Daredevil Epic Collection, Vol. 4: A Woman Called Widow

Daredevil Epic Collection

by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway

One of Daredevil's most iconic eras kicks off as he begins his relationship with the Black Widow!

Daredevil heads out to the Left Coast in a quest to earn back the love of Karen Page - and L.A. has never been stranger! A cast of bizarre and action-packed enemies stands between DD and the woman he loves! Then, back in the Big Apple, Daredevil teams up with the Black Panther and joins forces with Iron Man and Nick Fury. And one of the greatest eras in the history of the Man Without Fear begins when Daredevil and Black Widow become partners! Together, they face Spider-Man, the Sub-Mariner, the Man-Bull, the Owl, the Scorpion and more. But drama and tension are brewing... With the Black Widow in Daredevil's life, what will become of Matt Murdock's relationship with the lovely Karen Page?

DAREDEVIL (1964) #64-86 and IRON MAN (1968) #35-36

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Crime, Collections, Fiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published October 22, 2019

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daredevil #64-67 - Daredevil’s first trip out west to find Karen Page. The biggest problem is that she doesn’t want to be found. We kick things off with the return of Stunt-Master, then segue to a 2-parter that launches Karen’s new career in show business and might just end it as quickly as it started. Wrapping this west coast jaunt is a tale featuring the menace of Stilt-Man and one last spin with Stunt-Master. These yarns were drawn, as was most of this volume, by the gentleman Gene Colan with Roy Thomas. Handling the writing chores, although Gary Friedrich added some help with #67.

Daredevil #68-71 - Colan and Thomas as back, as Murdock returns to NYC aka Fun City. They start off with a tale of the boxing ring, harkening back to DD’s father. Then a social commentary storyline guest-starring the Black Panther. And wrapping up this string is a 2-parter introducing a new menace that’s actually quite topical as the similarities to a certain “Donny-the-whiney-baby” is frighteningly prophetic. Nothing particularly outstanding in these, other than Colan’s breathtakingly beautiful art.

Daredevil #72, Iron Man #35, Daredevil #73 & material from Iron Man #36 - Gerry Conway comes on board as the new regular author (and he’ll be handling those chose through the end of this volume, with the exception of Friedrich returning for #79). Starting things off we have the introduction of Tagak, the Lord of the Leopards. This is followed by a multipart crossover with Iron Man that also guest-stars Nick Fury and pits the heroes against some of the members of the cartel known as Zodiac. And this is not an auspicious start for Conway’s run on the title. The Tagak story really doesn’t amount to much, and the crossover is, well to put it bluntly, a complete disaster. The story makes no sense, even just looking at it from Iron Man’s perspective it is nothing both contrived nonsense, Daredevil is drawn into it for no reason whatsoever, and the opposing art styles of Colan and Don Heck do nothing to help an already directionless narrative.

Daredevil #74-81 - Colan and Conway continue their run, with Colan’s art being the only real reason to bother with this title, leaving Conway with a real Sisyphean struggle to overcome. We start off this block of issues with that has some interesting aspects, but doesn’t get well developed. Then there’s a contrived 2-parter in the fictional nation of Delvadia, some where in South America. The next issue guest-stars both Spider-Man and Namor for a bit of a 3-way. Unfortunately, there’s little reason for DD to be involved in this fracas as is made clear when the unfinished story continues in the pages of The Sub-Mariner without including DD. The 2-parter that introduces the Man-Bull, the conclusion of which is scripted by Friedrich from a plot by Conway. And rounding out this block of stories is another 2-parter that changes the life of Matt Murdock and sends him down an unanticipated road. It begins with the Owl, includes a new android assassin, and more teasing of a mysterious criminal mastermind, before ending with Daredevil being rescued by the Black Widow, twice.

