legal representation and hires Nelson & Murdock at random. His “memorable” flunkies are Sad Sam and Ape. This one was another slog to get through.
DAREDEVIL #4: Another slog to get through. Stan Lee is credited as writer, but I don’t buy it. It just doesn’t resonate with his usual pizazz. The villain is the Purple Man, never a favorite of mine, anyway, not even when written by Neil Gaiman. Speaking of Stan Lee and speaking of the Purple Man, the latter is guest-starring in the current Spider-Man comic strip (along with Luke Cage). With Stan Lee’s death and Larry Leiber’s retirement, it has been officially announced that their successors will be Roy Thomas and Alex Saviuk.
DAREDEVIL #5: This issue begins with a “personal note” thanking Bill Everett, Joe Orlando and Vince Colletta who “donated their time and talents until we could find a permanent artist,” Wally Wood, who is described as a “Marvel alumnus” who has worked on “many of America’s top magazines.” The villain is the Matador, the first of several villains borrowed from 1950s Captain America stories.
DAREDEVIL #6: the “Fellowship of Fear” is made up of Ox (from the Enforcers in Spider-Man), the Eel (the Human Torch’s foe from Strange Tales) and Mr. Fear, their leader, Zoltan Drago.
DAREDEVIL #7: After some of the lamest Marvel comic books of any significance, issue #7 is one of the best of the early years: Daredevil vs. Sub-Mariner drawn by Wally Wood. Daredevil can’t conceivably win the battle, but Stan Lee comes up with a way for both characters to triumph. After making minor changes to DD’s costume in an earlier issue, Wood changed the entire look of the costume from yellow to red.
One more note about Daredevil #7: I forgot to mention that this is a pivotal transitional story for the Sub-Mariner as well. After her found his lost race (in Fantastic Four Annual #1), he spent some time bopping around the Marvel Universe appearing in titles such as Fantastic Four, X-Men and Avengers. Daredevil #7 was his last guest appearance before taking over Giant-Man’s slot in Tales to Astonish #70, which picks up directly from the end of Daredevil #7.
DAREDEVIL #8: Following the best issue so far, #8 introduces another lame villain, Stiltman. Sometimes Lee’s villains get a bad rap for their treatment under lesser writers, but it’s difficult to justify Stiltman.
DAREDEVIL #9-11: #9 deals with a penny-ante Dr. Doom wannabe. Wally Wood scripts #10 (but not #11) introducing the Ani-men (although they are not called that here). They are called the Organization and there boss is the Organizer. (What else?) It’s supposed to be a big mystery (there are only three suspects), but I couldn’t bring myself to care. The Ani-men wear body-cams referred to as “creepy peepies.’ The unrequited love Matt and Karen have for each other is extremely annoying, worse even than Scott Summer’s and Jean Gray’s. I just want to slap them.
I usually finish Marvel Masterworks in a day or two, sometimes in a single sitting, but this one was a real slog. #1 is okay (the origin would be retold to better effect... on several different occasions... later), but other than that, the best of the bunch is #7.
DAREDEVIL: SEASON ONE FEARLESS ORIGINS: The last time I read Marvel Masterworks Daredevil (back in the ‘90s) I remember not being impressed by volume one. The last time I read a comprehensive chunk of Daredevil (in the early 2Ks) I substituted Miller & Romita’s Man Without Fear for Daredevil #1-11, but that (not unexpectedly) wasn’t a good fit. After having recently re-read Marvel Masterworks Daredevil and not being impressed for a second time, I found myself reading the description of the Daredevil: Fearless Origins tpb in the current issue of Diamond’s Previews catalogue.
It read: “Daredevil faces off against the Owl, the Purple Man and Mr. Fear for the first time—but it’s not how you remember it!” So much the better. Last week I went to my LCS to see if the hardcover version was in stock. It was, but it was actually the Daredevil: Season One from 2011. The series of “Season One” OGNs was Marvel’s answer to DC’s “Earth-One” OGNs. I gave the whole line a pass at the time because I object to the trend of making comic books more like television shows (“Last time on Hulk…” and so on). Now, apparently, the exact same story is being marketed as being part of the MU proper, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Fearless Origins (or Season One, if you prefer) represents Daredevil #2-6 retold as a single, comprehensive story. I agree that “it’s not how [I] remember it,” largely because Daredevil’s battles with the Owl, the Purple Man and Mr. Fear are only background elements set against a new story, told in a style designed to mimic an episode of Law & Order. Meh. Avoid Season One (and Fearless Origins when it comes out as well).
MMW DAREDEVIL, v2: Considering how long it took me to slog through volume one recently, I virtually flew through volume two. This is the kind of storytelling I think of when I think of Silver Age Marvel Comics. Issue #12 begins a three-part story featuring Ka-zar the Savage, in his first appearance since his debut in X-Men #10. New penciler John Romita works over the layouts of Jack Kirby for the first two issues, then soloes in #14. #15 reintroduces the Ox (one of “The Enforcers” from Spider-Man), ands issues #16-17 are famously Romita’s “try out” to succeed Steve Ditko on Spider-Man.
In addition to Spidey, #16-17 also introduce a mysterious new (if uninspired) villain, the Masked Marauder. In #18 the Marauder steps aside and another new villain, the Gladiator, is introduced, and in #19 the two team-up. Issue #20 introduces the artist who would define the look of the character for a decade to come: Gene Colan. The villain is the Owl. In summation, skip The Man Without Fear and Season One in favor of volume two of Daredevil Masterworks.
MMW DAREDEVIL v3: This is where “my” Daredevil really begins. The first “Daredevil” comic book I ever bought new was either Giant-Size Daredevil #1 (which reprinted Daredevil Annual #1) or Marvel Adventures #1 (which reprinted Daredevil #22), whichever was released first. [NOTE: I did buy Giant-Size Triple Action #1 (which reprinted Daredevil #21 among others), too, but I don’t consider that a “Daredevil” comic.] I also acquired backissues of Marvel Super-Heroes (which reprinted earlier issues of Daredevil), but that was later.
I didn’t buy any other issues of Marvel Adventures until after I discovered Frank Miller’s Daredevil when I was in high school, when I picked up the entire run. When I was in college, I started collecting backissues of Daredevil where Marvel Adventures left off, and I eventually replaced the reprints with originals. After that lengthy preamble, ….
