Daredevil: Mike Murdock Must Die
Eric S Brown
Collecting issues twenty two through forty one of the original run of Daredevil, along with bonus material from Fantastic Four # 73 and Not Brand Echh # 4, Daredevil: Mike Murdock Must Die weighs in at an impressive five hundred and ten pages of reading. It’s part of Marvel’s “Epic Collection” line. Despite its bulk in terms of collected issues, and its low retail price of only $39.99, the book is full color and truly does the material it reprints justice.
The story of Daredevil’s early days hold up very well, given how long ago they were published. There is no continuous arc through out the collection, as with most modern trades but rather just a ton of fun stories. There are several guest appearances from the likes of Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, and Kazar… but it’s the Thor guest appearance that really makes the volume. Daredevil and Thor duke it out in classic Marvel style. One would think that such a conflict between a “god” and a man would be a brief one. However, Daredevil’s speed and acrobatic prowess combined with his radar sense make the battle extremely fun for fans of both characters. And as if a showdown with the god of thunder wasn’t enough, Daredevil also ends up trading bodies with Dr. Doom in one of the stories.
The coloring and overall art are remarkable for a Marvel reprint collection. The scenes pop off the pages just as they likely did to readers in the 1960s, Gene Colan and Jack Kirby’s art is truly timeless in its power to deliver exciting action and beauty to the reader, and every story was written by Stan Lee himself.
For its price, Daredevil: Mike Murdock Die is a must for any fan of Daredevil or Marvel Comics. The only drawback is that the stories do take place during the time when Matt Murdock was pretending to have a twin brother named Mike, playing that part himself. At times, such over the top protection of his secret identity can be a bit trying for the modern reader, but not so much that this massive collection of stories loses its fun.
