ONCE UPON THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR!
J David Weter and The Irredeemable Shag find their joy discussing one of their all-time favorite characters, the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen - Marvel’s DAREDEVIL! To help celebrate Daredevil's 60th Anniversary, we discuss why we love the character, our favorite runs, thoughts about DD on-screen, and take a blind leap into Daredevil (vol 1) #268 by Ann Nocenti & John Romita Jr!
Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?
- Leave comments on the FIRE & WATER PODCAST website: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/ouag18/
- Follow J David Weter:
- Dave's Daredevil Podcast: http://daredevil.davesmarveluniverse.com/
- The Bat-Pod: https://www.thebatpod.com/
- See Shag's social media posts related to this episode:
This episode brought to you by InStockTrades: http://instocktrades.com
Follow Once Upon a Geek:
- Subscribe via Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/once-upon-a-geek/id1615296641
- Subscribe via other podcatchers: http://feeds.feedburner.com/onceuponageek
- Also available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible and Google Podcasts
- Follow Once Upon A Geek on TWITTER: @onceuponageek
- Follow Once Upon A Geek on BLUESKY: @onceuponageek.bsky.social
- Follow Once Upon A Geek on INSTAGRAM: @onceuponageekpodcast
- Like the Once Upon A Geek FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/onceuponageekpodcast/
This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:
- Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com
- Follow Fire & Water on TWITTER: @FWPodcasts
- Follow Fire & Water on BLUESKY: @fwpodcasts.bsky.social
- Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page: https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
- Support The Fire & Water Podcast Network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fwpodcasts
Life is short. Focus on the positive. Find Your Joy.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Great episode (and thanks for the insight credit), and you’ve used one of my favorite issues of Daredevil as an example too. When I think of DD’s senses, the first story I think of is this one, and how we basically come to understand the story is through those senses. This and the Acts of Vengeance Ultron issues make this “proto-Vertigo” as much as Morrison’s Animal Man and Doom Patrol (which did not carry the Vertigo imprint – something we easily forget), and it’s the run that made me a life-long fan even if I came in with O’Neil (but I was reading those issues borrowed from a friend, not yet dropping 75¢ a month).
To the next 60 years!
I remember, if not fondly, definitely vividly, the Typhoid Mary storyline. This was my “Batman phase” of Daredevil. I still check in with the character from time to time, but until this podcast I don’t think I could put my finger on why I’m not a more regular reader: It’s hard to read about a character who regularly sabotages his own life.
Overall I really like the character: his origin, his powers, his secret identity, his career and how they all blend together.
Was anybody else’s first introduction to Daredevil from those single color plastic statues around 1970 with the “pie in the face” pose? They came in different colors and my Daredevil was appropriately red. (Compared to the lime green Spider-Man which I also had meant the colors couldn’t be trusted.) I had no idea who he was or what special powers he had, but I *knew* it had to have something to do with his “stop” pose. Could he stop bullets with it? Could he shoot laser beams? I had no idea, but he still looked cool.
(Hopefully the link to the image works here:)
http://www.toymania.com/archives/ironman/marxmarvel.jpg
Yes! I have tried to describe those plastic Marvel statues to people for years and no one else seems to have had them. My Daredevil–and my Spider-Man and Captain America–were orange while Iron Man and, of all characters, the Hulk were red. My dog eventually got hold of them and chewed them up a bit, but I still kept them.
I’m excited that you’re doing an episode on daredevil.
I’m reading daredevil I’m reading mighty marvel master works vol.2 I’m one issue 18 and Foggy is pretending to be daredevil to impress there secretary. And the gladiator. Shows up .
My daredevil origins is with the spider-man vs daredevil dvd I’ve only recently gotten to character in comics .
The truth is that I never really got into Daredevil. I am not a big Frank Miller fan and he cast quite a shadow over the character when I was really getting into comics. The one issue that I do remember having was drawn by Miller but written by Roger McKenzie with whom I am not familiar. I remember the cover quite well as the Death-Stalker is rising up behind Daredevil in a cemetery. The Ani-Men also made an appearance.
In recent years, multiple great reviews convinced me to check out Mark Waid’s run and I am so glad that I did. He and Chris Samnee definitely created some fantastic comics. The Charles Soule issues were pretty good too.