Volume three begins with a two-part team-up of the Masked Marauder and the Gladiator. I used to think that #22 was not a good issue to begin a series (Marvel Adventures) or a Masterworks edition because it begins by resolving a cliffhanger, but actually it dispenses with old business very quickly (2½ pages including the splash) and then moves on. Issue #24 features Ka-Zar once again. #25 features another 1950s era Captain America villain, retooled as the Leap Frog. Daredevil’s rogues gallery gets little respect, but as handled by Lee and Colan, these were serious threats. (Just look at the portrait on page nine.) It is only in the hands of lesser talents that Daredevil’s villains became jokes.
#25 also introduced the concept of Matt Murdock’s “twin brother” Mike. Apparently, Spider-Man had figured out Murdock’s secret and sent him a letter (!?), which Karen and foggy opened. Mike Murdock was the imaginary brother Matt concocted on the fly to be Daredevil’s alter ego. This was an ill-conceived notion and didn’t last long (then again, long enough). #26 features the Stiltman and ther Masked Marauder and Leap Frog, and the Masked Maruader’s up-until-then secret identity was revealed. (Big deal.) It wasn’t too hard to have figured out since Lee and colan didn’t give us too many suspects.
In #27 the Masked Marauder dies, and #28 features an out-of-place 1950s-style alien invasion story. #29 features the now-deceased Masked Marauder’s gang. #30-32 features Thor villains Cobra and Mr. Hyde, with a brief appearance by Thor himself in part one. Daredevil masquerades as Thor in a sequence Gene Colan simply didn’t pull off convincingly. The volume ends with King-Size Special #1 introducing “Electro and his Emmisaries of Evil” in a clear imitate the success of the “Sinister Six” from Spider-Man’s first annual. It didn’t have much of a plot, but gave Colan the opportunity to cut loose artistically.
MMW DAREDEVIL v4: This is a whole volume of Lee/Colan goodness with a side order of Kirby. What do you get when you combine the dynamism of Jack Kirby with the fluidity of Steve Ditkko? Answer: Gene Colan. Most of the stories in this volume are two-parters: #33-34 feature the Beetle (including his origin), #35-36 features the Trapster, and #37-38 features Dr.Doom, which leads into Fantastic Four #73. (Fantastic Four #73 also guest-stars Thor and a rare Kirby-drawn Spider-Man.)
The volume concludes with the only true three-parter, #39-41, which features the “Unholy Three,” that is the Ani-Men (Bird-Man, Ape-Man and Cat man, minus Frog-Man and now led by the Exterminator rather than the Organizer). The Exterminator supplies them with a time displacement gun, and the volume ends, appropriately enough, with Daredevil faking the death of “Mike Murdoch.”
MMW DAREDEVIL v5 (#42-53): This volume is mostly Stan Lee and Gene Colan, but Barry Smith fills in for art #50-52, and Roy Thomas takes over writing in #51. #42 features “Marvel’s Joker” (and 1950s Captain America villain) the Jester. Speaking of Captain America, the original guest-stars in #43 when a not-in-his-right-mind Daredevil challenges him at an exhibition at Madison Square Garden. Brief aside: I was in an antique mall a few weeks ago, and one of the booths had framed reproductions of various comic book and pulp magazine covers. One of them was the Jack Kirby cover of Daredevil #43. It was $24, but I really don’t have anywhere to hang it.
#44-46 feature a rematch with the Jester, and #47’s story is the celebrated “Brother, Take My Hand!” the story of an African American soldier blinded in the war, told at the height of the Civil Rights movement and the Viet Nam war. It was chosen by Stan Lee for inclusion in Origins of Marvel Comics (actually, it was Son of Origins, I think). Willie Lincoln reminds me a bit of Jack Kirby’s Willie Walker from New Gods (and there is a Dave Lincoln in that series, too).
The villain in #48 is Stiltman, no joke when handled by Lee and Colan. Also, Foggy is elected D.A. in a long-running sub-plot. #49 introduces Starr Saxon and his robot. It is also Gene Colan’s last issue while Stan Lee reassigned him to Avengers for three months. Barry Smith took over for the second part of the robot story in #50. Smith’s early artwork was a little clunky (as he himself has readily admitted), but his potential is certain visible. In #51, Roy Thomas takes over as writer as the robot is defeated and its inventor, Starr Saxon, moves to the forefront. Daredevil is poisoned and Starr Saxon learns Daredevil’s true identity.
When I was in college and reading these issues for the first time, I read #52, also by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith, some time before the other issues in this run as I was tracking down Black Panther appearances at the time. The Panther learns Daredevil’s other identity, but Matt Murdock doesn’t know he knows. Starr Saxon escapes, but we haven’t seen the last of him.
Colan returns in #54 for a recap of Daredevil’s origin story. The last time I endeavored to make my way through all of Daredevil, just a few short years ago, this is where I stopped. I figured this issue would be a good jumping-back-on point when my mood changed, but I decided to start back at the beginning after all. Besides, last time I started with #12 (or The Man Without Fear limited series by Miller and Romita, Jr., actually). In this issue, Daredevil comes to the odd conclusion that his problems are caused, not by his Daredevil identity, but by being Matt Murdock, so he decides to “give up” being Matt Murdock, which is where we’ll pick up next time.
The volume is rounded out by a story from Not Brand Echh #4 which, like the one included in a Captain Marvel volume I recently read, would have fit better in the previous volume, as this one dealt with the time he was masquerading as his own “brother.”
MMW DAREDEVIL v6: This volume reprints ten issues (#54-63), all by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan. Thomas’s writing style is all but indistinguishable from Stan Lee’s at this point, and the art has a solid visual consistency, all but one being inked by Colan’s mentor Syd Shores (the odd one out by George Klein). In issue #54, Matt Murdock fakes his own death, then spend the rest of that issue and the next battling Starr Saxon, who has assumed the identity of Mr. Fear (second of that name).
In #56, Karen takes some time off to mourn Matt Murdock’s supposed death, returning to her childhood home in a story obviously based on TV’s Dark Shadows. Although Page House resembles the Bates’ house from Psycho more than it does Collinwood, Barnabas Collins is even mentioned, making the source material a dead giveaway. Daredevil spends two issues fighting Death’ Head (a ghoul with a surprise identity who rides a skeletal horse), then reveals his identity to Karen at the end of #57.