Daredevil #82-86 - These last five issues in this volume focus on introducing Daredevil to the Black Widow, and he’s never going to be the same again. The Black Widow’s story picks up, more or less, from her solo-adventures in Amazing Adventures #1-8 (see: Black Widow Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Beware the Black Widow or Black Widow: The Sting of the Widow). As for our antagonists? How does the Scorpion, Mr. Hyde, and an almost surreal wrapup for the ongoing Mr. Klein/Assassin storyline? It’s all kinds of bonkers when the truth gets revealed. Then there’s a flight back from Switzerland and a terrorist attack by the Gladiator while on the plane from Europe to NYC. And wrapping it all up is the return of the (original) Ox and a mixed up love story ending for the ages as Karen and Matt seem to patch things up, before finally and amicably parting ways. Oddly enough, the Black Widow is right there for Matt to rebound onto and like I said earlier, DD’s life will never be the same again. And Marvel will be providing its readers with another strong “superhero buddy” series.

There are a lot of really contrived stories in here, which is definitely a common occurance in this first decade of Daredevil narratives. But the art by Colan more than makes up for the deficiencies in the writing department. Just sigh and move on. Keep swinging and you’ll hardly notice all the narrative failings.

[Alex Andrasik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, just not good.

At one point, Daredevil is so bored with battling the stooges of a ghostly Central American revolutionary that he just laments his lovelife, or whatever, during his various jumps and kicks.

And the "Mr. Kline" saga...just, no. The absolute worst of the seat-of-the-pants model of plotting. An organized crime boss employs the Owl, the Scorpion, and Mr Hyde to manipulate DD and Black Widow into conflict so Black Widow goes on trial for murder as Kline takes on the guise of "the Assassin" which makes you think it'll be time for a bare-knuckle showdown but it turns out he's a robot from the future trying to prevent the end of humankind? Or something? None of it has to do with anything.

Meanwhile...Foggy Nelson, blackmailed on the basis of a bad decision from his past! We're given to understand this is from some murky youthful indiscretion, but the narrative loses its nerve and pins it to some silly misstep we already knew about in a previous issue. Karen pursues her acting career on the west coast and enters into a romantic relationship with her hapless agent Phil (probably not the best idea) while DD and Black Widow explore their attraction to each other; the whole thing can't possibly last more than a few days, but Karen and Phil manage to get engaged, and then Matt and Karen run into each other at the airport and fall into each other's arms. And then break up again like a day later. (If these people were our friends, we'd be very concerned.)

At one point Matt and the Widow are on a flight that gets hijacked by the Gladiator and Matt switches to DD (there is a lot of gunfire and wrist-saw slashing about the cockpit and general fuselage) and no one thinks to check the passenger manifest to be like "Ah-ha! Daredevil must be one of these people!"

Oh, and a guy called Bull gets turned into a half-man, half-bull monster.

Sorry, sorry, spoilers.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm probably being very generous giving this three stars since the vast majority of this volume was a slog to get through. So many outright horrid stories in here as we transition away from Roy Thomas and into Gerry Conway. The Gene Colan art carries a lot of weight here, and the only major saving grace, for me at least, comes near the end of the book as Black Widow is introduced to the title. Beyond that I don't have a lot to say about this volume. I only hope that things pick up a bit with the next one as I march towards the Frank Miller era and beyond.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A Woman Called Widow" is the fourth volume of the Daredevil Epic Collection line, and collects the conclusion of the Roy Thomas run and a major chunk of the Gerry Conway run. Gene Colan remains the primary artist for this stretch of issues, but there's contributions from Don Heck (for the two Iron Man issues), Alan Weiss, Barry Windsor-Smith and Bill Everett as well. The first stretch of this volume largely focuses on Daredevil spending time in LA, pining after Karen Page who has left New York for new opportunities. Seeing that Karen has moved on, Matt Murdock returns as a solo legal practitioner in New York, having corroded his friendship with Foggy Nelson who has become an Assistant District Attorney. A big issue with this stretch of Daredevil is how little time he spends as a lawyer (and indeed as Matt Murdock), and largely focuses on his time fighting eccentric but meaningless one-off villains.

