{"id":29217,"date":"2024-01-12T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T09:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=29217"},"modified":"2024-01-11T17:50:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T17:50:35","slug":"mighty-marvel-masterworks-daredevil-volume-2-alone-against-the-underworld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/01\/12\/mighty-marvel-masterworks-daredevil-volume-2-alone-against-the-underworld\/","title":{"rendered":"Mighty Marvel Masterworks Daredevil volume 2: Alone Against the Underworld"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Stan Lee<\/strong>, Denny O\u2019Neil<\/strong>, John Romita<\/strong>, Gene Colan<\/strong>, with Jack Kirby<\/strong>, Frank Giacoia<\/strong>, Mike Esposito<\/strong>, Dick Ayers<\/strong>, <\/strong>Bill Everett<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-3440-8 (PB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another year of significant anniversaries so let\u2019s say many happy returns for the swinging sixtieth of the rather tastelessly characterised \u201cSightless Swashbuckler\u201d and latter-day meanly moody Man Without Fear Daredevil<\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

As the remnants of Atlas Comics grew in popularity in the early 1960s it slowly replaced its broad variety of genre titles with more and more superheroes. The recovering powerhouse that would be Marvel was still hampered by a crippling distribution deal that limited the company to 16 titles (curtailing their output until 1968), so each new untried book would have to be certain of success.<\/p>\n

Moreover, as costumed characters were selling, each new similarly-themed title would limit the breadth of the monster, western, war, humour or girls\u2019 comics that had been the outfit\u2019s recent bread and butter. It was putting a lot of eggs in one basket, and superheroes had failed twice before for Stan Lee. It all worked out in the end though\u2026<\/p>\n

Back then, Matt Murdock<\/em> was a blind lawyer whose remaining senses hyper-compensate, enabling him to perform astonishing acrobatic feats and fight like a demon. A formidable fighter for justice in both identities and a living lie-detector, he was very much a second-string hero for most of his early years.<\/p>\n

Daredevil<\/strong> was nonetheless a striking and popular one, due in large part to the roster of brilliant artists who illustrated the strip. He battled thugs, gangsters, a plethora of super-villains and even the occasional monster or alien invasion, quipping and wise-cracking his way through life and life-threatening combat. His civilian life consisted of assorted legal conundra and manfully standing back while quenching his own feelings as his portly best friend and partner Franklin \u201cFoggy\u201d Nelson<\/em> vainly romanced their secretary Karen Page, <\/em>With Lee and a rotating line-up of artists plugging on, concocting some extremely engaging tales until the latest Marvel Sensation could find his feet.<\/p>\n

That transition forms the meat of this potent compilation: part of a series of Mighty Marvel Masterworks<\/strong> available as kid-friendly digest paperbacks and eBooks. It traces the move from morose masked avenger to wisecracking Scarlet Swashbuckler, gathering Daredevil<\/strong> #12-21 (January 1965-October 1966) into one boldly boisterous package of thrills and spills.<\/p>\n

The previous year had seen Golden Age giant Wally Wood leave his own unmistakable mark on the series but with his departure Lee turned to an old pal who had left during the harshest days of the Atlas implosion. He was to eventually become Marvel\u2019s top – and most loyal – superstar\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018Sightless, in a Savage Land!\u2019 <\/em>was laid out by Jack Kirby and illustrated by John Romita. The latter had worked for Timely\/Atlas in the 1950s before moving to relatively steady work on National\/DC\u2019s romance comics, as well as freelance advertising. He returned to take DD <\/strong>on an epic quest, guest-starring Tarzan<\/strong>-tribute act Ka-Zar<\/em>, ranging from the dinosaur-haunted Savage Land <\/em>via an extended battle with high-tech pirates led by The Plunderer<\/em> to Jolly Olde England-land (in #13\u2019s \u2018The Secret of Ka-Zar\u2019s Origin!\u2019<\/em>) and ultimately to a US Early Warning Base (#14, \u2018If This be Justice\u2026!\u2019<\/em>, and with what I\u2019m sure is some un-credited assistance from George Tuska).<\/p>\n