Issues #58-60 deal with an aspiring new crime-lord (also with a surprise identity) who calls himself Crimewave. In issue #58, after Foggy and Matt concoct a story to cover Matt’s “death,” Crimewave sends Stuntmaster against Daredevil at a charity event. In #59 Daredevil fights the Torpedo, and in #60 Crimewave is defeated. Foggy’s girlfriend, Debbie, feels forced to break up with him due to public pressure surrounding her being an ex-con. Matt promises Karen that he will give up being Daredevil, then almost immediately reneges.
In #61 Matt breaks a date with Karen (on her birthday, no less) in order to fight the “Trio of Doom”: Mr, Hyde, the Cobra and the Jester. In #62, he fights Nighthawk (who started out as a glory-hound on the wrong side of the law before becoming a member in god standing of the Defenders), and in #63 he has a rematch with the Gladiator while Karen leaves town… apparently for good this time.
The highlight of this volume is definitely the art, but Colan's best inker is yet to come.
MMW DAREDEVIL v7: This volume comprises issues #64-74 (plus Iron Man #35-36) and details the hand-off from Roy Thomas to Gerry Conway. Thomas wrote seven issues, Conway five. (Also, Mike Friedrich wrote one, and scripted one of the Thomas issues.) In his introduction, Roy Thomas referred to Frank Miller’s turning of Karen Page into a porn star as the “nadir of non-inspiration.” Issue #64 features Stuntmaster, as Daredevil follows Karen to L.A. #65 is an even closer homage to Dark Shadows than one of the stories from last volume was. “Brother Brimstone” bears a striking resemblance to Jonathan Frid, and Sally Weston (Karen Page’s roommate and the A.D. on “TV’s top gothic soap opera”) is based on Alexandra Moltke. The second part of this this story takes place at the La Brea tar pits.
#67 features the Stiltman and the Stuntmaster again. Daredevil leaves L.A. but Karen stays. Back in NYC in #68, DD fights Kid Gawaine. #69 features the Black Panther (as well as his brief “Luke Charles” identity). #70-71 is a “socially relevant” two-parter, featuring a conservative cowboy star, Buck Ralston, Walter Conkite and Spiro Agnew. Gerry Conway takes over is #72 with Tagak, the Leopard Lord. The story then crosses over with Iron Man #35-36 by Conway and Don Heck, featuring Zodiac, this time led by capricorn. The crossover is written by Allyn Brodsky (Marvel’s token conservative, perhaps best known for his seven-issue stint on Iron Man).
In issue #74, the entire city of New York is stricken blind, a story which would no doubt rate a summer-long, line-wide crossover today. This volume is not the best, but keep in mind Gerry Conway was only 16 years old in 1969. I wouldn’t read a comic written by a 16 year old today, but it makes a difference that he was 16 when I was five for some reason… it shouldn’t, but it does.
MMW DAREDEVIL v8: This volume is mostly Gerry Conway/Gene Colan. It comprises issues #75-84, but also the Black Widow’s solo series (from Amazing Adventures #1-8) as well. Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeir puts these volumes together that same way I would if I were in charge. As a matter of fact, I collected these two series as backissues concurrently, and would have read them in this order, anyway (I also have an Amazing Adventures “Black Widow” Premier Hardcover edition) if Sedlmeir hadn’t beat me to it.
The Widow’s solo series was somewhat uneven, the best chapter being issue #5, reprinted in the Giant Super-Hero Holiday Grab-Bag treasury edition, which is where I first read it. As much as I appreciated Gene Colan’s “shower scene” in 1974, I appreciated the unretouched photostat copy today.
In issue #76, Gene Colan was paired with his best (IMO) inker: Tom Palmer.
I acquired Daredevil #77 (the first part of a crossover with Sub-Mariner guest-starring Spider-Man) as a backissue right around the same time as the Giant Super-Hero Holiday Grab-Bag TE, and I liked it so much I vowed not to read it again until I had acquired Sub-Mariner #40. By the time I did and read both together, I didn’t care for it as much. A few years ago, I read it once again in the context of a Sub-Mariner reading project. Now, reading it in the context of the Daredevil series, I like it again. It really has little to do with the issues immediately before or after, and not a whole lot happens other than to set up Sub-Mariner #40. It serves its purpose as a standalone lead-in, though.
I may have been Frank Miller’s use of the Black Widow in Daredevil which led me to seek out backissues of her solo series in Amazing Adventures, but it was definitely Amazing Adventures #1-8 which led me to Daredevil #81 (#80, actually, as I backed up an issue to get the beginning of the story). Tom Palmer inking of Gene Colan in #80 blew me away, but it would be a few issues yet before they were teamed up on a more permanent basis.
Speaking of “team-ups,” Daredevil & The Black Widow would soon become one of several Marvel “team-up” titles to come out of the ‘70s, including Captain America & The Falcon and Powerman & Iron Fist. The Black Widow entered the plot suddenly and unexpectedly in #80 and immediately became a regular supporting character, then co-star of the book. Also coming aboard in #80 was Jack Abel as inker. I think Tom Palmer is Gene Colan’s best inker, but I also think Jack Abel enhances any pencils he embellishes, so he was a welcome (if temporary) addition.
Also worth mentioning is the pencil/ink team of Alan Weiss and Bill Everett in #83, and the re-teaming of Colan with his mentor Syd Shores in #84.
MMW DAREDEVIL v9: This volume (reprinting #85-96) is all Gerry Conway and Gene Colan. Also, Tom Palmer inked 10 of the 12 issues.) I hadn’t recalled that Karen Page hung around so long (in the series) after she left Nelson & Murdock for Hollywood. Knowing what will happen later casts her manager in an entirely different light. It wasn’t intended, but it certainly can be read that way. In addition to teaming up with the Black Widow, the stories in this volume are remembered for moving Daredevil to San Francisco. Among the villains are Electro (with a new mask which never made it to the cover), Killgrave, the Gladiator, Ox, Man-Bull and the third Mr. Fear.