Conway picks up the series with issue #72, and narrative doldrum continues with Daredevil crossing over with Iron Man in a rather forgettable team up and a subsequent trip to South America. The culmination of this stretch with issue #81 does mark a turning point for the series as Black Widow is finally introduced as a critical figure in the Daredevil mythos. Having rescued Daredevil from drowning, the pair end up working together on series of jobs that have them clash with Gladiator, Mr. Hyde, the Scorpion and more, and the stretch between #82-86 are genuinely entertaining.

Gene Colan's artwork is the main saving grace here, even if it is far from his best work. Much of this volume should just really be considered footnotes for the legacy of the character, since very little that is established here outside of the Black Widow/Daredevil partnership has much meaning in the post-Frank Miller redefined period.

[Caio Amaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neste volume temos (finalmente) um pouco mais de desenvolvimento da Karen Page, com sua recente carreira de atriz dando certo em Los Angeles, apesar do romance dramático com o Matt. Vale falar também um pouco do Foggy, que há várias edições já é District Attorney, isso faz com que o Demolidor (que é bem aceito pela sociedade) atue junto dele em diversos casos e investigações. Situação essa que traz um ótimo momento com o Homem-aranha se perguntando porque o Demolidor é tão querido por todo mundo enquanto ele é odiado. As histórias certamente têm seus deslizes (além do constante término entre Murdock e Page apenas para gerar conflito nas HQs) mas têm também pontos positivos, como o reforço da amizade com o Pantera Negra e a ótima inclusão da Viúva Negra! Uma introdução excelente, que mescla contatos tanto do Matt quanto do Demolidor com ela, em um arco que envolve seu julgamento por supostamente ter matado o vilão escorpião, colocando Matt e Foggy um contra o outro no tribunal e com uma discussão sobre o preconceito contra os russos (lembrando que são histórias dos anos 70). Tudo isso fez o romance entre Matt e Natasha muito melhor construído que com a Page! E o volume termina bem, pois, apesar das idas e voltas, encerra com o casal de ruivos juntos!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I waited so long for this collection to be reprinted and it was worth the wait. Now I want to be upfront with anyone not familiar with classic Daredevil comics. This is not primarily a superhero comic. It is a romance comic that features super hero fights. Featuring the Tribune, Scorpion, the Owl, the Gladiator, and a confusingly resurrected Ox.

The art is what got me into these old Daredevil issues, because we get a very long run of Gene Colan at this time. His stuff looks top notch when inked by Tom Palmer and kinda ugly when embellished by Syd Shores.

Foggy Nelson is blackmailed and his career has been ruined. But there’s no time for him. Instead Matt has to worry about the repercussions of telling Karen Page about his identity. She freaks out and moves away. Then he stalks her, because that’s what heroes do. And when this surprisingly does not work out, he meets and jumps into bed with Black Widow. She literally snags him less than a minute out of rebound. I’m sure this relation ship will work out. I haven’t read any modern Daredevil, but I assume they’re married by now.

[Shannon Schmelzle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a real rough one. The back half of Roy Thomas' run was just garbage. Not even hot garbage, just cold stinky garbage. We get DD stalking his newly ex-girlfriend out to the west coast and some terrible forgettable stories. Then we come back to New York in time for Gerry Conway to make his debut shortly afterwards and after an EXTREMELY rough start, he did manage to find his footing and the last half dozen or so issues in this are actually pretty fun.

For me, the highlight here was DD meeting and hooking up with Black Widow. I thought these two had way better chemestry than Matt and Karen ever did. They are fun, she can support him more in his super-hero identity.

And the stand out villain here, shockingly, was the Owl. Not that he was particularly great, he just wasn't awful. And it's really his issues that usher in the fun.

So, who would I recommend this to? Only the most hardcore of Daredevil fans. I thought that was me, but this book made me feel like, nah, not so much.

