A review by dantastic
Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson - Volume 1 by

4.0

Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson volume 1 contains Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #27-#28, and Daredevil #158-#161 and #163-#172.

For a lot of his life before this volume, Daredevil was strictly a b-lister, a poor man's Spider-Man. In this volume, even before Frank Miller takes the writing reins as well as the art, begins the shift toward something more.

Quite a bit of what would later wind up on the Netflix show is introduced or refined here. Ben Urich deduces Daredevil's identity. Bullseye firmly establishes himself as Daredevil's arch-nemesis. Elektra is introduced. And probably the most impactful, the Kingpin and Daredevil lock horns for the first time. People forget that The Kingpin was a Spider-Man villain for a decade before he entered Daredevil's life.

The Spider-Man tales are Frank Miller's first experience with Daredevil, helping a blind Spider-Man take on the Masked Marauder. They aren't really linked to the rest of the tales other than featuring Daredevil. The Daredevil issues feature Black Widow, Daredevil's current girlfriend Heather Glenn, Bullseye, The Gladiator, the Mauler, Doctor Octopus, Bullseye, Elektra, and the Kingpin. That glosses over a lot of stuff, like Daredevil trying to stop a rampaging Hulk and winding up in the hospital.

With Roger MacKenzie at the helm, Daredevil was battling street level villains. Once Frank Miller takes the reins, the crime element increases exponentially and Daredevil gets caught in the Kingpin's orbit. Frank Miller's art is still in its embryonic phase, not yet where he would end up on Dark Knight Returns a few years later, but still a couple notches above a lot of the artists of the time period.

Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson volume 1 is the beginning of Daredevil's metamorphosis from second-rate poor man's Spider-man to what he would later become in Miller's hands. Four out of five stars.