MMW DAREDEVIL v10: In this volume (reprinting #97-107 and Avengers #111), Gerry Conway gives way to Steve Gerber and Gene Colan gives way to Don Heck. When I was collecting backissues of Daredevil when I was in college, it was during this run that I tapered off. Honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of Steve Gerber. I read some of his Man-Thing, Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown growing up, and I thought his Defenders was a come-down from Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart and Len Wein. More recently I’ve come to appreciate his work, but he will never be a favorite.
The standout issue of this series, for me, was #99 featuring Hawkeye the Marksman. It not only featured Hawkeye, but the Black Widow as well, and I had acquired a stack of old Avengers featuring the couple back in junior high school. As I mentioned last time, it was probably Frank Miller’s use of the Black Widow which led me first to backissues of Amazing Adventures and then to Daredevil. Whereas it is true the first Hawkeye limited series led me to seek out some of his significant early appearances, it was actually Hulk #166 which led me backwards into Avengers #109 as well as forward into Defenders #7, and it was Avengers #109 which originally led me to Daredevil #99.
MMW DAREDEVIL v11: Man, that was a slog.
Back in the days when I was actively building my backissue collection, I collected in three directions: from the present forward, from the present back, and from the beginning forward. By the time I left college, I had completed my collections of every major Marvel series except four. Those holes have now largely been filled with Marvel Masterworks. Daredevil is one such series, but I have discovered that the individual issues I left uncollected aren’t ones I’m particularly interested in in the first place.
This volume collects issues #108-119 plus Marvel Two-In-One #3, written by Steve Gerber (mostly) and drawn by Bob Brown (mostly). In #108, Daredevil returns to NYC and fights the Beetle, and Foggy is shot. DD and Moondragon discuss their feelings for each other. Issue #109 features Nekra, and shanna “The She-Devil” O’Hara appears on the last page. Then the story crosses over into MTIO #3 featuring Man-Thing. (While Gerber was writing MTIO, he crossed over with other series he was writing quite a bit: Adventure into Fear, Daredevil, Defenders, etc.)
#110-112 is a three-parter featuring the origin of Mandrill and Nekra (from Gerber’s Shanna the She-Devil) and the Silver Samurai. This MMW does not reprint the Shanna series, but MMW Ka-Zar (which I hope to get around to before too long) does. Gene Colan fills in on #110. #113-115 is another three-parter, featuring the gladiator, Man-thing and Death-Stalker. (I’d previously read some of these as backissues, led there by Frank Miller’s run).
DD is back in SFO in #116 fighting the Owl. Gene Colan is back, too, but his inker is Vince Collletta, not Tom Palmer. In #117, DD and Black Widow break up, but not for good. #119 is the first issue of Tony Isabella’s short run, and I find myself looking forward to the next volume more than I enjoyed this one.
MMW DAREDEVIL v12 (#120-132): This volume can be divided #120-123 and #124-132. Tony Isabella wrote #120-123 and Marv Wolfman wrote #124-132; Bob Brown drew #120-123, 125-132 and Gene Colan drew #124; Vince Colletta inked #120-123 and Klaus Janson inked #124-132.
The four issues written by Tony Isabella, #120-123, feature recycled pre-Steranko Hydra stories from Strange Tales with watered down Stan Lee dialogue. Isabella even supplied a text feature, the “Hydra File,” in issues #120-121. Silvermane was the villain of the first Spider-Man comic I ever read, Amazing Spider-Man #73. I had to wait for the conclusion to be reprinted in Marvel Tales #56 before I found out the ending, but Silverman was definitely dead. I was mildly surprised to discover Silverman alive and kicking in Peter Parker #70, but I had to wait until this volume of Marvel Masterworks Daredevil was published last year to find out how he survived.
NOTE: I am reading all of these issues for the very first time, but I did previously sneak a peek at page seven of issue #123 to learn how Silverman escaped his fate in Spider-Man #75. The explanation, frankly, was pretty lame; I could have come up with something better myself… if I had been inclined to, that is. If it would have been left to me, I would have kept him dead so as not to dilute the impact of the original story.
Usually, it takes me a weekend to polish off a volume of Marvel Masterworks or DC Archives. If I’m really into it, I can do so in a single sitting. If I’m reading one during the week, I’ll usually read one story per night. The last volume took me two weeks to finish! I found volume 12 to be much better than volume 11, but it doesn’t start to get really good until issue #124. (Len Wein wrote pages 1-14, then Marv Wolfman took over as the new regular writer.) It also helps that it was drawn by definitive Daredevil artist Gene Colan. Equally as important, this the first issue inked by Klaus Janson. The previous four had been inked by Vince Colletta over Bob Brown. Brown would return in #125, but Janson’s inks also embellish his work better than Colletta’s did.
Storywise, DD & BW break up… again… but for good this time, in #124. (Tony Isabella brought them back together… temporarily… after they had broken up in the previous volume.) By #125, her spot-illustration would be gone from the masthead; her name had already been removed from the title. For those keeping score, the Black Widow definitely dumped Daredevil. She will turn up next in Champions.
The villain in #124-125 is Copperhead, but the most significant new character is Blake Tower, Foggy’s opponent for D.A. #126 introduces the second Torpedo and #127 the third, but the most significant character introduced in #126 is Matt’s new love interest, Heather Glenn. Matt’s new apartment used to belong to Heather’s previous boyfriend, and she still has a key. When we first meet her, she lets herself in. The second time we meet her, Matt finds her already in the appointment watching TV. Instead of taking away her key or changing the locks or getting a restraining order, Matt makes her his girlfriend. I remember Heather Glenn from the Frank Miller days, but I didn’t realize she went back quite this far.
The Death-Stalker (not to mention a pre-Star Wars character named “Sky-Walker”) is featured in #128, and Man-Bull is back in #129. In #130 Foggy loses the election for D.A. to Blake Tower. Matt opens a “storefront” legal office and makes Foggy his partner. In a bizarre sub-plot (not to be resolved until next volume), a “double” of Foggy appears on TV, video evidence of JFK and RFK alive surfaces, amidst a rumor that one of the Presidents of the last 30 years was replaced with a “twin.”
#131-132 introduces new characters police Lieutenant Rose and Daily Bugle columnist Jacob Conover are introduced (along with the “Rocketeers,” destined to cause Dave Stevens some legal headaches in later years), but by far the most significant new character from these issues is the villain Bullseye (second of that name). The bizarre rumor sub-plot this issue is that the Viet Nam war never happened; it was really mass hypnosis by the C.I.A. and the troops were actually fighting illegal wars in South America and Africa.