[Troy-David Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to only give this volume three Stars.
On one hand it is beautifully rendered: the art is excellent, full stop.

The problem is the writing. The storylines don’t fliw well in this era. The Matt-Karen Page subplot drags. She’s not characterized well and when it comes to her, neither is Matt/ Daredevil. Issues jump from one main plot to another rather quickly, almost abruptly. Foggy Nelson’s sub-plot certainly had potential but just wasn’t executed well.
The villains are not as compelling in this era either. The Owl is a good Daredevil opponent, but again, not well used here.

Daredevil certainly improved as the title went forward, but this represents a weaker middle period.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gene Colan does his best to make these stories worth reading, but they're some of Roy Thomas's and Gerry Conway's least inspired work. Also includes a significant chunk of Conway's "Mr. Klein" crossover storyline, which might be the worst thing Marvel ever published in its first 10 years.

The relationship between Matt Murdock and Karen Page is borderline abusive, and everything outside of that is boring and forgettable. Daredevil has yet to find its footing, and it's a little longer before it will.

[Downward · Rating 3 out of 5]

it took me like a year to read this so i basically have no idea how to review it. it was ok but there's still way too much AhHhHhHh If OnLy I dIdNt HaVe To Be DaReDeViL tHeN i CoUlD dAtE kArEn. This loops over the course of like 40 issues it feels like, and just when you think it's going to stop: it keeps going. There's also little distinction between Daredevil and Spider-Man in personality, it's all wisecracking while getting his asskicked. So I don't know. I wouldn't say that I enjoyed this, but there's something nice about how it's building to a major aesthetic shift.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

These DD adventures go all over the place story-wise looking for a theme. There’s a mysterious figure running through several stories manipulating all the characters for … who knows why. It ended up being some future android or something. Daredevil still feels like a Spider-Man wannabe at this stage in the series but I seem to recall the shift to San Francisco with the Black Widow added something. We’ll see, as that’s where this volume ends.

[Jimbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason, I become board with the story line about Matt and Karen Page and Daredevil's whining. NOT the DD I prefer.
Mr Kline was interesting, but the Owl, our, the Ox, Scorpion all seemed like fill in stories for DD's whining. He is still one of my favorites and the stories with the Black Panther were excellent.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh Conway. Your 70s Marvel runs are always a letdown. Admittedly, Thomas wasn’t at a high point when you took over.

I forgot how long the specter of Karen hangs over ol’ Hornhead. Nice to have that wrapped and Natasha’s in the picture. We’ll see how his first foray in San Francisco goes: honestly, I don’t remember it too well.

[Doug Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that while the writing improved as the book went on, this was largely a pretty weak outing for the character. The artwork was fantastic as always but the stories left much to be desired. I did like the arc introducing black widow to the cast but other than that this was a bit more of a struggle and a little disappointing after the last volume.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover title was a little misleading as the Black Widow doesn't really make an appearance until well past the halfway mark, but this was an enjoyable collection that could have been improved by publishing the whole of Iron Man issue 36 instead of just a few pages.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

These old Daredevil stories are just so random. For the most part, this series has been dull with the weakest villains. But sometimes, things get nuts and it can be highly entertaining. This volume is all over the place but still has some manic highs. Gene Colan's is always the saving grace and it keeps getting better and better.

[Josh Hatfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love silver/bronze age Marvel, but the Matt/Karen melodrama level is over the top in this collection. It gets much better once Black Widow shows up.

[Al McCarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerry’s

[Kris Deters · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still like Daredevil, but these old comics are a rough read.

[Art the Turtle of Amazing Girth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.17

Just good ole classic horn head

[✨! · Rating 2 out of 5]

Roy Thomas is so good at writing interesting and fun setups and then consistently finishing them with horrible payoffs I am genuinely impressed

19-year-old Gerry Conway when I fucking catch you it will be on SIGHT. I'm one of like 3 people who actually likes DD's melodrama but oh my god shut the fuck up.