The Daredevils #1

 I got issues 1-11 of The Daredevils in an auction a few weeks ago, and thought I’d take a look at them here.

For the uninitiated, this was a short-lived Marvel UK Monthly title that combined new Captain Britain scripts from Alans Moore and David with the Frank Miller Daredevil. They added a few behind-the-scenes text pieces as well and it’s really quite an interesting curio.

I didn’t read it at the time - I think this first issue is from January 1982 and although I was buying comics at this point, I suspect I only had eyes for US Marvels. I distinctly remember seeing an issue of this title on the shelf, but passing it over for (I think) Uncanny X-Men 194 (Nimrod) - more fool me, I should have bought them both. 

The Captain Britain story is great - it serves both as an excellent continuation of the stories that had come before as well as being a great jumping-on-point for new readers. It’s followed by a 6pg article where Alan Moore explains how great he thinks Miller’s Daredevil is - it’s a detailed analysis of technique and form, with comparison to Bernie Krigstein, Will Eisner and Line Wolf & Cub. It’s an excellent introduction to the comic - the only downside being that it’s followed by a relatively early Miller DD before he really starts punching hard. 

There’s a one pager where Moore reviews some UK fanzines, a 2 pg article where Frank Plowright covers some comics news (including the update that issue 191 will be Miller’s final issue of Daredevil) and half of a Spider-Man strip from the 60s - it’s always a pleasure to see John Romita art and it was probably a way to draw people in, but it feels a little out of place in this title. 

It’s really good - it feels like there’s an understanding that (gasp) comics aren’t just for kids and it makes an excellent effort to bridge that gap featuring top examples of UK and US superheroes and some great analysis - if I’d read it back in the day kt would probably have blown my mind ! 

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