MMW DAREDEVIL v13: This volume reprints issues #133-143, Annual #4 and Ghost Rider #20. The stories are by Marv Wolfman & Bob Brown (mostly). I am reading them all for the very first time.
#133 features real life illusionist Uri Geller, who claimed to have genuine supernatural powers, which is the way Marvel presented him here. Stage magician James Randi, who routinely debunked such claims, criticized Marvel for this approach. Also in #133, the source of the false TV footage of Foggy, JFK and Robert Kennedy is revealed. Decades before such things would become possible, Marv Wolfman foresaw the possibility of “fake news” being created using a computer program invented by a scientist employed by the Jester.
#134 begins with TV news footage of Daredevil gunning down three police officers in front of city hall. Also the Torpedo returns, and the villain this issue is the chameleon. The romance between Matt Murdock and Heather Glenn heats up. Meanwhile, the Jester manipulates footage of Daredevil from a telethon for muscular dystrophy into a threat against the city. Foggy is prevented from seeing Maxwell Glenn, Heather’s slumlord father, by his personal assistant. Foggy is representing Glenn’s tenants, but Heather knows nothing about it.
#135 begins with a three page mock-up of the Daily Bugle serving as intro/recap. The Jester frames Daredevil for his own murder. DD is take to prison but breaks out and is captured by… the Jester!? Wha—?
In #136, drawn by guest artist John Buscema, Daredevil easily disproves the charges against him. The situation moves into a ridiculous extreme as President Gerald Ford appears on TV and declares that Daredevil is to be shot on sight. Daredevil is overcome by a mob and put on trial in Times Square. In #137 (also by John Buscema), Karen Page is kidnapped. If the Jester is intended to be Marvel’s version of the Joker, then this issue’s “murder maze” swipes a gimmick from Mister Miracle, as daredevil must escape from a booby-trapped 10-storey building.
The Masterworks also includes a two-page prologue to the upcoming crossover from Ghost Rider #19 by Tony Isabella and Frank Robbins. In Daredevil #138 and Ghost Rider #20, Marv Wolfman is joined by artist John Byrne in a tale featuring Stunt Master and Death’s Head (Karen Page’s dead father identity) who ends up being Death Stalker.
This story leads into Daredevil Annual #4, scripted by Chris Claremont with art by George Tuska, featuring the Black Panther and the Sub-Mariner. DD fights Subby once, twice, while the Panther operates solo. DD & the Panther team-up, the DD fights Subby again by himself. Subby leaves and DD fight the Black Panther, then they make nice. Subby remembers meeting Daredevil once before (although they fought twice), and he doesn’t remember Matt Mudock at all (although he once represented him in court).
#139 features guest artist Sal Buscema and a story about a hemophiliac child, a mad bomber and a missing junkie whose stories become intertwined. #140 is by Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, and Klaus Janson, and features the Beetle and the Gladiator. #141 is by Wolfman & Shooter, Kane & Brown, and Mooney. The villain is Bullseye and the story ends with a Batman-style death-trap. (Daredevil escapes with the assistance of Nova.) #142-143 feature Cobra and Mr. Hyde. the volume itself ends with a two-part Torpedo story from Marvel Premiere #39-40. I think I have already spent too much time on what is a mediocre volume.
That's the entire series of Daredevil reprinted in "Masterworks" format (so far). The next volume has been solicited for January release. It will breach the Miller era (barely) and I will resume this discussion at that time.
Since you've read these stories so I don't have to -- I have read some of them, but I didn't get serious about being a Daredevlil reader until the Frank Miller years -- please tell me do:
After Matt Murdock came up with the inane idea of Mike Murdock, told Foggy and Karen that Mike was the one playing Daredevil, and then "killed" Mike, how did he get back to playing Daredevil as himself?
He "didn't". He told them someone else took the role of Daredevil--see #100.
A few pointers, If I may:
Mike Murdock was "created" in Daredevil #25.
In #39-41 the future Death-Stalker (then known as the Exterminator) fights Daredevil and ends up caught in the explosion of one of his own machines. Matt makes it appear that Daredevil/"Mike" was also caught in the same explosion and died.
In #42 Matt is kidnapped by the Jester and claims that Mike trained a new Daredevil that will certainly turn up and rescue him.
He reveals his secret identity to Karen Page in #57.
In #81 Black Widow rescues Daredevil from a fall into water after a helicopter accident that resulted from a recent fight against the Owl.
As of #86 Karen Page has decided that there is way too much emotion in dating DD's secret identity and therefore breaks up with him.
In #87 Matt and Natasha move to San Francisco. As a matter of fact, they live in the same house. The public knows that they have been dating and also that Natasha is Black Widow, whose partnership with Daredevil is being maintained despite the change of city.
In #92 Matt tells someone (a police detective IIRC) that Mike Murdock was the first Daredevil, but someone else succeeded him. In the same issue Black Panther borrow DD's costume and appears among witnesses to, apparently, strenghten Matt's allegations. Matt also claims that the "new" DD has moved to San Francisco because he feels a duty to protect his predecessor's brother.
It took a considerably longer time for Foggy to learn of DD's secret identity. I think it happened off-panel just after 1995's Daredevil #347.
(Leaving aside the fairly recent introduction of an actual, living Mike Murdock in the comics, allow me to ramble a bit.)
Come to think of it, there is a missed opportunity in there. I don't think that anyone ever asked DD how he felt about the death of his unfortunate predecessor.
Nor did people seem to take notice of the presumable absence of any birth certificate, social security number or any other documentation for Mike Murdock. Or even ask whether he and Matt attended school together. It really made no sense. For instance, why would Jack "Battlin" Murdock dedicate his last win to Matt but not mention Mike?
Now I want to see a scene of Ben Urich or someone asking Daredevil or Matt where and how Mike was raised. Maybe the truth is that Mike was raised in a foreign continuity. Make that Nanda Parbat. Daredevil the First was so exceptional because he trained there and received Rama Kushna's blessing. He so impressed Kushna that they decided to make a second effort with another set of twin brothers, Boston and Cleveland Brand.
Now, that is an unlikely crossover.
