Daredevil in Marked for Death

Daredevil (1964) #159-161, 163-164

by Roger McKenzie, Frank Miller

Stan Lee Presents: Daredevil: Marked for Death

"Originally published in magazine form as Daredevil #s 159, 160, 161, 163, 164"--Title page verso.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can file this comic under: Daredevil/Bronze Age Bunkum/Bullseye looks for payback/Hulk smashes/Ben Urich investigates/Black Widow gets kidnapped/Daredevil’s origin retold and juiced again/Frank Miller illustrates

Daredevil could be the comic book poster boy for getting his character tweeked/re-invented.



Here, Roger Mckenzie was almost at the end of his tenure as Daredevil writer. Frank Miller did the art and according to Wikipedia had McKenzie eventually fired so he could take over the writing as well and move the book to some gritty twisted places.

This volume embraces the comic book cliché about putting dangerous criminals in places where a three year old child could work their way out of. Bullseye ends up in Bellevue, in the office of a psychiatrist, who has about 58 things lying around his office that Bullseye could easily weaponize. Apparently nobody watched The Silence of the Lambs or read a comic book or has a lick of common sense because Bullseye grabs some rubber bands, a No. 2 lead pencil and escapes prison and…

…hires people to kill Daredevil(!?!).



Bullseye, in later iterations is fairly formidable, but McKenzie wants to stretch this story line out for a couple of issues, so Bullseye is on the threat level of, say, Stiltman or The Jester. Bullseye kidnaps Black Widow…



…and the chase is on as Daredevil gets to beat up a bunch a goons as he’s tracking down Bullseye.



Hint for Daredevil: In ye olden comics the villain was always holed up in ye abandoned amusement park. You’re welcome.



The resolution here is about as pathetic as they come, kids. Bullseye points a gun at Daredevil, Daredevil plays chicken because he can here Bullseye’s heartrate and is pretty sure he’s bluffing.

*Le Sigh*



Hey Jeff, the Hulk’s in this one! That has to be a bonus, right?



You would think so random Goodreader, wouldn’t you? But the Hulk story played out as most Hulk guest-starring spots played out back in the day.

Taking a NYC subway is always a tenuous proposition at best, but if you’re Bruce Banner, a little jostling goes a long way
.


This'll be sure to put a crimp in the daily commute.

Rude jostling New Yorkers lead to this:



And then this.



Which means that this could go one of two ways:

1) Horny red man Hulk’s friend. Hulk embrace inner Banner.

2) Hulk hate Banner and horny red man’s stupid logic. Hulk smash horny red man.

Kids, if you went for option 2, help yourself to another one of Aunt May’s wheat cakes.


Throughout this volume a secondary plot is chugging along and that would be newsman Ben Urich’s attempt to figure out the identity of Daredevil by putting 2 + 2 together.



In the coincidence of all coincidences, Urich overhears Daredevil’s old girlfriend remark as DD gets thrashed by the Hulk.



What good is a secret identity if you can’t use it to impress the babes? Amiright?

The last issue finds Daredevil recovering from his aforementioned Hulk thrashing in the hospital. Urich pays him a visit in the hospital (“Nurse, could you tell me what room a Mr. Daredevil is in?”) to confront him with his theory, but forgets flowers, candy, or a “Get Well” balloon.
A$$hole!!



Note: The bandages wrapped around DD’s noggin w/ mask still firmly in place in that most cartoony-Scooby-Doo-ish of ways.

The jig is up Murdock, so let’s retell your origin story for the dozeneth time:



Papa Murdock falls in with a dude named The Fixer, who I would trust implicitly with my boxing career -> Papa refuses to take a dive and double crosses The Fixer -> Papa eats lead -> Daredevil gets a radioactive goop bath, goes blind with extra-sensory benefits, settles score with The Fixer.

In his quest for revenge, Daredevil plays the circus bear balanced on a barrel…



And does the tell-tale-evil-fat-guy-heart-bursting-after-running-a-couple-steps-thing for Pops
.


“Love you, Dad”

Bottom line: Miller’s art is the standout and is probably the only reason to read this. Miller practically re-invented the character when he took over the book, so this volume is a good measuring stick for making before and after comparisons. For Daredevil cultists and Miller enthusiasts only.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone has put a contract on Daredevil's head and there are now assassins after him. While this concept sounds very intriguing, the end result in the comic book isn't up to the mark. There is a subplot involving reporter, Ben Urich, who is hell-bent on finding out the secret identity of The Man Without Fear. And it is this subplot which actually kept my interest alive for this book.

[Steven Heywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger Mackenzie isn't one of the big fan favourites so the work he did on Daredevil isn't given the applause it deserves. People reading this set for the Frank Miller artwork will find some well-structured tales in here that include some important developments in this phase of Daredevil's story.

The art is early Frank Miller with a dynamism and sense of movement that he seems to have lost in later work. Miller's pencils are complemented by Klaus Janson's inks: clean, clear detail when required and sumptuous blacks when the lights go out.

[Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[Jadyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le ultime storie scritte da McKenzie, coi disegni di Miller e Janson, seguite dalle prime del solo Miller ai testi. Non sono ancora i capolavori che Frank ci darà di lì a qualche trimestre, ma i semi ci sono tutti. Non sono essenziali per comprendere il personaggio di Devil e le sue motivazioni, ma leggerle non fa male, anzi.

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are some decent Daredevil comics and an interesting snapshot of where his comic was at this point in time. The Bullseye issues are strong, but the Hulk issue is excellent, showing just why Daredevil is such an amazing hero.