With this multi-part, globe-girdling epic, Daredevil began to confirm his persona as a wisecracking one-man war on evil: a front that would carry him all the way to the grim \u2018n\u2019 gritty Frank Miller days, far, far in the future. Romita\u2019s graceful, flamboyant style and expressiveness imparted new energy into the character (especially since Frank Ray n\u00e9 Giacoia had been inking the series since #14).<\/p>\n

DD<\/strong> #15\u2019s \u2018\u2026And Men Shall Call Him\u2026 Ox!\u2019<\/em> showed the artist\u2019s facility for explosive superhero action as the dim strongman last seen in #6 resurfaced, albeit in a new and sinister fashion as the lummox is made the subject of a macabre brain-swapping experiment\u2026<\/p>\n

When a certain webslinger guest-starred in #16, little did anyone suspect how soon Romita would be leaving\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018Enter\u2026 Spider-Man!\u2019<\/em> introduces criminal mastermind Masked Marauder<\/em> who has big plans; the first of which is to get DD and the wallcrawler to kill each other. With follow-up \u2018None are so Blind\u2026\u2019<\/em>, a convoluted a sub-plot began which would lead to some of the highest and lowest moments of the early Daredevil series, beginning after the wondrous wallcrawler accuses Foggy of being the Man Without Fear! Although the webspinner quickly realizes his mistake, others present don\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n

Issue #18\u2019s \u2018There Shall Come a Gladiator!\u2019<\/em> introduces the manic armoured villain and archetypal super-thug in a tale two-thirds scripted by legend-in-waiting Denny O\u2019Neil. Here Foggy seeks to sway Karen by bolstering the ridiculous idea that he is Daredevil\u2026 and almost perishes as a result of his deception.<\/p>\n

DD <\/strong>#19 then sees the Masked Marauder ally with Gladiator in action-packed big fight tale \u2018Alone\u2026 Against the Underworld!\u2019<\/em>: a fitting farewell for Romita who was moving over to Amazing Spider-Man<\/strong> after Steve Ditko\u2019s abrupt, controversial and utterly unexpected departure.<\/p>\n

Originally tipped for a fill-in issue, Gene Colan came aboard as penciller with #20\u2019s \u2018The Verdict is: Death!\u2019<\/em> and inked by Mike Esposito (as Mickey DeMeo). Colan\u2019s superbly humanistic drawing and facility with expressions was a little jarring at first – since he drew Daredevil in a passable Romita imitation and everything else in his own style – but he soon settled in and this two-part revenge thriller featuring The Owl<\/em> (concluding with the Giacoia, Dick Ayers & Bill Everett inked \u2018The Trap is Sprung!\u2019<\/em>) is a fine beginning to his long, fabulously impressive run on the series, incorporating the Man Without Fear\u2019s battle against his ferocious arch-foe, an army of thugs, deadly flying robots and even an exploding volcano to keep the readers on their toes\u2026<\/p>\n

Augmented by a pulse-pounding house ad, this classy compendium is a nostalgic delight for one and all: a truly magnificent example of Marvel\u2019s compelling formula for success combining smart stories, human characters and magnificent illustration. If you\u2019ve not read these tales before I strongly urge you to rectify that error as soon as superhumanly possible.
\n\u00a9 2023 MARVEL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Stan Lee, Denny O\u2019Neil, John Romita, Gene Colan, with Jack Kirby, Frank Giacoia, Mike Esposito, Dick Ayers, Bill Everett & various (MARVEL) ISBN: 978-1-3029-3440-8 (PB\/Digital edition) It\u2019s another year of significant anniversaries so let\u2019s say many happy returns for the swinging sixtieth of the rather tastelessly characterised \u201cSightless Swashbuckler\u201d and latter-day meanly moody Man … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Mighty Marvel Masterworks Daredevil volume 2: Alone Against the Underworld”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,75,85,292,72,79,107,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-crime-comics","category-daredevil","category-ka-zar","category-marvel-masters-masterworks","category-marvel-superheroes","category-science-fiction","category-spider-man"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7Bf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29217"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29246,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29217\/revisions\/29246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}