The next volume has been solicited for January release. It will breach the Miller era (barely) and I will resume this discussion at that time.
Actually that was January 2020, but here I am only four years behind schedule. Better late than never, eh? ;)
MMW DAREDEVIL v14: This volume is evenly split between two main writers: Jim Shooter and Roger McKenzie; the three most prominent pencilers (among seven) are Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino and Gene Colan; Klaus Janson emerges as the definitive "Daredevil" inker. Shooter and McKenzie are responsible for roughly eight issues each in this volume.
#144: The Owl breaks Man-Bull out of prison in order to kidnap Dr. Kerwin, a research scientist the Owl believes can cure his legs, which have become crippled because of the serum which allows him to fly. Man-Bull plans to betray the Owl by forcing the scientist to cure him instead. Man-Bull is captured by the Owl escapes. Foggy's fiancée Debbie Harris has been kidnapped. Jim Shooter is joined this issue by the well-travelled Lee Elias.
#145: Stymied last issue from kidnapping Dr. Kerwin, the Owl sets his sights on forcing Dr. Petrovic of the Upstate Medical Center in Poughkeepsie into performing experimental surgery. Meanwhile, a shady character named Ernest W. Rockworth tries to coerce Nelson & Murdock into taking his case. Foggy has turned to the bottle to cope with Debbie's kidnapping. The doctor sugically grafted a flying device to his spine as well as provided him with an exo-skeleton which allows the Owl to walk, but he also sabotaged the equipment so that it failed right in the middle of his fight against Daredevil. "He--he crashed through the ice into the river!" Daredevil observes. "He couldn't have survived that fall! He's gone... forever!" (Daredevil obviously hasn't read many comic books.)
#146: Back in #141, Bullseye was hired to kill Matt Murdock but blew it. In this issue, Matt recognizes Bullseye in his civvies and follows him into a gun shop. Bullseye had planned to steal a rare pistol for his collection, but Matt Murdock thwarted him in his civillian identity. Oddly, Bullseye doesn't recognize him, but he does bean Matt with a golfball, causeing him to temporarily lose his radar sense. From there, Bullseye takes over a TV studio and broadcasts a challenge to Daredevil. After Daredevil defeats him, Bullseye confesses that he was hired to kill Murdock in the first place by Maxwell Glenn, Murdock's girlfriend's father.
Those of you familiar with Frank Miller's (first) run may remember #191, his last issue, in which Daredevil visits a paralyzed Bullseye in his hospital room. A video tape of an earlier battle between Daredevil and Bullseye in a TV studio is pivotal to the plot; this issue is the story of that battle. Most of the stories in this volume I will be reading for the first time, but #145 is one I sought out decades ago after first reading #191. It is by Jim Shooter, Gil Kane and Jim Mooney.
#147: Shooter and Kane are joined by Klaus Janson. Daredevil confronts Maxwell Glenn, gives him a backhand slap across the face and Glann caves. He confesses to everything: money laundering, fraud, attempted murder... even the kidnapping of Debbie Harris. He confesses over the phone to the police, but Daredevil leaves before they arrive. From behind a secret panel in Glenn's office emerges the Purple Man, who has been manipulating Glenn all along.
In King's Point Long Island, Daredevil frees Debbie Harris from the mind-controlled thrall who had been holding her hostage. Later Foggy arrives and starts to put the moves on Debbie. When she says she's tired from her ordeal and just wants to go home, Foggy responds, "Well... sure love! I guess... but I--I figured... since it's been so long since I've seen you... so I thought we could... be alone for a while... maybe." Jeez, Foggy, put it back in your pants! Your fiancée has just been rescued for chrissakes. Later, while Daredevil is investigating Glenn's office, he hears the Purple Man meeting with the movers and shakers under his mental command in the room behind the secret panel. He bursts in but is overpowered by sheer force of numbers. One of them gets in a lucky shot (busting a chair over his head), and the Purple Man gets away. when he comes to, he realizes that "Heather's father may spend a lifetime paying for crimes he didn't commit!"
#148: Same creative team as #147, but Gil Kane is credited as co-plotter as well as penciler. Daredevil goes to D.A. Tower with his assertion that the Purple Man is responsible for Maxwell Glenn's crimes, but Tower believes that Killgrave is dead and isn't buying it. Matt Murdock considers giving up his secret identity to testify on Glenn's behalf, but that would mean someone else would have to act as defense attorney in court. Matt asks Foggy, but Foggy blames Glenn for Debbie's kidnapping. She is undergoing PTSD from her ordeal, and their engagement is off. (Although the circumstances are not made clear, I think I can guess.) Foggy delivers an ultimatum that, if Matt defends Glenn, then their partnership is through. Matt realizes that his only option to clear Glenn is to find Killgrave. To that end, he starts shaking down his usual informants, which eventually leads him, not to the Purple Man, but to Death-Stalker. The introduction of Death-Stalker is the final element which will soon bring this volume, and the current story arc, to a close. Heather Glenn writes a "Dear John" letter for Foggy to read to Matt.
#149: Carmine Infantino comes aboard for a three-issue stint as guest penciler. Klaus Janson has been inking Gil Kane for two issues, then Infantino for two, Kane for one, then back to Infantino. Infantino and Kane have distinctive and quite different styles, yet Klaus Janson manages to reconcile them. As the issue begins, Daredevil is rushing across the rooftops to confront Heather (as Matt). His radar sense tells him that her things are packed to leave, but he cannot let on without giving away his secret identity. He tells Heather that he knows her father is innocent, yet refuses to defend him (because he still might have to reveal his secret to testify). She kicks him out.
As Daredevil again, he soon encounters Smasher, a goon hired by Death-Stalker to kill Daredevil. Smasher is invulnerable and strong, and looks as if he could be a member of the Flash's rogues gallery. Daredevil defeats him, but does not take him into custody, giving him the opportunity to get away from Death-Stalker. Next, Matt meets with Foggy, who (Matt's super-senses tell him) is planning to kill Maxwell Glenn. Glenn has refused bail, though, and Foggy puts his foot in his mouth. Matt grabs him by the tie, sying, "Why, you little--! Who the hell do you think you are!" (Foggy really has it coming to him.) Outside, Smasher accosts Daredevil again. Daredevil beats him... again... but refues to press charges.