The funny thing is that Matt Murdock frequently tops the list of “comic characters/super-heroes of faith” and I am a professional clergyperson so I always felt like I should dig deeper into Daredevil. Perhaps, this will give me some inspiration.
Duh! The issue that I reference above is #158.
My guys recorded our 60th anniversary episode on Saturday night, so my 90 minute response will be out in a few days. However, we were all recently recovered or still recovering from illness, and pressed for time, so I didn’t bother to use any of the notes I’d made in preparation. I guess it would be better to have them read as a comment here in a few episodes to a larger audience than to record a back-end solo addendum. Also, I listened to the episode Sunday morning after what I thought was the end of my sleeping, but doing so under covers with eyes closed meant I had to restart a couple times, and still haven’t progressed into the single issue synopsis. Ignorance and negligence never stopped me before, though!
I was trying to figure out when I first made Daredevil’s acquaintance, and I must say it took a while for a proper introduction. I have no memory of seeing a DD comic on the newsstand until at least the O’Neil/Jansen years. However, he was featured in a number of house ads for subscriptions (remember the one with Turk holding a huge weight while Kingpin looked on?) posters, or the Fireside edition Son of Origins. I think the first comic I bought with DD on the cover was, can you believe it, Alpha Flight #1? He was also at Hawkeye’s funeral a season later, and I did end up with my step-cousins’ Astonishing Spider-Man treasury edition that goofed on the Man without Fear. My first proper issue was the improper Assistant Editors’ Month issue, Daredevil #202, followed by #209 with the swarm of little girl robots. In between, I learned about his billy club in the last issue of OHOTMU volume 1.
It took until 1986 before I started reading with any regularity, during the Ann Nocenti run. I got a good education in Marvel Sage 13, which recounted his Lee/Everett origin with lots of Frank Miller details added. I used that cover for our album art. I was still a Spider-Man reader, so when I wasn’t getting a taste for Matt in his own stories, he was still turning up in arcs like “The Death of Jean DeWolff” and “Gang War.”
At one point in our show, Fixit referenced reading a Dardevil What If…? written by Frank Miller, and I corrected him assuming he meant the alternate universe “Born Again” from the second series (by Danny Fingeroth and Greg Capullo.) It’s just as likely he meant that Busiek/McDonnell one where Punisher killed Daredevil, but regardless, I completely forgot that Miller wrote & drew “What If Bullseye Had Not Killed Elektra” from vol. 1 #35, plus drew “Matt Murdock, Agent of… S.H.I.E.L.D.” in #28. I had both of those issues from out of cheapie bins, but they were not brought to mind when it counted.
One bit of merch I didn’t notice if you noted that I still have 50% of is TSR’s One-on-One Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Gamebooks: Daredevil vs. Kingpin. I think I bought the two-book set in a slipcase from Circus World toy store, rather than Waldenbooks or B. Dalton, so it was probably on deep discount. Anyway, one player would be Daredevil, and the other would be Kingpin. Each player got a heavily illustrated Choose Your Own Adventure style branching narrative book, but also the books would collide at various points. Rather than getting to make a choice, the players would engage in combat using dice and a combat table on the back of each book. The narrative would then advance in the individual books based on who won each of three rounds, or “phase,” when the books intersected. I only played it once with my best friend at the time, and for some reason years later I separated the books. I let a Kingpin out into the world without a mate, but NBD, you can get the pair on eBay for $30-60. Mine looks okay on the outside, aside from some wear and cracks, but the inside front covers have dark brown grocery sack acid burns from the cheap paper and likely exposure to extreme temperatures. There’s no art credit that I can find, and I don’t recognize the style. There’s a bunch of notable and a few very unexpected guest stars, plus a panel of Natasha Romanoff in a transparent teddy (for a random mostly non-thrill, but surprising nonetheless.)
By the way, my guys were not very enthusiastic Daredevil readers, so I’m available if you ever want to dive deeper into your Typhoid kink. I got into her once Steve Lightle started doing the art on her recurring Marvel Comics Presents appearances. I have several trades that I have yet to crack, including “A Touch of Typhoid” (Daredevil Epic Collection 13) and “Typhoid’s Kiss” (collecting the MCP material, Spectacular Spider-Man guest stint, and her solo prestige mini-series.)
60 years of Rolled Spine. Time flies!
