I have waited for years and years to own this comic and I never really dreamed I would, but now I do.
Daredevil is such an important character to me and has been a huge part of my life for such a long time now, so to own his first issue and his first appearance is absolutely astounding to me. I cannot believe it. It came in the mail this morning. I read it and immediately threw it into a plastic sleeve with a cardboard insert. It may never see the outside of that sleeve again.
I do think that it's only right I review it on this blog because it's a fantastic and immense issue for any collector or Daredevil fan. Without further ado, it gives me GREAT pleasure to present the latest edition of The Mast Looks Back.
Daredevil #1.
The story begins with a group of gangsters playing a card game, as Daredevil (Yellow suit and all) busts in and gives them all a beating whilst looking for their boss, The Fixer. During the fight Daredevil begins to daydream (I've never been THAT confident of a fighter myself) about how he come to be the hero we all know and love (We all meaning the fans).
I must say, as with X-Men #12 and any old comic really, some of the dialogue here is SHOCKING. Like, we're talking Batman-T.V.-series-with-Adam West shocking. Ok, maybe not that bad, but quite. Nevertheless, the action scenes are fantastically drawn for their time. Bill Everett supplies the art on this issue, accompanied by some impeccable inking by the mighty Steve Ditko.
If you've seen the movie, you'll have a basic grasp of how Matt Murdock's life turns around. His father, Battlin' Jack Murdock, was a boxer who wanted to give up fighting in hopes of his son not following the same path, opting to push him toward education instead. At this point, due to bullying, Matt has taken up training in secret so that he can take care of himself and defend himself against the bullies. It's actually quite a well-poised dynamic, really. Jack doesn't want his son to fight, but his son is training so that he can defend himself. Even here we see Matt's desire to protect rather than harm.
Eventually, trouble befalls Jack and he is forced to begin fighting for a very shady boxing promoter and criminal called...? Oh, go on. Guess. That's right, The Fixer. Matt remains unaware of this, but things are about to go from bad to worse. Every hero has an origin, but very few freak accident origins are as sad or tragic as Matt Murdock's. Whilst saving a blind man from almost getting run over, Matt is knocked over himself. The noxious chemical waste that the truck was carrying begins spilling into his eyes, leaving him blind.
Even with the very dated art, this is a truly painful scene. I'd love to see some kind of updated issue drawn by the likes of Deodato, De la Torre or Immonen.
Matt discovers that his remaining four senses functioned with ascended and superhuman sharpness. Daredevil's sense of touch is such that he can read letters by feeling the ink on the page, he can hear a heartbeat from a fair distance away and all other manner of things. Unhindered by his loss of sight, Matt continues his training and goes to law school where he meets his life-long best friend, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. Combined with his father's renewed career and self-esteem, things seemed to be looking up for the Murdock family.
All is not as it seems, however, because The Fixer is about to call in a favour. He orders Jack to throw a fight and, when he refuses, proceeds to have Jack killed in cold blood. After the funeral, Matt tries his best to push on with life by graduating law school and opening the now famous Nelson & Murdock law firm (Matt has been hired by a number of his hero friends throughout the years), hiring a woman named Karen Page to be their secretary. Kevin Smith once remarked that this is one of the few times where a lawyer had been seen in a heroic and positive light.
As well as graduating and starting a business, the vengeful Matt Murdock opts to become a costumed vigilante by the name of Daredevil. He modifies his walking stick into an extendable billy club to fight with, as well as using it as a grappling hook to traverse New York City's rooftops.
The comic brings us back to the present where Daredevil is still handing out a whooping to The Fixer's gambling men. Elsewhere, Foggy tries to find Matt in order to help him get to work, but isn't successful. Upon asking Karen Page if she has seen him, they have a conversation that hints to a slight attraction to Matt on her part as she expresses sympathy for his condition (Karen Page would go on to become one of Daredevil's most important cast members).
Matt tracks The Fixer down using his powerfully augmented senses, finding him in a subway station. He switches into his Daredevil guise and hunts The Fixer down, chasing him throughout the subway. Terrified, The Fixer suffers a heart attack and dies from the strain. Satisfied that justice has been served, Daredevil returns to his civilian clothing and shows up for work, where the rest of his co-workers are glad to see him, despite expressing concern for his wellbeing.
The issue ends here.
I have to say, with the exception of some dire dialogue, this is one of the very best origin comics I've read. Not only does it give you a fairly plausible origin, but it provides a perfect starting point for the exploits of Marvel's THEN newest and most unique hero.
I think his costume is utterly dire, but there's a joke a friend and I have regarding that. He's blind, so it's not surprising he looked like he got dressed in the dark. He changes into the now legendary all-red suit in Daredevil #7 (Which is next on my list), and the yellow suit is fashion faux-pas history.
Needless to say, you're not gonna get this comic in any kind of decent, readable condition without shelling out £400 or more - a Daredevil #1 of 9.0 grading or above will go for no less than £2,500 - so that tells you how much I paid. So unless you're a madly passionate collector with the money to buy this, umm...don't? Haha. I DO think this origin tale is worth reading, though. So, for those of you who want it but don't want the single issue, you can pick it up as part of the Essential Daredevil (Vol. 1) collected edition. It's available at all comic stores worth their salt, Amazon.Com etc. It's pretty cheap too, and you get Daredevil #1-#12.
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Well, how about that? I promised an epic retro review and I provided adequately, I'd say.
My next post will be tomorrow, Thursday's Comics, and it involves Siege #2! So, if you're as excited as I am for the continuation of this epic event, you won't wanna miss out. I've had some spoiler free conversations and everyone has said it blows the first issue away, and then some.
On Saturday, expect a rather cool post. It should be kind of fun and may even be co-wrote!
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Tell your friends, whore my link around if you wish. The more readers, the better.
Until next time, peace.
-The Mast
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