#150: Shooter, Infantino and Janson again. This is one of the issues I bought as a backissue after I became interested in Frank Miller's run. The issue begins with a school shooting... or rather Daredevil thwarting a "suicide by cop" attempt. After that he goes home, falls asleep, has a four-page dream and misses a court appearance. Elsewhere, Mort, Debbie's kidnapper who was mind-controlled by the Purple Man, hires the mercenary Paladin to prove his innocence. Upon learning from his sources that Daredevil, too, is seeking the Purple Man, Paladin attempts to force Daredevil to tell him what he knows. their fight carries them into the YWCA, when Paladin takes a break to flirt with some girls. They fight to a draw but Daredevil can't help him. Paladin, however, could help Daredevil by revealing who hired him, but he won't break that trust. No one else who was mind-controlled by the Purple Man, except Mort, is even aware of it. Heather visits her father in jail but he is despondent. Daredevil goes to Heather's apartment with the intention of telling her that he is Daredevil and why he can't defend her father. While he is standing there with his mask off, the phone rings and he picks it up. It is the prison. Knowing that he is Heather Glenn's lawyer, the warden tells Matt that Heather's father committed suicide shortly after after she left. Just then, Heather returns and sees Daredevil standing there, unmasked as Matt. Helluva cliffhanger!
When I resurrected this discussion it was with the intention of handling each MMW Daredevil a volume at a time. In the old days, MMWs comprised ten issues... period. These days, they're as long as they need to be. Volume 14 contains sixteen issues, including Marvel Premiere #43, a solo Paladin adventure. I don't want these posts to become too long to read (or to write), so I'm going to post what I have so far, giving anyone who has anything to say about #144-150 the opportunity to do so while I finish off reading the rest of the volume.
No one? All right, moving on...
MMW DAREDEVIL v14 (con't):
#151: Gil Kane returns to co-plot as well as pencil. Incoming writer Roger McKenzie scripts over the Shooter/Kane plot. Klaus Janson inks. This is one of the comics I bought as a backissue years ago after I became interested in the Frank Miller Daredevil run. Now that Heather has learned that Matt is Daredevil, he explains to her why he refused to defend her father. Then he informs her that her father committed suicide that moring, which goes over about as well as one might expect. She tosses him out on his ear, and he goes home to wreck his apartment and vow never to become Daredevil again. His resolve lasts about two days.
Two days later, Foggy visits Matt at his brownstone, which is still a wreck, and convinces him to come in to work. He does, but when he learns that Heather has disappeared without a trace, he goes back home again. On the radio is a newsreport about a hijacked bus which, of course, passes Matt on his way back home. He ignores it, however, and the bus strikes a little boy who chased a ball out into the street. This snaps him out of his funk, he switches to Daredevil and stops the bus. Later the boy recovers. Matt's "recovery" reminds me a whole lot of Spider-Man's origin story.
#152: Carmine Infantino returns one final time for Roger McKenzie's first outing as full writer; as usual, Klaus Janson inks. The issue opens at Maxwell Glenn's funeral. Heather is not there, but Foggy (whose fiancée Glenn confessed to kidnapping) is. A photo-journalist gets in Foggy's face and Foggy punches him unconscious. Later, he almost starts to drown his troubles in a glass of whiskey but stops himself. He tries to call Debbie, but she refuses to take his call. Outside the window, Daredevil overhears and decides to take matters into his own hands... by kidnapping her. This seems to me to be an odd method of treatment for someone suffing trauma from having been kidnapped, but what do I know? He takes her to Central Park to a path Foggy takes home from work every night. they meet face-to-face, kiss, and she's magically cured!
Meanwhile, Death-Stalker kills a scientist at Stark International, Los angeles division, and steals a piece of equipment. Back in Central Park, Daredevil interferes with Paladin, who's trying to capture one of the Purple Man's thugs. Paladin shoots Daredevil with a stun-gun, kncoking him unconscious, but the Thug gets away. I mentioned before that this voluime of MMW includes a Paladin solo story from Marvel Premiere #43. I like that Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier includes "extras" such as this. The Paladin story is by Don McGregor and Tom Sutton.
Daredevil returns home at 2AM to be greeted by a phone call from the missing Heather Glenn. she insists that he join her immediately at her place. As he appraoches the window, we see two gun-weilding silhouettes inside.
#153: Gene Colan returns but Klaus Janson leaves! He is replaced as inker by Tony DeZuniga. This is also Jim Shooter's first issue as editor-in-chief. The third "new arrival" is Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich. Whatever happened after Daredevil arrived at Heather's apartment is already over; this entire issue is a flashback as Urich types up the story. The "gun-weilding silhouettes" were something of a red herring. Hyde has a gun and does fires it, but he tosses it away almost immediately. What are they doing in Hather's apartment? The rest of the issue is an extended fight scene, with Daredevil being defeated an captured in the end. On his way to work the following moring, Foggy steps on a newspaper carrying Urich's story. He and Debbie have reconciled and the wedding is back on.
#154: In this issue, Roger McKenzie and Gene Colan are joined by inker Steve Leialoha. Daredevil awakens in Ryker's Island penitentiary where everyone, inmates and guards alike, is under the control of Killgrave the Purple Man. Heather Glenn is also there, mind-controlled as well. Most of the issue is one big battle, starting with Daredevil vs. the Cobra, Mr. Hyde, the Jester and the Gladiator in an arena-like setting (complete with a double-page spread by Colan and Leialoha). Paladin shows up on page eleven and fights on Daredevil's side. He is able to overcome the Purple Man's power through sheer force of will, but just barely. Luckily he is able to seal off his costume from outside stimuli, which includes the use of "radar screens" which drop in front of his eyes. Killgrave has Heather hold a gun to her head, but Daredevil grabs Paladin's stun-gun and shoots the gun out of her hand. Daredevil chases Killgrave to a watchtower where he falls to his death in the river below. Daredevil and Heather walk off arm-in-arm.