I haven’t been on this planet for sixty years, but you and Shag have been doing this a lot longer than me. Are we close enough for a countdown clock? Is Rob cutting back on podcasts to make time for the birthday party?
That’s what you get for being a context cop! :p
It’s the kind of wordplay I was told in English Lit class was the lowest form of humor, but I can’t help myself.
I was trying to trace my Daredevil interests, and decided to go and find out which covers looked familiar.
Now, growing up in the Philippines, the sources of comics in the 70s were: a) comics that found their way in through American forces through the U.S. bases at the time; b) informally imported comics; c) strange reprints by National Bookstore which had none of the ads, but all the comics. Another way was through collections of friends who got them through the above sources… or had bought them on a trip to the U.S. I’m fairly certain that my first encounter came from option c for Daredevil #130 to 134. All the covers are shockingly familiar to me, because I proably read them multiple times at the Green Rose Barber shop when I had my hair cut. They used to get those reprint comics and have them ready for kids to read when having their hair cut.
That was my first exposure to Daredevil — a mix of action & adventure, melodrama & mystery! Because of the inconsistency of that source though, I lapsed in my reading, with only #158 looking familiar from 1979 looking familiar.
He fell off my radar during that time; I missed the entire Electra arc, only to be hooked once more by the stunning cover to “SAVED” (issue #231). From there, I had already found a regular source of comics was able to collect back issues and the rest of the Born Again storyline, before dropping off Daredevil again.
Restarted collecting with the Fall from Grace storyline, then ended around the time when he ditched the Red & Grey outfit. I’m not sure why I’ve been on-and-off with Daredevil. I think I do like the character, but I probably subconsciously find reasons to stop when a particular storyline or character arc has ended, but keep checking in to see if the current one is more to my taste.
Long live Matt (and Mike?) Murdock. Man, I was soooooo confused by Mike Murdock back in the day. The lack of access to back issues had me trolling any collections from friends just to find out who this sudden sibling was.
“Fell off my radar.” Hee hee!
I really enjoyed this conversation. At some point, DD became my favorite character, overtaking Spider-Man. Like you both pointed out, Matt was definitely the more flawed on a personal level.
Matt seemed to want to right the wrongs of his childhood. Growing up in a poor neighborhood, among people the system forgot about. Seeing what broken homes and abuse can do to kids as they grow up into troubled teens. But he was also in denial about his own upbringing, and I think he believes that he escaped that world, but everything he does is connected to it. And without confronting that trauma in a healthy way, hes always going to crash and burn in his personal life.
I loved your story about hiding the DD comic and how it was basically your own version of The Telltale Heart.
As far as a story arc, I always come back to Born Again. It’s one of those perfect comics. Everything works, but Mazzucchelli’s art is probably why I love it so much. The pacing. The cinematic nature of the storytelling. Even now, those panels where Matt is fighting on the roof and Karen is running in the alley. It gets the hair on the back of my neck standing up every time I read it.
Thanks so much for putting this together. I could have listened to this one all day.
Hi Shag. Great Daredevil episode.
I started reading and collecting comics in late 1981 or early 1982, so it would have been around the end of the first Frank Miller run. I clearly remember having #182, the issue with the cover of Matt hugging Elekta’s tombstone.
I also remember quite strongly having the Spider-Man and Daredevil Special Edition one-shot from 1984 reprinting Miller’s two issues of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man guest-starring Daredevil, and the four issue Elektra Saga mini-series. I ended up picking up Daredevil from 1982 all the way to 2011 or so when I stopped buying everything comics (the start of my nine year “hiatus from comics”).
I also found your story of fearing that the visiting Reverend would somehow know about your hidden issue of Daredevil quite entertaining. I couldn’t help but wonder how much worse your anxiety would have been if it was a “Son of Satan” issue! Being raised in a Christian home, I still remember the conflicting feelings I had about that issue of Marvel Team-Up featuring the Human Torch and the Son of Satan! (And I don’t think I bought my first issue of Doctor Strange until 1988’s “Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme” series for the same reason. Although I did have issues of other titles that he would occasionally guest star in.)
Again, great show. I recommend you do an episode on those two Miller Spectacular Spider-Man issues with Daredevil at some point.
David Young
Brandon, Florida
I really enjoyed this episode and Frank’s on the same topic. I should probably reread my Daredevil comics.