#155: I bought #155-157 as backissues in the '80s because they guest-starred the Avengers: Captain America, the Beast, Black Widow and Hercules. Technically, the latter two were former Avengers who were guests in the mansion following the break-up of their previous team, the Champions. Of course, the main draw with that is that Black Widow is Daredevil's former squeeze. I don't remember specifically, but I must have been pretty disappointed when I took #155 out of its bag to find that the art for this issue was done by Franks Robbins and Frank Springer. Frank Robbins is one of those artists, like Gene Colan and Mike Sekowsky, whose style didn't appeal to me when I was a kid, but I just love now. [Ten [soon to be eleven) volumes of Johnny Hazard will do that to you.] But when am I going to get to see Gene Colan inked by Klaus Janson? My ideal Daredevil team would be Frank Miller writing, Gene Colan penciling and Klaus Janson inking. But I digress.
The issue opens with Daredevil struck by a debilitating headache, for no apparent reason, as he swings across the city (which, like #151, is a very "Spider-Man" thing). From out of the garbage in the alley (?) arises the Death-Stalker, vowing revenge. Matt Murdock arrrives at work to find a line of women waiting to interview for the secretary position Foggy advertised but didn't tell his partner about. They end up hiring new supporting character Becky Blake, who uses a wheelchair. When Matt learns that Natasha is staying at Avengers Mansion, he switches to Daredevil and swings on over there. On the way he is hit with another debilitating headache.By the time he arrives, he attacks the four who are there, shouting, "That's right, witch... it's Daredevil! And... you'll not escape me... again! This time... You'll pay... for the pain... and the suffering... you brought me! And... you'll pay dearly!"
#156: Klaus Janson inking Gene Colan at last! This art team will reamin in place for one more issue, then it is the debut of you-know-who in #157. Colan an dJanson treat readers to no fewer than four full-page panels this issue, but most of the story is an hallucination (apparently brought on by a concussion when Mr. Hyde slammed Daredevil's head into a wall, which also accounts for Daredevil's headaches and erratic behavior). Cliffhanger: Death-Stalker is about to kill Deredevil in his hospital bed.
#157: Captain AMerica and the other Avengers arrive just in time, but Death-Stalker gets away. Black Widow plants a big ol' sloppy his on Daredevil, much to Hercules' chagrin. Hercules and the Black Widow have just broken up, and she is looking to renew her romance with Daredevil on the rebound. But Matt is seeing Heather now, so the next day, while the two of them are working out in the Avengers' gym, he mildly rebuffs her. Next he visits Heather. On his way, a shadowy figure with cat-like eyes wacthes from a rooftop. Heather is cool to Matt at first, but they soon reconcile. Another shadowy figure, this one with wings, flaps outside the window.
The next day at the storefront offices of Nelson & Murdock, Heather and Natasha both arrive for dates with Matt. Becky, too, silently pines for him. Suddenly the Unholy Three (Cat-Man,Bird-Man and Ape-Man) break in throught he window on orders the Deathj-Stalker to kidnap Matt Murdock. (Actually, these are the new Unholy Three, as the originals were killed in Iron Man #116.) Matt moves to protect Heather. Natasha moves in to attack but is struck from behind and knocked unconscious by Bird-Man. Foggy attacks next, but is easily taken out by Gorilla-Man. then the Unholy Three move toweard Matt.
#158: The splash page blurb reads: "From time to time a truly great artist will explode upon the Marvel scene like a bombshell! [We] confidently predict newcomer--Lanky FRANK MILLER is just such an artist!" Matt allows himself to be abducted by the Unholy Three in order to avoid further harm to the others. Natasha recovers and moves to help him, but is called back by Heather who hints that she knows Matt's secret. Becky throws a paperweight or somethings at Bird-Man, allowing him to be taken into custody by Natasha. The other two are only too happy to abandon him so that they can enjoy a two-way split of their fee. They take him to a cemetary where Death-Stalker reveals his true identity. I have read this story before, but I never can hold in my head just who the Death-Stalker is. He ends up being the Exterminator, who worked with the original Unholy Three and was presumed killed in #41 (see v4 above). While Cat-Man and Ape-Man are counting their money, Death-Stalker sneaks up on them from behind and kills them. He fights Daredevil for seven pages until he materializes within a tombstone and kills himself. On the last page, Matt falls asleep at his desk and Becky overhears him mutter Natasha's name and is crushed.
I actually am reading with interest, and am formulating a longer reply. I have a much different perspective, having read Daredevil in real time, starting with issue #3. Honestly, I prefer your perspective!
I did read most of the issues of Daredevil included in Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Volumes #12 and #13, which was about when I started reading comics in earnest. The story arc in #134-#136 in which The Jester manipulates the media to destroy Daredevil's reputation and turn him into Public Enemy Number One are still instructive today about the harm doen by irresponsibile news organizations (not to mention outright propaganda machines masquerading as news organizations like Faux News). I found that three-page mockup of the Daily Bugle in issue #135 -- complete with a Page Three girl! -- endlessly fascinating.
A few bits of trivia that are probably only interesting for me:
At this point in time, Roger McKenzie was writing both Daredevil and Captain America, although he will not last much longer in either book. DD is a bimonthly (and will remain so until #170), Cap is a monthly. Frank Miller will take up the plots of Daredevil's book starting with #163; to say that it was a welcome change would be quite the understantement.
The very last issue that Jack discusses aboce, #158, was published about six weeks before Captain America #234. As it happens, Daredevil was featured very prominently in Cap #234-236, to the point of being the actual main character of #234. There aren't real breaks in the storyline, so #234-#236 must happen between issues #158 and #159 of Daredevil. Daredevil even returns to Avengers Mansion off-panel with Captain America at the midpoint of #236, after so recently making a fuss there in DD #156.
This was particularly disconcerting to me, almost to the point of suggesting a regular team-up, because the storyline resolved in #236 was both historically significant and came hot on the trail of Cap parking his partnership with Falcon in #230-231. If there ever came a time to experiment with a Cap/DD ongoing, this would be the perfect opportunity. They are even in similar psychological places after their most recent storylines, and both were teammates of the Black Widow (in very different capacities), who recently returned to NYC and has been tentatively revisiting her relationships there.
There material there for a decent character-oriented book, if the writers and editors had chosen to make the attempt.
On a quite unrelated note, Daredevil #136 may have inspired the creation of Arcade and his Murderwold a year later, in Marvel Team-Up #65. There is a line by Jester welcoming one of the mob bosses to the "Murder Maze" of death traps, which he is free to escape from if he can, although "no man has ever survived".
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